IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SEWN BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE PRO
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Christmas Andrews, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Shoemaker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SEWN BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN MACHINERY TO BE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Christmas
Andrews at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 12th August 1871.
I, ALFRED CHRISTMAS ANDREWS, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Shoemaker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SEWN BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN
MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
My improvements in the manufacture of sewn boots and shoes consist
of the method or methods herein-after described in sewing the upper
leather and welt to the insole, and afterwards stitching the sole thereto.
Instead of cutting off a piece or bevilling the edge of the insole for
the purpose of attaching the upper leather and welt as usual 1 split or

page_text: divide the edge of the insole, and I raise the upper part of the split or
divided edge into an upright position, that is, at right angles to the
plane of the insole. The lower edge of the slit edge of the insole is
depressed, the edge of the last being rounded to permit of the said
depression. The upright portion of the slit edge of the insole forms a
medium for holding the boot or shoe while being sewn, the edge of the
upper leather being held in position during sewing by means of spring
clips instead of by the tacks ordinarily employed. The said upright
strip or edge of the insole serves as a guide for piercing the insole, and
the depression of the lower part of the divided edge of the insole prevents
risk of injury from the awl, needle, or hook during the stitching of the
sole to the welt, and permits the stitches to be put in much nearer to
the upper leather than is practicable without the depression of the lower
divided edge of the insole. Where the insole is too light to be slit in
the manner described I employ a separate strip of leather folded at its
middle so as to bring its two portions nearly at right angles. One side
of the strip is pasted to the edge of the insole, and the two portions
Before
present the same advantages as the split insole described.
stitching the sole to the insole and upper leather the upright portion
of split edge of the insole (or separate strip) and the edge of the welt
sewn thereto are bevilled to the same plane as the surface of the insole.
The sole is then stitched thereto, and the boot or shoe finised in the
ordinary way.
The sewing of the insole and upper leather and the stitching of the
sole thereto require to be effected by means of stitches of a peculiar
kind, which require to be made by a sewing machine differing from
ordinary sewing machines in the respects herein-after described.
My improvements in machinery to be employed in the manufacture
of boots and shoes consist of the following additions to or modifications
of sewing machines:-I employ two hooks or needles working in planes
at right angles to one another. One of these hooks is worked by a crank
and the other by an excentric from the same shaft. By the advance of
the first hook the parts to be sewn together are pierced, and on the
return motion of the said hook from the hole which it has formed a barb
near its end brings back a thread which had been stationed very nearly
in the line in which the sewing is to be effected, the said thread forming
a loop after the hook has liberated itself from the said thread. In the
loop thus formed by the first hook the second hook by its barbed end

page_text: draws through a thread, forming a second loop within the first; and on
the tightening of the thread of which the first loop is formed the said
first loop and the second loop contained within it are drawn into and
firmly fixed in the hole pierced by the first hook. The sewing is con-
tinued by a series of stitches of the kind described. The feeding is
effected by the ordinary intermittent feed motion. The work being
stitched requires to be held firmly, and is pressed by a presser which
tightens upon the work before every stitch, and relaxes in order to permit
of the feeding for the next stitch. This presser is capable of closing to
a greater or less extent to accommodate itself to the varying thickness
of the different parts to be sewn. The thread by which the first loop
is formed passes through a light looped arm or thread hooker, which
hooker rises and falls, falling to remove the thread from out the range
of the hook while it is performing its advancing or piercing motion,
and rising so as to bring the thread against the barbed end of the
hook before it begins to perform its return motion. Both the threads
employed are waxed threads.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Christmas Andrews in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 10th February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
CHRISTMAS ANDREWS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Shoe-
maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alfred Christmas Andrews, Her special
licence, that I, the said Alfred Christmas Andrews, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred Christmas
Andrews, 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 Isle of Man, an Invention for

