IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINERY
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Fletcher, of Swan Court, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engraver, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINERY."
Sealed the 17th January 1860, and dated the 2nd August 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Fletcher at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 2nd
August 1859.
I, HENRY FLETCHER, of Swan Court, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engraver, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINERY," to be as
follows:-
I improve the machine patented by William Frederick Thomas, No. 1026,
1858, by making two or more stitches each revolution of the driving wheel,
instead of one, by using a larger shuttle making a stitch each flight, by a
simpler feed motion, a better stand, and cheaper action. I apply these upper
movements to the single and double-thread chain-stitch machines, and simplify
their under action. I get two or more stitches each revolution of the driving
wheel, by making it actuate a wheel two or more times smaller than itself,
which works the needle slide, or by shaping the cams on the driving wheel
accordingly. I shape the shuttle both ends alike, and use tongues instead of
bobbins to save space. I work the shuttle driver by cams like his, or by a
crank or a lever worked by the driving wheel, or by the needle slide motion,
and by a slight change produce the flight across the machine besides the
longitudinal one. I dispense with two of his cam feed movements, by giving
the feeder one vertical and one lateral motion, by springs or elastics; the other

page_text: vertical and lateral motion are given by the needle slide or its mover. The
small wheel works the needle slide by a spindle and crank or by direct lever
motion. A horizontal screw keeps the needle in the slide, and a perpendicular
screw varies its height. The frame is cast in one self-supporting piece, or it
may have legs or a stand attached, if required; a revolving bobbin stand
holding several bobbins easily changes the thread, and may be attached with
cop reelers to the frame. By having several arms with several needle slides
and underworks moveable, the machine is made more useful. A broad looper
with an eye in it produces the single or double thread chain-stitch. A pin on
the driving wheel acting on a curved bell-crank lever at one end of a spindle
produces the loop motion at the other end, the looper being removable by a
set screw; or the looper works backwards and forwards by elastic force one
way, and a cam or pin on driving wheel, or needle slide motion, or another
wheel the other way. A slight lateral motion may be given by an inclined
plane or other cam to free the loop.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Fletcher in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 2nd
February 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
FLETCHER, Engraver, of Swan Court, Manchester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Henry Fletcher, Her special licence that I, the said Henry
Fletcher, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Henry Fletcher, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SEWING AND EMBROIDERING MACHINERY," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Henry Fletcher, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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

page_text: the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Fletcher, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The general construction of sewing machinery is well understood, and need
not be fully described here. Briefly, a threaded needle with its eye near the
point plunges through the material sewn, and in returning leaves a loop of
slack thread on the other side, which is secured by a previous loop of its own
thread, or by a loop of another thread, or by passing the whole mass of another
thread through it; or the needle may pass entirely through the material, and
draw the thread along with it.
In order that my improvements may be understood, I will describe the
Figures on the Sheet of Drawings.
Figure 1 represents a front view of the needle slide, presser, and feeder ;
Figure 2, an end view of them and of the crank and connecting rod, when
worked by a revolving spindle; Figure 2ª shews the back of the connecting
rod and spindle, with the outward feeding cam; Figure 2*, a detached view of
the lifting and outward feeding cams which work behind the crank.
A, the needle slide; B, the feeder; C, the presser; D, the guide in which
the slide works; E, the lever to lift the feeder up; F, pin projecting from
feeder over E; G, lever for pressing out feeder; H, the screw to regulate
the length of stitch; I, pins on the slide to work G; J, pin projecting from
the presser over the path of A, to lift C up when A is at its highest; K, screw
to regulate the height of the needle; L, screw to press the needle against the
slide; M, needle; N, slot to receive the end of rocking lever O; P, crank
working connecting rod Q up and down, and by projecting pin R to work the
slide A; S, part of the feeder receiving motion from U and V situated behind P;
T, guides to keep feeder in position; W, pin that works E; X, rows of eye-
lets to vary the tension and amount of slack in the top thread; Y, eyelets
on A; Z, elastic to pull B to and downwards. By these improvements I
make one connection between the needle slide and the other end of the
machine work the presser, the needle, the feeder, the tension, and the slack.
Figure 3 is a plan of bobbin stand with two tiers of bobbins, shewn in
elevation on top of Figure 32; Figure 4 is a plan of a shuttle with an open
side; Figure 5, plan of an ordinary shuttle and driver; Figure 6, side view
of cylindrical thread case and its bearer; Figure 7, plan of one end of
Figure 6, shewing the cop spindle.

