IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREBY OF TRIMMINGS AND OTHER WORK WITH THREADS, CORDS, OR WIRES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hesketh Hughes, of Homerton, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING
MACHINES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREBY OF TRIMMINGS AND OTHER
WORK WITH THREADS, CORDS, OR WIRES."
Sealed the 19th February 1869, and dated the 20th August 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hesketh Hughes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th August 1868. .
I, HESKETH HUGHES, of Homerton, in the County of Middlesex,.
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-..
PROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREBY OF
TRIMMINGS AND OTHER WORK WITH THREADS, CORDS, OR WIRES," to be as
follows:-
The objects of my Invention are chiefly to more efficiently regulate and.
control the feed and the length and depth of stitch in sewing machines,.
and to manufacture in such machines trimmings and other fancy work.
from threads, cords, or wires. I dispense with the ordinary feed foot
and presser foot, and I employ a series of horizontal or inclined.

page_text: plates or projections carried by an endless chain to which an inter-
mittent motion is imparted by a paul from the ordinary feed motion
or otherwise. This endless chain is secured to the work plate, and in
its intermittent motion the series of plates successively take against
the thread when the needle is at the upper part of its motion, and
thereby effect the intermittent feed of the fabric; these plates at the
same time receive the whole strain of the stitch, because after cach
intermittent movement the needle in its down stroke lays the thread
over that plate which has just acted upon the thread. By having
several chains with plates of other sizes I can vary the size of the
stitch. I find it will be convenient to secure each such chain to a
separate work plate, and the work plate and chain are then removed
or placed in position together. In some cases I employ cams on the
chain to act on a lever carrying an additional or separate thread, cord,
tape, or piping in such manner that the lever lays this separate thread,
cord, tape, or piping on the two sides of the needle thread alternately,
whereby a variety in the work is produced. Or I employ an additional
chain for this purpose, the two chains working together as in chain
goffering machines. I do not limit myself to the employment of an
endless chain to give motion to the plates which feed the fabric and
take the strain of the stitch as other mechanical arrangements might
be adopted.
In sewing or stitching "pipings" or other round or hollow goods,
I employ a guide to fold or shape such goods, this guide having an
internal support to prevent the stitch drawing the fabric out of its
round or other required shape; this support also receives the plates
carried by the endless chain before described. The thickness of the
support regulates the depth of the stitch. In some cases I make this
support hollow to receive wadding or other material to form the core
of the pipings or goods which are being stitched. In some cases also
I give a motion to the guide similar to that given to the lever as before
described, so that a stitch is dropped at each alternate motion and
a perfect tubular fabric thereby obtained; or a shifting head sewing
machine may be employed in combination with my plates and chain
for the same purpose.
When I require to manufacture trimmings and other fancy work
entirely from threads, cords, or wires I simply thread the needle of a
chain stitch machine with the thread, cord, or wire and by working the

page_text: machine, the needle, the endless chain with its plates, and the ordinary
hook or looper manufacture a trimming or fancy work. The lever and
cams before described may also be used in combination for varying the
work.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Hesketh Hughes in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th February 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HESKETH
HUGHES, of Homerton, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Hesketh Hughes, Her special licence that I,
the said Hesketh Hughes, my executors, administrators; and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Hesketh Hughes, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
SEWING MACHINES
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND IN THE MANUFACTURE THEREBY OF TRIMMINGS AND OTHER WORK WITH
THREADS, CORDS, OR WIRES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Hesketh Hughes, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed;
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Hesketh Hughes, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the