page_text: $6
"
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SEWN BOOTS AND SHOES, AND IN
MACHINERY TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE SAID MANUFACTURE,' upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Christmas Andrews, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and 5
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 Alfred Christmas Andrews, do 1
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My improvements in the manufacture of sewn boots and shoes
consist of the method or methods herein-after described in sewing 1
the upper leather and welt to the insole and afterwards stitching the
sole thereto.
Instead of cutting off a piece or bevilling the edge of the insole for
the purpose of attaching the upper leather and welt as usual I split
or divide the edge of the insole, and I raise the upper part of the split 2
or divided edge into an upright position, that is, at right angles to the
plane of the insole. The lower edge of the slit edge of the insole is
depressed, the edge of the last being rounded to permit of the said
depression. The upright portion of the said slit edge of the insole.
forms a medium for holding the boot or shoe while being sewn; the 2
edge of the upper leather being held in position during sewing by means.
of spring clips, or by the tacks ordinarily employed. The depression
of the lower part of the divided edge of the insole prevents risk of
injury from the awl, needle, or hook during the stitching of the sole
to the welt and permits the stitches to be put in much nearer to the
upper leather than is practicable without the depression of the lower
divided edge of the insole. Where the insole is too light to be slit in
the manner described I employ a separate strip of leather folded at its
middle so as to bring its two portions nearly at right angles. One side of
the strip is pasted to the edge of the insole, and the two portions present
the same advantages as the split insole described. Before stitching the
sole to the insole and upper leather the upright portion of the split
edge of the insole (or separate strip) and the edge of the welt sewn

page_text: thereto are levelled to the same plane as the surface of the insole, the
sole is then stitched thereto and the boot or shoe finished in the
ordinary way.
The sewing of the insole and upper leather and the stitching of the
sole thereto are by preference effected by means of stitches of a
peculiar kind, and which stitches are made by a sewing machine
differing from ordinary sewing machines in the respects herein-after
described. The sewing and stitching, may, however, be effected by the
ordinary chain stitch.
My improvements in machinery to be employed in the manufacture
of boots and shoes consist of the following additions to or modifications
of sewing machines :-I employ two hooks or needles working in planes
at right angles to one another. These hooks are worked from the
same shaft. By the advance of the first hook the parts to be sewn
together are pierced, and on the return motion of the said hook from
the hole which it has formed a barb near its end brings back a thread
which had been stationed very nearly in the line in which the sewing
is to be effected, the said thread forming a loop after the hook has
liberated itself from the said thread. In the loop thus formed by the
first hook the second hook by its barbed end draws through a thread
forming a second loop within the first, and on the tightening of the
thread of which the first loop is formed the said first loop and the
second loop contained within it are drawn into and firmly fixed in
the hole pierced by the first hook. The sewing is continued by a series
of stitches of the kind described. The feeding is effected by an inter-
mittent feed motion. The work being stitched requires to be held
firmly and is pressed by a presser which tightens upon the work before
every stitch and relaxes in order to permit of the feeding for the next
stitch. The thread by which the first loop is formed passes through a
light looped arm or thread hooker, which hooker rises and falls, falling
to remove the thread from out the range of the hook while it is per-
forming its advancing or piercing motion, and rising so as to bring
the thread against the barbed end of the hook before it begins to
perform its return motion. Both the threads employed are waxed
threads.
Having explained the nature of my Invention I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in which the

