IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF YARNS AND FABRICS CONTAINING HORSEHAIR, AND IN MEANS OR METHODS FOR SHAPING AND UTILIZING FABRICS CONTAINING STIFFENING MATERIAL.
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Hayward, of Paterson, in the County of
Passaic, State of New Jersey, in the United States of America,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF YARNS
AND FABRICS CONTAINING HORSEHAIR, AND IN MEANS OR METHODS FOR
SHAPING AND UTILIZING FABRICS CONTAINING
STIFFENING MATERIAL.'
"
THE SAME OR ANALOGOUS
Sealed the 22nd April 1870, and dated the 1st March 1870.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry Hayward at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 1st March 1870, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
HAYWARD, of Paterson, in the County of Passaic, State of New Jersey,
in the United States of America, send greeting.
IN
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF YARNS AND FABRICS CONTAINING HORSEHAIR, AND
MEANS OR METHODS FOR SHAPING AND UTILIZING FABRICS CONTAINING THE SAME
OR ANALOGOUS STIFFENING MATERIAL," and have petitioned Her Majesty to

page_text: grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns,. Her Royal
Letters. Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that
I am the true and first Inventor thereof..
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Hayward, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following.
statement:
The first part of my Invention relates to the manufacture of hats
and like dishing forms. Hats and analogous articles have been made
heretofore by pressing up flat cloth or felt into the required shape by
_heated_dies.;_but_hats of such material are deficient in stiffness
unless strongly sized, and sized material is for several reasons less
valuable than material possessing the stiffness in itself. Hats have also
been made composed wholly or in part of hair cloth, and of other
materials in which hair forms a constituent part. But such are
objectionable in consequence of the labor involved in their manu-
facture.
.
In the Specification of a Patent granted to William Robert Lake,
as a communication from me, dated August 6th, 1868; and numbered
2465, is described a process of manufacturing what I call hair felt, in
which horsehair is incorporated in a loosely woven fabric, and then
embedded in the centre of a thickness of felt by applying the wool or
other felting material on both faces and subjecting it to the felting
operation. My felt thus made and sold in a flat condition has come
to be an important article of manufacture, and is known in the trade in
America under the name of Hayward's Patent hair felt. I have now
discovered that by subjecting this hair felt to the same treatment as has
been before applied to common felt, that is to say, pressing it into the
required convex form and holding it there for a little period with heat,
E am able to produce hats, caps, or parts of hats and caps, breasts,
corsets, bustles, hippers, shoulders, or other convex forms, or the convex
and stiff parts of such articles with very little labor and cost, and thereby
produce articles greatly superior in softness of surface and in general
appearance and also in stiffness or general texture, strength, and probable
durability to any before known to me. I treat my felt in a press. The
presses known as Simonet's and various others may be used with success.
I consider it necessary simply to strain the material into the required
'

page_text: form, and to hold it there firmly under heat, wetting, and otherwise
treating it in the same manner as in producing hats of ordinary felt.
The accompanying Drawings form a part of this Specification.
Fig. 1 is a side section of a. dome-shaped hat made according to my
Invention; Figure 2 is a central vertical section of a hat more nearly
of the ordinary angular style but low crown; Figure 3 is a side section
of a cap of a dome-shaped form. All these are made according to my
Invention Figure 2 represents also the dies in which the material is
compressed.
A second part of my Invention relates to certain new and useful
improvements in the manufacture of cords adapted to be used for
stiffening articles of dress. I employ horsehair as the material, and
conduct the manufacture in a peculiar manner, which insures a reversing
of a portion of the hairs, that is to say, the hairs are presented some
with their barbs towards one end of the cord and the remainder with
their barbs towards the other end of the cord, and the distribution is
very equal and general. The miscroscope and various physical tests
show that horsehair is indented, scaled, and barbed over its surface,
the points all being inclined from the roots and toward the outer ends
of the hairs. My Invention locks. the barbs together so that the
stiffening cord while possessing all the stiffness due to. the peculiar
material also possesses a greater tensile strength than has ever before
been attained with the use of such a material. I avoid entirely the
necessity for any other fibre being mixed with horsehair.. A covering
or wrapping may be employed or not as preferred.
Referring to the Drawings, Figure 4 is a section of the roving or
loose collection of horse hairs in the act of being drawn on the gills;
Figure 5 is a plan view of the same; Figure 6 is a view of two of
the hairs magnified showing their reverse arrangement relatively to
each other; Figure 7. shows the roving or sliver partly twisted..
The right hand extremity is twisted while the left has not yet been
twisted. Figure 8. shows the same completely twisted and half covered
with a fine covering yarn of cotton or analogous material.. Figure 9.
shows the yarn covered with an open spiral covering or lapping of fine
yarn. This mode of covering may serve very effectually and the
covering will require less material, and it may be laid on much more."
quickly than a full or close covering. Figure 10 shows a plan which
I have adapted for winding a loose covering. by winding. it over a

