Improvements in Appliances for Trimming, Guiding, and Folding Hosiery or other Soft Fabric, Applicable to Sewing Machines.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Feb., 1887
Complete Left, 19th Nov., 1887
Complete Accepted, 20th Dec., 1887
Improvements in Appliances for Trimming, Guiding, and Folding
Hosiery or other Soft Fabric, Applicable to Sewing Machines.
I CHARLES CRESSWELL 5 Hawkridge Street Nottingham in the County of
Nottinghain Mechanic do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN TRIMMING GUIDING AND FOLDING HOSIERY AND OTHER FABRICS to be as
follows:-
My invention relates Firstly, to a Trimmer or shiving attachment to Sewing Machines
acting simultaneously with the Needle Bar, Trimming the Fabric as the sewing is
completed, the trimmer or shiver is a single cutting Blade attached to the Needle
Bar or to a Lever actuated by the Needle Bar or other mechanical movement the
cutting edge of the Trimmer being shaped to allow the Fabric to advance with the
Feed, when the Trimmer is at its highest movement.
My invention Secondly relates to a fine slot in the Presser Foot, and a corre-
sponding one in the Cloth Plate through which the Trimmer passes while the Foot
has a firm hold of the Fabric trimming of the portion not required.
Thirdly, this part of my invention relates to a combined double Foot working side
by side each having a separate Presser Rod and spring or where one Presser Rod is
used it carries a sleeve to which one part of the Foot is attached, and is acted upon
by a second Presser spring, so that each Foot, acts automately together, or, seperately
the advantage of the combined double Foot, is that it Atomaticly acts for an ordinary
Presser Foot where an even number of layers are required to be sewn and trimmed,
also for any varied thickness of Fabric such as Welts for Hosiery, or other soft
Fabric, that is to say while one part of the combined Double Foot, has a firm hold
on two, three, or more layers of Fabric the other part, has a firm hold on one layer.
Fourthly, the innerside of that part of the Combined Double Foot holding the
single layer of Fabric, automaticly acts as an edge guide for the two three or more
layers of folded Fabric under the other part of the combined double Foot.
Fifthly, I work the Trimmer inside the Feed so that the feed takes away the
trimmed of portion simultaneously with that of the fabric.

page_text: Sixthly, this part of my invention relates to a folder, for Welts in Hosiery or other
like folds adjustable to any width at the will of the opperator for this I use a
moveable middle blade or guide, passed between the folds by the opperator the
blade is carried by a bracket provided with slots, and is secured to the Cloth Plate by
screws.
is
By this combination of parts, simplicity of action with
economy of space
secured, while increased facilities with a less amount of Machinery, is required for
the opperations of the attendant.
1 L 171 1
1
1007

page_text: Improvements in Appliances for Trimming, Guiding, and Folding
Hosiery or other Soft Fabric, Applicable to Sewing Machines.
I CHARLES CRESSWELL 5 Hawkridge Street Nottingham Mechanic 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 :-
Shows a plan of the cloth plate of the machine with the relative position
of a cutting blade and
Figure 5 a plan of a double foot each severally referred to hereafter.
The corresponding parts in each Figure are indicated by the same letters where
necessary.
In carrying out my invention I employ a cutting blade A the upper end of which
is attached by means of a bracket A¹ to the lower end of the vertical needle bar of
the sewing machine, the cutting edge which faces the front of the machine is
inclined downwards and backwards, such shape allows the fabric to be trimmed to be
traversed towards the cutting edge by the feeding bar D³ when the cutting blade is
at its highest position, the lower pointed end of the blade lies within a narrow slot in
the right half of the presser foot C and also within a slot in the cloth plate D, within
the last named slot between its left edge and the left side of the cutting blade a thin
strip of hardened steel lies, this strip projects from the upper side of a plate D¹,
which lies close to the underside of the cloth plate to which it is secured by two
pins D³, and D³, the plate D¹ rocks upon the pin D and is slotted at D³ so as to
allow the right side of the thin strip to be pressed up to the left side of the cutting
blade A by a bent spring D' which with the plate D₁ is shown by dotted lines at
Figure 4, the cutting blade shown in section is kept sharp by the steel strip being
pressed against it.
The left half of the presser foot B₁ and the right half C form a combined double
foot working side by side, each being carried by a seperate presser rod and
arranged as follows;―
The lower end of the usual presser rod is provided with an arm B below which
is secured a bracket to which a presser foot B¹, is hinged the rod bracket and foot
are pressed down in the usual way by a coiled spring which lies in a cavity formed
in the bearing bracket the lower end of the spring bears upon a plunger which

page_text: slides in the cavity and which receives the inner end of a pin B³ screwed through
the presser rod, the plunger and spring are not shown in the drawings being of the
same shape as those usually employed.
The arm B is free to slide at its left end vertically on the presser rod and is pressed
down by a spring B' helically coiled round the presser rod below the bearing bracket,
the arm at its right end is secured to a vertical rod C which slides in a sleeved
bracket C secured to the right side of the bearing bracket, below the arm B the
rod C¹ has a bracket secured to it to which the presser foot C is hinged provided with
a slot through which the cutter blade passes, by such arrangement each half of the
presser foot acts automatically together or separately. By thus working the cutting
blade inside the feed, the feed takes away the trimmed off portion simultaneously with
that of the fabric.
The advantage of the combined double foot is that it acts as an ordinary presser
foot where an even number of thicknesses of fabric are required to be sewn and
trimmed or it will hold down varied thicknesses of fabric, such as welts for hosiery or
other soft fabrics.
That is to say while the left half B¹ of the double foot is holding down two three or
more thicknesses of fabric the right half C will hold down one or more thicknesses of
fabric, the left side of the foot C acts as an edge guide for the two three or more
thicknesses of fabric under the foot B¹. The combined double foot is shown in the
drawings as held up by the cam lever B³.
When making a welt or hem on hosiery or other soft fabric I employ a slotted
bracket or plate E secured to the cloth plate by screws the plate is provided with a
blade E hinged to it under which the selvige or edge of the fabric is placed and
over which the folded portion of the fabric passes to the feeding surfaces of the bar D³
and the combined double foot between which it is firmly held while the cutting blade
operates.
The plate E and blade E¹ are capable of adjustment according to the depth of
welt or hem required by means of the screws.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1st. For the arm B carried by the rod C sliding in a sleeved Bracket C the
presser foot B¹ the spring B' and presser foot C provided with a slot C³ sub-
stantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in the Drawings.
2nd. For the steel plate D' screws D* and D³, the screw and spring D' for
pressing the edge of the plate up to the cutting blade A substantially as described
and illustrated in the Drawings annexed.
3rd. For the right half of the feeding surface of the bar D³ working outside the
right side of the cutting blade A substantially as described.
4th. For the combination of the blade E¹ with the combined double foot B and C
and cutting blade A with the plate D' and spring D¹.
Dated this Eighteenth day of November 1887.