page_text: 'following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings herc-
unto annexed, that is to say :-
The objects of my Invention are chiefly to more efficiently regulate
and control the feed and the length and depth of stitch in sewing
machines, and to manufacture in such machines trimmings and other
fancy work from threads, cords, or wires. I dispense with the ordinary
feed foot and presser foot, and I employ a series of horizontal or inclined
plates or projections carried by an endless chain to which an intermittent
motion is imparted by a paul from the ordinary feed motion or otherwise.
This endless chain is secured to the work plate, and in its intermittent
motion the series of plates successively take against the thread when the
needle is at the upper part of its motion, and thereby effect the inter-
mittent feed of the fabric; these plates at the same time receive the
whole strain of the stitch, because after each intermittent movement the
needle in its down stroke lays the thread over that plate which has just
acted upon the thread. By having several chains with plates of other
sizes I can vary the size of the stitch. I find it will be convenient to
secure cach such chain to a separate work plate, and the work plate and
chain are then removed or placed in position together. In some cases I
employ cams on the chain to act on a lever carrying an additional or
separate thread, cord, tape, or piping in such manner that the lever lays
this separate thread, cord, tape, or piping on the two sides of the needle
thread alternately, whereby a variety in the work is produced. I do not
limit myself to the employment of an endless chain to give motion to
the plates which feed the fabric and take the strain of the stitch, as
other mechanical arrangements might be adopted.
In sewing or stitching "pipings" or other round or hollow goods I
employ a guide to fold or shape such goods, this guide having an internal
support to prevent the stitch drawing the fabric out of its round or other
required shape; this support also receives the plates carried by the
endless chain before described. The thickness of this support regulates
the depth of the stitch. In some cases I make this support hollow to
receive wadding or other material to form the core of the pipings or
goods which are being stitched. In some cases also I give a motion to
. the guide similar to that given to the lever as before described, so that a
stitch is dropped at each alternate motion, and a perfect tubular fabric
thereby obtained; or a shifting head sewing machine may be employed
in combination with my plate and chain for the same purpose.

page_text: When I require to manufacture trimmings and other fancy work
entirely from threads, cords, or wires I simply thread the needle of a
chain stitch machine with the thread, cord, or wire, and by working the
machine the needle, the endless chain with its plates, and the ordinary
hook or looper, manufacture a trimming or fancy work. The lever and
cams before described may also be used in combination for varying the
work.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a plan view of the work
plate of a sewing machine with an endless chain fitted upon it con-
structed according to my Invention. The endless chain is composed of a
series of horizontal or inclined plates a, a, which pass round rollers b, b;
one of the rollers is fitted with a tightening apparatus c, by which the
necessary tension of the chain is effected. I prefer to form two inclined
plates in connection with a back plate, by which they are rivetted to the
links of the chain. Above the back plates angle plates & are placed;
these angles form a vandyked or serrated edge for a cam to take into, as
hereafter explained. The points of the inclined plates in their motion
project over the needle hole in the work plate, and they are so adjusted
that the needle in its downward movement is free to pass down between
the points into the needle hole. In this downward movement the thread
from the needle is laid over the point last moved across the needle path.
The movement of the points is effected on the upstroke of the needle by
means of a spring paul e fastened to the feed block f under the work
plate. The eccentric motion of the lower shaft g causes the feed block to
rise in a curvilinear course about its pin or stud / in the usual manner;
this compels the paul e, which is in a tooth of a ratchet j, to push the
chain to the extent of one tooth. This ratchet forming part of the chain,
as shewn, it follows that the whole must partake of the same motion.
The paul and ratchet arrangement is clearly represented in Figure 2,
which is a front or end view of a portion of a machine with the work
plate in section. The work or material to be sewn is guided to the points
or inclined plates, in any suitable manner.
The machine, as here constructed, is especially employed for the
manufacture of trimmings of a hollow nature from a strip, ribbon, or tape,
which is led through a curved guide on to the points so as to embrace
the same; the needle at the same time sews the edges of the fabric
together. But fabrics may be sewn on the flat, such as folding and
hemming, either above or below the points.