page_text: short tapering wire or needle which lies alongside of the yarn while
the covering is wound on. The covering is continually slipping off
from this needle, and thus by the covering being wound around not
the yarn alone but the yarn and the needle together the winding lies
loosely upon the yarn and allows the yarn afterwards to change its
form when necessary and be flattened by the calendering operation.
Figure 11 is a face view of a portion of my skirt showing the horse-
hair cords held at a little distance apart, either in pockets or intro-
duced as yarns of weft, as may be preferred. It will be understood
that when the yarns are introduced as weft they may be made to serve
with some success without covering or lapping. Similar letters of
reference indicate corresponding parts in all the Figures.
A is a sliver composed of horsehair loosely extended on gills G,
which are operated in connection with drawing rolls in the manner
ordinarily practised in the drawing and spinning of flax and analogous
long fibres. B is a sliver of similar material fed upon the same gills,
so that its fibres run alongside of and mingle with the fibres in sliver A.
Both are drawn together and form a single sliver D. I draw and
double my sliver as many times as may be desired. At each operation
I reverse the position of one of the slivers, that is to say, I take away
the sliver whether in a can, or ball, or cop or other approved means,
and rewind or recan it or otherwise operate in such a manner as to
allow the sliver to be drawn off, commencing at the end first put on.
For example, supposing the sliver to be coiled in a can like cotton
roving, I provide cans capable of being opened at either end, and
reverse the position of the can so as to draw it from what was originally
the foot or bottom of the can when the sliver is to be re-drawn. I
thus associate together two slivers, one of which is reversed relatively
to the other, that is to say, if from two cars I draw one sliver com-
mencing at what was originally the bottom of the can, and the other
sliver commencing at what was originally the top of the can, or
if taken from hollow balls I commence with one ball drawn from the
exterior of the ball and with the other ball, drawn from the interior
or from the hole in the centre of the ball. The horsehair may be
drawn and regulated as much as may be desired before reversing has
commenced. One reversing will pretty effectually distribute the hairs,
but two or three re-drawings, each time reversing the position of onc
of the slivers relatively to its mate insures a still more perfect distribu-