page_text: A, the shell; B, the thread; C, tension eyelets, one of them opposite the
spindle point; D, the bearer, a substitute for G, the driver; E, bearings to
keep case or shuttle upright; F, springs to press the shuttle or case against E;
G¹, spindle swivel resting against spring I. The improvements shewn in
Figures 4, 6, 7, are, very much greater capacity for thread (avoiding constant
stopping to replenish the bobbin) locking a stitch each flight, by having both
ends of the shuttle or case shaped alike, using a cop instead of a bobbin, so
that the tongue occupies less space than the bobbin, and may spring out in
the open shuttle like a penknife blade, and remain steady in the cylindrical
case, the end of which may screw on to the body, or slip in by a catch, which
is a less delicate process than replacing a bobbin, dispensing with the shuttle
race and shuttle driver, which consume so much oil about the stitches; the
case bearer works in sockets away from the needle, and less friction on
the loop as the thread slips over the shuttle or case unopposed, except at
the bearings and springs where they touch the case.
Figure 8 is a side elevation of a machine where the needle slide is at the
side, and the shuttle flies longitudinally. A, needle slide; B, feeder; C,
presser; D¹, guides for A in frame A¹; D, case bearer; E, connecting rod,
worked by crank F on wheel G, which gears into the driving wheel I and
into H, which works the needle slide by a connecting rod and lever; the
dotted lines shew the position of the rocking lever O, Figure 2, with the
needle slide A at right angles, and the flight across the machine with the
connecting rod geared into a side wheel, and into a wheel at the end of a
similar frame. The position of the feeder levers E, G, Figure 1, will depend
in this machine upon the line of feed. If the feed is longitudinal, they will
have to be as in Figure 1, or on the reverse side of the needle slide, and the
feeder working in the opposite direction. If the feed is across and the slide
remains in the same position, they will have to work as shewn in detached
Figure 15, that is, the spindles they work on will be at right angles to those in
longitudinal feed. The advantages of this improved frame are, that one flat
upright frame may support itself on projecting legs, and projecting bearings to
suit any variety of detail may be cast with it in one piece, instead of using the
common inconvenient table with the bearings and works afterwards attached
to it, and therefore liable to get out of repair. By working the needle slide
with rocking lever and connecting rod moved by wheel H, I avoid cams and
can increase the speed by enlarging the driving wheel, without inconvenience.
Any irregularities in the motion of the slide may be produced by varying the
shape of the slot at the slide end of the rocking lever, or of the slot at the
wheel end of the bell-crank lever at Figure 38.