page_text: For the production of trimmings and other fancy goods, where a
pattern is required on the surface, I employ a guide and plate which I
attach to the work plate by a screw pin, so that it is free to oscillate on
the pin as a centre, and held to its work by a spring i. At onc portion
of this plate I fit two teeth or cams, which embrace and take into the
angles of the chain alternately; one of these teeth is adjustable in the
plate in order to limit the extent of motion and so regulate the width
of the pattern. This is represented in Figure 3. is the guide through
which the fabric is passed, and as the points are moved forwards the hold
which they have upon the thread causes it to feed itself and the fabric.
The plate to which the guide is secured is centred upon the pin m. nis
the portion of the plate which embraces the chain, and p is the adjustable
tooth or cam on it. is a wheel, shewn in Figure 1, fitted in a bracket
under the work plate; the teeth of this wheel pass up through an
aperture in the plate and remove the work from the points, the wheel
being set at an angle to the line of work for that purpose.
By the first arrangement I am enabled to make a tubular, round, or
nearly round article or trimming. I can also make tubular articles or
trimmings by employing a guide of the description shewn in Figure 4.
This guide is formed of two plates, an outer and an inner one; the outer
one terminates near the needle, and the inner one is extended beyond.
This extended portion has a notch in it for the needle to pass through
and stitch the fabric. The inner plate supports the fabric and prevents
the tension of the sewing thread from crushing or pressing the work. A
core of wadding or other material may be passed through the guide and
into the fabric in order to hold it in shape.
Figure 5 is a face view of a ring r which I employ in lieu of the
endless chain. This ring is placed under the work plate in a vertical
position, and has a groove s in its periphery which bears upon friction
rollers & fitted on the frame of the machine. The opposite face of this
ring is studded with points, as scen in Figure 6, for taking the thread
from the needle, and acting in substantially the same manner as the
apparatus before mentioned. A cam arrangement may also be employed
for actuating the guide or thread in connection with this ring.
Figure 7 is a plan view of a circular plate or disc which I sometimes
employ in the same manner as the endless chain; it is fitted on the work
plate by a screw pin, and has points on its edge for the thread to take
into in the manner described in reference to the other Figures. The disc to

page_text: which the points are attached can be made to any dimensions, so as to
give sufficient clearance for varying widths of fabrics. There may be a
cam wheel fitted on its upper surface for teeth on a guide plate to take
into, so as produce an ornamental working on and over the edge of the
trimmings, as represented in Figure 10. The movements of the guides
may be to such an extent that the needle may make one stitch in the
goods and one stitch on one of the points of the plate alternately, and
thus produce what is known as the over-edge stitch.
Figure 8 is an edge view of the disc shewn in Figure 7, and Figure 9
a detached view of the guide for keeping the work on the points during
the vibrating motion of the guide.
Although I have described and shewn a vibrating guide plate actuated
by angles or cams I do not confine myself thereto, as the same effect
may be produced by having a sewing machine with a shifting head,
which I might employ with my endless chain ring or disc arrangements.
I can also produce an ornamental working on the surface of the fabric
by means of threads, cords, or wires, having a vibrating motion imparted
to the guides or other appliances through which they pass, the threads,
cords, or wires being sewn to the fabric by the needle in the usual
manner.
Trimmings or other fancy work can be made entirely from threads,
cords, or wires in this machine. By working the machine, the needle,
the endless chain with its plates or points, and the ordinary hook or
looper forms a fabric.
Although I have described and shewn the machine as being a single
thread or chain stitch machine my Invention is applicable to sewing
machines of any description, whether chain stitch, lock stitch, or shuttle
machines.
The apparatuses herein-before described are capable of sewing the
lightest fabrics, such as lace, tulle, and blonde, or the thickest and
heaviest of fabrics by removing the strain of the threads upon the fabrics
in the operation of sewing on to the inclined plates or points, and
ensuring perfect regularity of stitch.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,―
First. The construction and employment of a series of horizontal or
inclined plates or projections carried by an endless chain to which an

page_text: intermittent motion is imparted by a paul in the manner and for the
purpose herein-before described.
Second. The construction of sewing machines whereby I dispense with
the feed foot and presser foot, and accomplish the feeding of the goods
under operation by means of horizontal or inclined plates, in the manner
described and represented in the Drawings.
Third. The employment of a guide plate actuated by cam plates or
otherwise in order to produce a vibrating motion of the guide, in the
manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
Fourth. The making of trimmings or goods of a tubular or hollow
form in the manner described.
Fifth. The employment of projections or points in combination with
a ring or disc operated in the manner and for the purpose herein-
before described and represented in Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 in the
accompanying Drawings.
Sixth. The construction and employment of a guide composed of two
plates, for the purpose herein-before described and represented in Figure 4
of the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hesketh Hughes, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of February One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
HESKETH HUGHES. (L.S.)