page_text: tion. The final sliver having the hairs thus distributed is spun by
ordinary or suitable spinning mechanism, and may be wound on
bobbins or otherwise stored to be subsequently used. My expériments
thus far have led me to prefer horsehair of all the irregular lengths in
which the material is found in commerce, distributing the ends, mingling
with it or not small quanties of other fibre, and twisting, covering,
or lapping in addition if preferred.
A third part of my Invention relates to the manufacture of skirts
for ladies' wear. I employ horsehair in my skirts in a new form. The
skirt approximates very closely in appearance and qualities to a skirt
having hoops of steel, but it avoids the liability of steel skirts to break,
rust, or become permanently and obstinately set. A lady may sit down
or otherwise double or bend my material without danger of either
injuring herself or her clothing. I employ horsehair in the form of
cords. The horsehair is held in the centre or body of the cord in a
nearly straight condition, and may be held together by a covering
wrapped around it which may be applied as above described. In short
the cords may be horsehair cords above described, they may be wound on
bobbins or otherwise suitably held to be introduced into the material of
the skirt in the act of weaving.
I can weave the skirt with pockets as described in the English Patent
of Thomas and Marsh in 1849, and in the several Patents for woven
skeleton skirts of later date, and can insert the horsehair cord in those
pockets either while the skirts are in the loom or after their removal there-.
from; but I do not confine myself to this method of manufacturing.
I can produce a good skirt by simply introducing the horsehair cords
at short intervals as yarns in filling, that is to say, I can operate the
harness and weave with ordinary filling of cotton, wool, or the like,
until a space, say, of a quarter of an inch is woven, and then introduce
one of the horsehair yarns. Then proceed weaving in the ordinary
manner with ordinary filling for a similar distance, and then introduce
another yarn.
To effect this the shuttle carrying the horsehair yarn
may be carried in a separate box and thrown across at intervals of
twelve or any other number of pricks, as will be well understood by those
accustomed to fancy weaving. I can nearly or quite enclose my horse-
hair cord by a body of weft by throwing the shuttle back and forward
so that several threads shall lie adjacent to it on each side if preferred,
as will be readily understood by weavers.

page_text: I esteem it important with reference to this part of my Invention to
employ a peculiar and novel means of calendering. In ordinary
calendering both sides of the goods may be made smooth or approxi-
mately so by reason of the uniformity of the thickness, but my goods
having the horsehair cords or horsehair yarns covered or uncovered
at intervals tend to be considerably thicker or ridged along those lines
where these yarns lie. Now in calendering I run the goods in contact
with a smooth iron or copper faced roller which is hard and adapted to
impress the proper glazed or calendered, surface, and I press against the
other side of the fabric with a rubber roller which will yield and allow
the yarns to be impressed therein. The result is a close approximation to.
absolute uniformity of surface on the outer or right side, and the ridges
whatever-they-may-be-are-all-on the inner or wrong side of the goods.
The advantage of my loose covering of the yarns in allowing my horse-
hair yarns to be flattened in the calendering operation will now be
appreciated. If the yarns are covered tightly they will maintain them-
selves rigidly in a round or nearly round condition however severely
they may be compressed in the calendering operation, but they are
wound, covered, or lapped loosely as indicated in Figure 10. The
covering while holding the horsehairs efficiently together opposes no.
considerable resistance to the flattening of the entire yarn, and in practice
when the several operations are conducted with experience and skill
the wrong side of the goods may be made nearly smooth. In other
words the ridges which my india-rubber rollers provide for may be so
flattened down under a suitable pressure as to be hardly visible.
I propose to use my stiffened material for all purposes, especially for
facings for dresses; stiffening for collars, cuffs, and other parts of coats,
but I prefer to describe it generally as applied to skirts because I esteem
this one of the most desirable applications. I can use my reversed and
plain horsehair yarns in their uncovered. condition to form strands,
which on laying together a proper quantity will form cords for the
purposes of ordinary cordage, or for any special purpose which may be
desired. Such cords are especially valuable in those situations where
wetting and and drying are liable to induce derangement by varying the
length of ordinary cordage. My yarn when made up entirely of horse-.
hair will not vary its length to any appreciable extent by wetting and
drying. As skirts are ordinarily made more stiffness is required around
the bottom than near the top. I propose to vary my skirts by putting