page_text: My improvements in the manufacture of boots and shoes are illustrated
in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6,
Figure 1 represents in cross section the upper leather, welt, and insole
of a boot and shoe upon a last, arranged according to my Invention
ready to be sewn; Figure 2 represents the same ready to receive the
sole; and Figures 3 and 4 represent the sole applied thereto before and
after stitching. In Figure 1 the parts are represented separated from
one another for the purpose of better exhibiting their arrangement.
Figure 5 represents a cross section of the insole detached from the
last.
In the said Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, a is the insole; b, c, the divided
edge of the insole; d, the upper leather; and e, the welt; f is the last.
The upper part 6 of the split edge of the insole a is raised at right
angles to the said insole, and the lower edge c is depressed on to the
rounded edge of the last f, as seen in the Drawing. The work is held
while being sewn by the upper part 6 of the split insole together with
the welt and upper leather. The upper leather d is secured in its place
during the sewing by spring clips or by tacks. The upper leather d
and welt e are secured to the insole a by a waxed thread passed through
them by means of a curved needle or hook in the manner indicated
by the dotted lines in Figure 1. The curved hook or needle used for
this purpose is represented of the full size at g, Figure 2, and is one
of the hooks or needles worked in the machine herein-after described.
In Figure 2 the stitches are represented at h passed through the insole,
welt, and upper leather. After the parts have been thus sewn together
the projecting part 6 of the insole a and the ends of the upper leather d
and welt e are clipped or levelled to a line with the bottom of the insole
a, as seen in Figure 2. The sole i, Figure 3, is then applied and stitched
to the welt e in the manner represented in Figure 4, the stitches by
which the sole i is stitched to the welt being marked k. The curved
needle or hook used for stitching the sole is represented of the full size
at 1, Figure 4. This needle or hook is one of the needles used in the
machine herein-after described. The ordinary channel m (see Figure 3)
is made in the under side of the sole, through which channel the needle /
passes in stitching the sole i to the welt e.
Figure 4 represents the sole and welt in the positions they occupy in
the finished boot or shoe.

page_text: Figure 6 represents that arrangement of my Invention in which a
separate folded or bent strip of leather is used in place of slitting the
edge of the insole as before described. In the said Figure 6 a is the
insole, and b, c, the folded or bent strip of leather, the upright part 6
5 of which is pasted to the raised edge a² of the insole while the lower
part c lies against the rounded edge of the last. The upper leather
and welt are sewn to the insole, Figure 6, in the manner previously
described with respect to a split insole.
Instead of connecting the parts of the boots and shoes together by
means of stitches produced by the machine hercin-after described, the
said parts may be sewn or stitched together by means of the ordinary
chain stitch. By constructing or arranging the edge of the insole
in the ways described and represented the insole, upper leather, and
welt are very firmly united together.
My improvements in sewing machines to be used in the manufacture
of boots and shoes are represented in Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11ª, 12, 13,
14, 15, and 16.
Figure 7 represents a side elevation of a machine, Figure 8, a plan,
and Figure 9 a front elevation of the same; Figures 10 to 16, both
inclusive, represent detached parts of the machine, as herein-after-
explained. The same letters and figures of reference indicate the same
parts in Figures 7 to 16.
The work to be sewn is held by three arms, one fixed and two
moveable. a represents the lower moveable arm; b, the lower fixed
arm, and c, the upper moveable arm or presser. The work is supported.
on the ends of the fixed lower arm 6 and moveable arm a, and pressed'
thercon by the moveable upper arm or presser c. After a stitch has
been taken and the work has to be moved, the upper moveable arm c
rises so as to relax its hold on the work, when the moveable arm, a
turning upon the centre a² slightly lifts the work from the fixed arm b,:
and then advances it in the direction in which the sewing is being:
effected, and through a distance equal to the length of one stitch. The.
work being operated upon is on the last, and the last is guided by.
the hand.
The sewing is effected by two waxed threads situated on opposite sides
of the work to be sewn. The thread on the upper side of the work
passes over, the arm or presser c, as herein-after described, while the
second waxed thread on the under side of the work is in a line per-

