IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STAYS AND BELTS
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
SIMISTER, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifth day of August,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, in the eleventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Simister, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said James Simister, my
exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Simister; my
exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF STAYS AND BELTS;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said James Simister, shall cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being there-
unto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said. proviso, I, the said
James Simister, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention consists,--
First, of improvements in the manufacture of metal busks of stays. And,
Secondly, my Invention consists of improvements in the weaving of fabrics
employed in the manufacture of stays and belts.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figures 1, 2, and 3, show three views of a metal busk for stays made
according to the first part of my Invention. The object of this part of the
Invention is to form part of a busk so as to fold, in place of making each busk
of one continuous piece of metal. The upper part a would in fact be similar
to an ordinary metal busk, but the lower end is made of several parts b, b,
hinged together, there being a spring c passed through loops punched through
the; folded metal of the parts b, and the spring c is fixed to the lower one of
the parts b.
.
T
I will now describe the second part of my Invention, which relates to
improvements in weaving fabrics in the manufacture of, stays, and belts; and
such improvements only relate to that class of stays and belts the fabric for
which has heretofore been woven with gores, so as to produce proper shape
over, the hips and other parts without requiring that there should be gores let
in. And I would state, that such weaving. of fabrics for making stays and
belts has, been long and extensively known and practised, and consists of
weaving angular portions at such places and intervals in-weaving up the warps
as may require, to have fulness such as is desired, and which were formerly
produced by letting in angular pieces by sewing by hand when making up
stays or belts. But such fabrics, as heretofore woven with gores therein, have
been too thin at those places where woven double for receiving whalebone;
also the metal busks employed in stays, and for cotton, as is well understood,
the spaces between such double weaving and the gores being heretofore woven
single. Now, the second part of my Invention consists of weaving stay and
belt fabric with woven gores therein, double not only at those parts where they
are to receive whalebone or metal busks, or cotton or other filling, but also
between such parts, and also at the gores, the double fabrics being combined
in the process of weaving at those parts where desired, and as heretofore and

page_text: now commonly practised when weaving double stay fabric' without gores. I
would state that suitable fabrics for stays and belts with gores may,.in carrying
out, this part of my Invention, consist of two or more thicknesses of fabrics
joined together: in the..act of weaving, and the pattern..of weaving may be
varied. I usually make each. fabric of a three-thread: twill, but that may be
varied, particularly where it is desired. to make the front and back fabrics of
(different: materials, such as silk for the front and linen or cotton for the back
fabric, or fabrics. In arranging the warps in a loom, as the. different parts
thereof will be used up at different. speeds, the parts at the selvages, where the
widest parts of the gores.come, will be used up fastest, and .less so as they
depart or are more distant from the, selvages, and therefore the yarns of the
several warps must be independent, as is well understood in weaving. The
arranging of two or more warps in' a loom for making.a. two.or more fold stay
or belt fabric will be similar to that heretofore practised, and woven in the
same manner, so far as the making proper places for whalebone, also for the.
busks and for cotton or other filling, as when intended to weave a two or more
fold fabric for like purposes without weaving 'gores. therein, and, so far, the
same forms.no part of my Invention; but in place of throwing the weft from
selvage to selvage throughout in producing the, two or more. fabrics con-
stituting.double stay fabric, the workman, when he comes to a place where it
is desired to have a woven' gore in each of the fabrics of which a stay or belt
fabric is to be composed, will only pass the weft through each of the warps a
distance equal to that which is the greatest length of the gore about to be
woven, and he will continue to decrease the distance into which he passes the
weft from the selvage till he has woven the width of gore at the selvages
which is desired, the weaving of the other part of the width of each warp not
going on during the weaving of such gore at any particular moment. By this
means an angular portion of weaving will be produced to each of the fabrics
of which a double stay fabric may be composed; and it is this weaving of
gores in each of the several-fabrics of which a double or compound stay fabric
may consist which constitutes the novelty of this part of my Invention, and
the weaving of the gore in each separate fabric will be similarly performed to
what has heretofore been practised when gores have been woven in single stay
fabrics. The compound stay fabric at the selvages, when a gore has been
woven in each, will have to be moved away, which is also similar to when
weaving gores in single stay fabrics, and is accomplished by fixing small vices
at intervals of the width of the fabric, the hand vices having straps thereto
attached to a roller or work beam around which they can be wound. And
having woven a gore or angular piece to each of the two or more fabrics of
which a double or compound stay cloth is being formed, the workman will

page_text: readily adjust the hand vices, and pull the whole fabric even, the weaving will
be again conducted in like manner to that ordinarily practised when weaving
similar double or compound fabrics without gores when by hand shuttle
weaving; and when such weaving has progressed so as to bring up another
part requiring a gore to be woven at either of the selvages, such gore is to be
I woven in each fabric in like manner to that before described by the weaver
only passing the weft into the warps a distance equal to the length of the
intended gore; and then, as the gore is progressively woven, he will decrease
the distance from the selvage to which he passes the weft into the warps, by
which angular pieces will be woven into the several thicknesses of which a
double or compound fabric' may be composed, such gores or angular pieces
being opposite to each other, so that when made up into stays or belts the
gores will be of the same substance with the other parts of the stays or belts,
and be composed of as many thicknesses of fabric.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which I perform the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details herein described, so long as the peculiar cha-
racter of either part of my Invention be retained; but what I claim is,―
First, the mode of constructing the busks of stays as herein described. And,
Secondly, I claim the mode of weaving fabrics for making stays and belts,
whereby gores or angular parts are woven in at the selvages of the two or
more thicknesses of fabric which are woven together to form a fabric for
making stays or belts.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Simister, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of February, One thousand eight