page_text: the horsehair cords closer together near the bottom and gradually
increasing the distance as the work proceeds. I propose to weave the
skirts in the proper form, narrower at the top, by using looms adapted
to such gored work, or otherwise as varied fashions may suggest.
A fourth part of my Invention relates to corrugated horsehair cloth,
felt, or other goods adapted for various uses, but. particularly for skirts.
I produce the goods as above described of horsehair, preferably in the
form of yarns covered or uncovered, mingled with cotton or other suitable
material, but preferably with woollen yarns of sufficient size to give
considerable stiffness additional to that derived from the horsehair,
especially near the top. I corrugate the material by hot surfaces after
it is taken from the loom.
Referring to the Drawings, Figure 12 is a cross section indicating the
general arrangement of my mechanism. I employ pipes of iron coated.
with copper and heated by steam. These pipes are arranged horizontally
in two series. One series C is stationary. The tubes E in the other
series lie.nearly parallel to those in the series C but opposite to the spaces
therein, and by preference inclined so that the corrugations will be great
at one edge of the goods and gradually diminishing will end at or near
the middle. The series of tubes E are moved up and down at intervals
by means of the screw F operated by a hand wheel not represented, or
by other suitable means. The connections by means of the cross beam M,
screw bolts m, and nuts m³, m², allow the parts to be readily separated
for repairs or adjustment. The woven or felted material is first wound
upon a roller H, the motion of which is restrained by friction or other
means, as will be readily understood. It is drawn off from this roller H
as required and passed between the series of tubes C & E while they
are opened, or, in other words, while the series E is raised. The material
which has been already treated is wound upon the roller I turned at
intervals by a hand crank, or by other means not represented.
Now suppose the material to be properly introduced, the screw F is
operated by turning it by the hand wheel, not represented, and the series
of tubes E is lowered into the position represented in the Figure. This
brings the woven material containing the horsehair and wool into the
proper corrugated form, and the heat received from the steam which it
will be understood constantly fills the interior of all the tubes gives a
permanent corrugation to the material. It will be understood that the
material has been previously wetted and is kept for a sufficient time in

page_text: a bent condition on the treated surfaces to properly impress the desired
degree of corrugation. If it is desired to corrugate deeper the screw F
must be turned further, and consequently the series of tubes E must be
held in a lower position to attain this end. So soon as this portion of
goods which is thus acted upon by the heated pipes is properly corrugated
the series of pipes E is raised and the roller I is turned to draw the
goods forward, thus bringing a fresh quantity of material between the
tubes, and when drawn forward to the proper extent it is again allowed
to rest, and the tubes E are again brought down to permanently impress
a proper degree of corrugation. It will be understood that a stiffening
size may be employed if preferred, and that any material capable of
being thus corrugated may be subjected to the treatment which forms
this_part_of_my-Invention-instead-of-my-horsehair fabric if preferred.
But I prefer the fabric formed by weaving the horsehair yarns with wool,
as before stated. Such material after being taken out from the
corrugating machine will assume a graceful convoluted form, even after
having been rolled upon the roller I for a long period, and it will
maintain its disposition to assume the convoluted form under all the
conditions to which it is subjected in use. It holds the dress in rich
folds or waves after it has been worn for a long period. A greater number
of horsehair cords and a different degree of corrugation can be employed
at the top or bottom of the skirt if preferred.
Referring again to the Drawings, Figure 13 is a perspective view of
my corrugated horsehair skirt complete; Figure 14 is a horizontal section
of the same.
I do not claim in this Patent anything set forth in the Patent to
William Robert Lake in 1868, No. 2465; but I claim as my Invention
and desire to secure by Letters Patent as follows :-
1st. Forming hats and analogous dishing shapes of horsehair material
or material containing horsehair, as specified.
2nd. Horsehair yarn or yarn containing horsehair twisted together, as
specified.
3rd. Reversing the positions of the horsehair in yarn or cord, sub-
stantially as and for the purposes specified.
4th. Horsehair yarn or cord covered in the manner and for the purposes a
specified.
5th. Skirts or analogous articles of dress formed with horsehair
or cords interwoven with other material as specified.
yarns

page_text: 6th. Corrugated skirt material, substantially as described.
7th. The corrugating apparatus having the steam pipes C and E
arranged and operated relatively to means for supplying, adjusting, and
taking away the material corrugated, as specified. .
8th. I claim calendering material having cords or analogous ridges
therein so as to present a smooth surface on one side by employing a
hard roller in connection with a roller of soft vulcanized rubber or
felt, cloth, paper, &c., which will allow the ridges to sink therein, as
specified
Witness,
Wч. C. DEY,
No. 3, Prospect Place,
Jersey City.
HENRY HAYWARD. (L.S.)