page_text: pendicular to the plane of the insole. The last-named thread is supplied
from a reel at any convenient part of the machine, and passes through
a guide at a point near where the stitch is to be formed. The two
hooks or needles used in the machine are marked respectively d and f,
and move at right angles to one another. The hook d is curved, and
the hook fis for the greater part of its length straight. The curved
The said
hook d works in a vertical plane turning on the centre e.
hook d is pointed and has a barb near its end. The end of the hook d
in rising pierces the work to be sewn, and on returning draws the waxed
thread situated on the upper surface of the work to the under surface
of the work, thereby forming a loop. The said thread passes over the
upper surface of the arm or presser c and through a hole near the end
of the said arm or presser, the point of the hook or needle d passing
through the hole in the arm or presser to engage itself with the thread.
While the loop is still held by the barbed end of the hook d the straight
hook or needle ƒ advances in a horizontal plane, and passing through the
loop held by the hook d takes hold of by its barbed end the second
waxed thread on the under side of the work and at right angles to the
waxed thread from which the loop was made by the hook d. The hook f
returns bringing with it a loop, which passes through the loop formed
by the hook d. The hook d by a slight forward motion loosens its hold
on the first loop, and the thread passing over the arm or presser c is
tightened so as to draw the second formed loop into the hole in the work
pierced by the hook d. This tightening of the thread of the first loop
is effected by the mechanism represented in Figures 13 and 14, where g
is the thread passing through holes in the arms h and round a roller k.
The parts h, k, turn upon an axis i, and by an oscillating motion given
to the axis & the thread 9 is tightened at the required times.
In order to bring the thread by which the first loop is formed in the
required position to escape the hook d while it is making its piercing
motion, and to be engaged with the hook before it begins to perform
its return motion, the upper arm or presser c is provided with the
mechanism represented in elevation in Figures 7 and 11. 7 is a guide
lever or thread hooker turning on the centre m. The thread passes over
the front of the guide lever or thread hooker 7, and through a hole at its
end. By an oscillating motion given to the said hooker the thread is
carried below the hole in the end of the presser c while the hook d
advances. Before the return of the hook d the looper / by its motion

page_text: raises the thread across the hole in the end of the presser c pressing the
said thread against and underneath the hook d, which in returning
carries the said thread with it by its barb to form the first loop, as before
described. After the tightening of the thread by the mechanism h, i, k,
Figures 13 and 14, the operations described are repeated until the whole
of the sewing has been effected. The several motions of the moving
parts of the machine are effected in the following manner :-o is the
main shaft of the machine carrying the several cams p, q, r, r², s, t,
and u.
The feeding mechanism is worked as follows:-The arm or presser c
turns on the centre c³, and is worked by the camp, the said cam lifting
the set screw p³ carried by the inner arm c² of the said presser c. The
mechanism is shown detached in Figure 11. The lower moveable
arm a is worked from the cams s and t, as best seen in the detached
parts represented in elevation and plan in Figure 10, the cams s effecting
the slight lifting of the work preparatory to the advancing motion of
the arm a, and the cam t effecting the said advancing motion of the
arm a. The manner in which the cams s, t, act upon the projecting
parts of the inner end of the arm a will be readily understood by an
examination of Figure 10.
The mechanism for working the curved hook d is represented detached
in elevation and plan in Figure 12. The motion of the curved hook d
upon the centre e is effected by the connecting rod jointed to the
slide w, the said slide carrying a roller w² which engages in the groove x
in the box cam r.
The outer end of the rod v is connected in the
manner represented to the lever d², carrying at its bottom the curved
hook d. The centre e on which the needle bar or lever d² turns is
carried by the bracket d³ fixed to the cross head y of the machine.
The arrangement for giving motion to the horizontal hook or needle f
is shewn detached in elevation in Figure 15, and plan in Figure 16.
The horizontal hook fis carried on the end of the needle bar or lever f
turning on the centre f³, the motion of the said needle bar or lever f
being taken from the cam 2 in the undulating slot q2, in which a
roller on the end of the lever or needle barf takes, the said undulating
slot q² giving the required motion to the hook f
The tension mechanism by which the tightening of the thread of the
first made loop is effected is shewn detached from the machine in
clevation in Figure 13, and plan in Figure 14. The said tension