page_text: Figures 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, and 14, illustrate a new and peculiar knotted
stitch, which I produce by passing the shuttle or case through a loop of its own
thread as well as through a loop of the needle thread; Figure 11 shews the
case, having locked a loop of needle thread, passing through another in its
return flight, leaving a loop of its own thread hanging between the two
stitches; Figure 12 shews the second needle loop drawn up, and a third
formed, the under thread loop lying in the path of the thread case before
entering the third needle loop; Figure 13 shews the case passing through its
own loop and the third needle loop; Figure 14 shews it having completed
that flight, and tightening the knot thus produced; Figures 9 and 10 shew
this knot stitch with and without an alternate ordinary stitch; it is useful
to prevent unravelling, even though at wider intervals. A spring or guide
may be used to spread the loop, if required.
Figure 16 is a side view of a running and hemming stitch machine, with
gearings on one side only, or with one side removed where two sides are used.
A, frame; B, needle; C, guiding rollers, through grooves in which the needle
is held in position (better shewn at Figure 17, an end view of rocking table
and bearings); D, bearing roller, also grooved; E, driving roller, over which
the needle passes in a groove; F, another grooved roller, under which the
needle passes; G, rollers, to draw the cloth off the needle and press it smooth;
H, rocking lever, with a slide end I to vary the vibration; J, cams, working
the rocking lever; K, rocking table, moved vertically by H, and laterally by
the elastic N or its equivalent and the regulating screws O; L, guides to
direct the lateral motion; P, a vertical slot, in which a pin through L works.
The guides L may have cams to give K a lateral motion to and from the end
of the frame, as well as the side vibration, or the table may be made loose, as
in Figure 18, and vibrate on the side of the upright part of K.
Figures 19 to 24 shew the guides, which prepare the material for the
needle; Figure 25 shews cross section of the running hem stitch; the end a
is stitched to the body of the cloth c under the top lap b. Figure 26 shews the
top lap b, flattened over the running hem; Figure 27 shews the cloth d on
the needle e; Figure 28 shews the cloth a, b, c, with the thread & through it
in section lengthwise. The basting stitch may be produced by setting the
screws so as to allow no lateral motion. The novelty in this improvement
is in turning the edge of the cloth over, as in Figure 21, and making a hem
by the top part 6 of the fold, covering the basting of the edge a to the body
of the cloth c. The lateral vibration of the table, Figure 17, enables this
machine to produce the common through and overlapping stitch, by which edges
are sewn together by hand, Figure 274, but which has not yet been produced

page_text: by machinery that I am aware of. The vibration, Figure 18, thrusts the
work over the needle point. The vertical vibration forms the folds, Figure 27.
Figure 29 is a machine to produce the same stitch by a helical pointed
needle, which in rotating passes through and over the edges sewn, Figures 24,
24, and when the cloth is presented as at 24 Figure, produces the common
handkerchief hemming stitch, such as is produced by bending the hem over
the finger, and passing the needle through the body of the cloth and the edge
of the hem, Figure 27ª.
In both these machines the guides are fixed on the table, as at M, and the.
cloth passed through them to receive the right fold, the difference being that
in Figure 16 the needle is stationary, and the table in passing up and down
presents fresh folds to its point, while the other parts of the machine draw the
cloth along over it, and by the lateral motion, Figure 17, present first the
single thickness, and then the body of the hem to be penetrated, or where two
edges are joined, as in Figure 27", to pass it first through and then beside the
edges, so that with the perpendicular motion they produce the through and
overlapping stitch, Figure 27, or where the vertical and lateral motion are
given to the point of the needle instead of the table, the body of the needle
does not rotate, while in Figure 29 the needle has a rotatory motion, and the
through and overlapping is performed by its helical point, Figure 24. The
needle is made to rotate by having a cap F to fit its eye end, and when this
cap is in two pieces, it leaves the needle freely. The driving pulley E passes a
cord round a guiding roller J, over the spindle pulley I, better seen at
Figure 31; this rotation may be produced by any other ineans.
The spindle
passes through its bearing H, and forward to the cap F. A sliding collar G,
part of which is then passed over F, carries it round with the spindle. The
grooved rollers D sustain the needle in its place, and with C draw the cloth
along over the needle, which is filled with the material, and then the collar G is
pushed back after the needle has been threaded through the hole in G. Fopens
and leaves the eye free. The cloth is drawn off over the eye, with the thread
run through it. As much thread as is required for the entire seam is drawn
through the first needleful of material, and the remainder through each
successive needleful, till it is all used. To facilitate the removal of the needle,
the top rollers C, D, may be made to lift up, and may bear on the lower
rollers by elastic pressure. This machine, like Figure 16, may have
two sides.
Figure 30 shews the means of varying the speed. A band or strap P
passes over two conical drums in reverse positions, and is moved backwards
and forwards along them by a sliding guide O. K' is a tension pulley, to

