Improvements in Ladies' Cycling Skirts.
Year: 1896

page_text: Improvements in Ladies' Cycling Skirts.
I, MARTHA REDHOUSE, of No. 16, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, in the
Parish of Marylebone, in the County of London, Court Dressmaker, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in ladies' cycling skirts.
Ordinary walking skirts, when used for cycling, are too tight across the knees,
and, to some extent, restrict the free action of the limbs, whilst, at the same time,
there is a tendency for the skirt to ride up or shorten in the front in an ungraceful
manner.
Now, the object of the present invention is to so form the skirt at the front that
ample room will be provided for the movement of the rider's knees so that the
objections above pointed out will be avoided, whilst, at the same time, the skirt
will have the appearance of an ordinary walking skirt.
In carrying the invention into effect, the front width of the skirt is cut to greater
length than the side gores or breadths and the edges of the front width are curved
or cut on the bias.
In order to obtain seams of equal length between the side gores or breadths, and
the front width, the curved edges of the front width are gathered up and shrunk
until the meeting edges correspond in length with those of the side widths:
The effect of this arrangement is that when the several widths are sewn together
the front width will have a more or less imperceptible bulge, fulness, or enlargement
for the length of the curved edge, and in a position to receive the knees of the
rider so that there will be no tendency for the skirt to work up as heretofore, and
the limbs of the rider will have unrestricted freedom of movement.
By these means, some of the objections to cycling in skirts of the ordinary
appearance are avoided.
Dated this 1st day of April 1896.
VAUGHAN & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLE
Improvements in Ladies' Cycling Skirts.
I, MARTHA REDHOUSE, of No. 16, Hinde Street, Manchester Square, in the
Parish of Marylebone, in the County of London, Court Dressmaker, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My said invention relates to improvements in ladies' cycling skirts.
Ordinary walking skirts, when used for cycling, are too tight across the knees,
and, to some extent, restrict the free action of the limbs, whilst, at the same time,

page_text: invention.
Figure 2. is a plan of the front width and adjacent side gores separately.
Figure 3. is a similar view of the front width previous to its being united with
the side gores.
Figure 4. is a similar view of one of the side gores.
In the several figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
a. represents the front width of the skirt, b. represents the adjacent side gores or
widths, and c. represents the back widths or gores thereof.
According to the present invention, the front width a. of the skirt is cut to a
greater length than the side gores or widths b. and the edges a¹ of the front width a.
are curved or cut on the bias, as shown more particularly at Figure 3.
In order to obtain seams a² of equal length between the side gores or breadths b.
and the front width a. the curved edges a' of the front width a. are gathered up as
sbown at Figure 2.. and shrunk in any suitable way, for example, by damping the
parts and applying a hot iron thereto, previous to sewing the several parts of the
skirt together, until the meeting edges correspond in length with those of the side
widths b.
The effect of this arrangement is that when the several widths a. b. c. are sewn
together the front width a. will have a more or less imperceptible bulge, fulness or
enlargement a as represented at Figure 1 for the length of the curved edge a¹ and
in a position to receive the knees of the rider so that there will be no tendency for
the skirt to work up as heretofore, and the limbs of the rider will, at the same time,
have unrestricted freedom of movement.
By the means herein before described, a cycling skirt or habit is obtained of
virtually the ordinary appearance, but from which are absent some of the objections
commonly raised to cycling skirts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A cycling skirt provided with a bulge, fulness, or enlargement at the front,
substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.

page_text: 2. A cycling skirt provided with a bulge, fulness or enlargement at the front,
formed by cutting the front width of cloth with curved edges or on the bias and of
greater length than the adjacent side widths or gores, and gathering up and
shrinking the curved edges so as to produce a bulge, fulness or enlargement at the
front of the skirt, substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose.
stated.
Dated this 30th day of December 1896.
VAUGHAN & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.