page_text: mechanism is fixed on the cross head y, the position of the axis i of the
oscillating arms and roller h, k, being shown in the plan, Figure 8.
The lower end of the axis i carries a short arm or lever connected with
the slide 2 by means of a connecting rod 3, a roller 4 on the end of
the slide 2 engaging in a slot 5 in the face of the cam on the main
shaft o.
The motion of the cam 2 is transmitted through the slide 2,
rod 3, and lever z, to the axis i, and an oscillating motion given to the
said axis and parts h, k, carried by it at the proper times for tightening
the thread g.
The said cam u has
end of the lever 6,
By means of a con-
the required motion is
The mechanism for working the guide lever or thread hooker / situated
on the presser c of the feeding arrangement is represented in side
elevation and plan detached from the machine in Figures 11 and 11ª,
and is worked from the cam u on the main shaft o.
a projection u² on its face, which acts upon the
turning it at the required times upon its centre 7.
necting rod 8 jointed to the head of the hooker
transmitted from the part u² of the cam u to the said hooker, as will be
understood by an examination of the Drawing. The waxed threads by
which the sewing and stitching are effected are fed into the machine
warm, the said threads being warmed by any of the methods ordinarily
employed for that purpose.
The Diagram Figure 17 illustrates the construction of the lock stitch
made by the machine already described. In the said Diagram the
waxed threads are represented separated from one another for the
purpose of better exhibiting the construction of the stitch, but it must
be understood that the looped and doubled parts of the threads are
compressed closely together in the hole pierced by the first or curved
hook d. The loop made from the waxed thread p by the operation of
the first or curved hook d is marked n, and the other loop made from
the waxed thread r, and drawn through the loop n by the operation of
the second or horizontal hook fis marked q, the tightening of the loop n
when part of it is situated below the work, drawing (and at the same
time doubling) the second loop q contained within the first into the hole
in the work pierced by the first or curved hook d, thereby filling up the
said hole in the work, the doubled part of the loop wedging itself
closely in the said hole. The part of the loop 2 which is doubled or
hooked as it were upon the tightened first loop is marked q², the said
doubled or hooked part q² of the loop q forming the lock of the stitch.

page_text: By this construction of stitch a larger thread than the thread of the
chain stitch, is firmly secured in each hole, and the connection between
the stitches in the channel or groove in the sole is only about one-fourth
as large as that required for the chain stitch, thereby requiring a much
smaller recess to bury the thread in the sole.
The machinery berein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings is applicable to the sewing and stitching of boots and
shoes, the parts of which are arranged in the ordinary manner as well as
to boots and shoes the parts of which are arranged according to my
Invention.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do
not limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated,
as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of my
Invention; but I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly. The improvements in the manufacture of sewn boots and
shoes herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 6, both
inclusive, of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, splitting or
dividing the edge of the insole, the upper divided edge being raised into
an upright position, and the lower divided edge being depressed over the
rounded edge of the last for the purpose of facilitating the sewing of the
upper leather and welt to the insole, as described, or using for the same
purpose a separate folded strip of leather secured to the insole when the
insole is too light to be slit or divided, the sewing of the upper leather
and welt to the insole and the stitching of the sole to the welt being
effected in the manner and by the use of stitches of the kinds described.
Secondly. The improvements in machinery for sewing and stitching
boots and shoes herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 7 to 16
both inclusive of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, the com-
bination in a machine for sewing and stitching boots and shoes of two
needles or hooks working in planes at right angles to one another, the
said needles or hooks effecting the sewing or stitching by means of two
waxed threads, the working of the said needles or hooks, substantially in
the manner described and illustrated, producing a lock stitch of the kind
represented in Figure 17.
Also the combinations or arrangements of parts described and illus-
trated for working the said needles or hooks.

page_text: Also the combination or arrangement of parts described and illustrated
for feeding the work being sewn or stitched.
Also the combination or arrangement of parts of the tension
mechanism for tightening at the proper times the thread of the first
formed loop.
Also the combination or arrangement of the parts of the guide lever or
thread hooker herein-before described and illustrated.
And, further, the general arrangement or combination of the several
parts into a machine for sewing and stitching boots and shoes as described
and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Christmas Andrews, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Third day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
ALFRED CHRISTMAS ANDREWS. (L.S.)