page_text: keep the band tight. The pressure is regulated by a weight at the end of its
lever, or its band if no lever is used. The proper guides being fixed to the
table, the cloth is passed through them and into the path of the needle, and
then going between the rollers C (which have a space between them for the
crumpled cloth, as seen in Figure 17, front view,) then along the needle to
its end. The rollers C, D, may gear into each other.
Figure 32 is a side view of a machine with two arms; several may be used
if required. A, frame; B, top spindle; C, bottom ditto, worked by wheels D, E,
gearing into each other or by any other means; F, G, the single top and bottom
works at one end; H, a needle frame, worked up and down in guides by a
crank at each end. I, a series of screws (corresponding to L, in Figures 1
and 2,) so that any number of needles may work at once, and their relative
distances be easily changed; J, the horizontal slide for moving the thread
cases, also worked by a crank at each end, the needles and thread cases being
adjusted to each other, so that the whole nove at once. The other move-
ments work simultaneously, so that one movement does the work of several
machines. This will make the machine useful for embroidering or for
wholesale work. If worked by power, a number of persons may be employed
at one machine. Instead of thread cases, loopers and under needles may be
attached to the slide or to the bottom spindle, and any lateral play produced
by a cam at the end of the spindle, which would move all the under works
together. Instead of the needles and under works being fixed in a certain
position in the slides H, J, they might have a changing position to produce
a pattern, and merely receive their vibratory motion from the slides H, J. Or
the under works may have a partly rotating motion round a spindle, as shewn in
Figure 35, which shews a looper or needle ready to enter the loop, and in
dotted lines having passed it, and shews a wheel A in dotted line, striking a
projecting pin a against an arm 6 at the end of the spindle. They may slide
along the spindle to be adjusted to the needles, and be made to partly rotate
with it by being screwed to it. The needle slide guiders may either be pushed
along another spindle at the top, or work in longitudinal V-slides, as shewn in
Figure 39. A, the top slide spindle or V-slide; B, collar bearing on it;
D, the socket, in which the needle slide is guided; C, the moving lever,
working to pattern, and having corresponding motion with a similar lever to
work the under works. In this case one feed motion may answer for the
whole machine. The pattern may also be produced by having separate
feeders, that may produce different patterns to each needle, by having a
lateral motion given to them as well as that given by the feed lever G,
Fig. 1. This angular feeding motion is shewn in Figure 38, where the

page_text: feeder B has its steadiers T, fitting loosely to admit of a motion at . ngle to
the line of feed given by G. A rocking spindle A presses at one end against
D, attached to B, and at the other end C against the pattern regulator.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, I do not confine myself
to the precise details, which may be varied to suit convenience; but 5
I claim,
1st, the improved needle slide feeder & presser, with the mode of working
them, and the eyelets arranged to vary the tension & slack of thread, sub-
stantially as described in Figs. 1, 2, 24, 2, 8, 15.
2nd, the revolving bobbin stand, which allows a number of threads to be 1
changed without removing the bobbins.
3rd, the shuttle and thread case, and the bearer D, described in Figs.
4, 6, 7, 8, 32, 36, 37.
4th, the frame described in Figs. 8, 82, 83, 86.
5th, the stitch produced by the shuttle passing through a loop of its own 1
thread and the needle thread, described Figs. 9 to 14.
6th, the stitches and guides described in Figs. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
26, 27, 28, 24ª, 27, 274.
7th, the machine described Figs. 16, 17, 18.
8th, the machine described Figs. 29, 30, 31, and the helical pointed needle 2
Figs. 24, 244, 29.
9th, the means of working the needle slide and under works, described
Figs. 8, 32, 88, 86, 87.
10th, the series of arms working variously, as described Fig. 32.
11th, the cop reelers, described Figs. 33, 34.
12th, the looper and under needle, described Figs. 33, 334.
And, lastly, whatever is included in this written description of my improve-
ments and not described in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Fletcher, have heretofore set my
hand and seal, this Second day of February 1860.
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