IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ELASTIC FABRICS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Archibald Turner, of Leicester, India-rubber Manu-
facturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
ELASTIC FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Archibald Turner at the
Office of. the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, .on the 27th
March 1855. .
I, ARCHIBALD TURNER,. of Leicester, India-rubber Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF ELASTIC FABRICS to be as follows: >
The particular kind of elastic fabrics to which my Invention is intended.to
be applied is the elastic web or band, which is usually adapted to gloves, socks,
stockings, and other similar articles, for the purpose of causing the top: or.
upper ends thereof to bind round and fit the limb properly, and comfortably
The elastic fabric, is, usually made separately, and is either sewn on to the
glove or other article after it has been made, or the glove may be made on the

page_text: elastic fabric by passing the needles of the knitting machine through the selvage
of the elastic band, and proceeding with the knitting operation. When the
latter plan is adopted with elastic bands made in the ordinary way, the band
will not be flat when the article is completed, but is liable to turn back and
gape open, and present a very unsightly and ugly appearance.
Now, the object of this Invention is to obviate this defect, and this is effected
by a novel mode of manufacturing the elastic fabric. The india-rubber strands
and non-elastic threads which form the warp of the elastic fabric are arranged
in the ordinary way, but instead of the weft threads being passed regularly
round all the strands, one of the outer strands of india-rubber, together with
its accompanying non-elastic threads, is bound in by only every alternate weft
thread, thereby forming a kind of false selvage between the outermost and
second elastic strand, and leaving openings to receive the points of the needles
of the knitting machine by which the glove or other article is intended to be
made. It will now be seen that a kind of inner selvage will be made round
the second india-rubber strand, and that the outer strand is only held by every
alternate thread. In order to assist in forming suitable openings for the
needles, I sometimes also employ a thick cotton or other warp thread in
connection with the last india-rubber strand, and this cotton thread after being
woven in is subsequently drawn, and leaves plenty of space for the needles.
By weaving or manufacturing the elastic web in this manner the outer selvage
is thrown somewhat on one side, so that when the glove is made on the elastic
band the latter will lie parallel with the body of the glove, and flatter than
when the band is made in the ordinary way.
In making the elastic band in the ordinary way, great care is required to
prevent the weft binding the outer strand too tightly, otherwise some difficulty
will be experienced in placing the elastic band on the needles of the knitting
machine. For the purpose of facilitating this object the fabric is woven with
a very slight draught on the weft thread, but even with the greatest care the
fabric will frequently not be even when made, whereas by my improvement,
supposing six elastic strands are used, I weave up five together in the ordinary
way,
the sixth being added at the side with its cotton filler, warp thread, and
other non-clastic threads, and is attached to the main fabric only by every
alternate weft thread. The draught upon the weft is not, therefore, very
important, as all the warp threads and strands may be bound together, and the
requisite openings for the needles produced, as before mentioned, by drawing
out the cotton filler, leaving exposed the holes left by dropping the alternate
weft threads.

page_text: Sometimes I find it convenient and advisable to have two weft threads
round the inner selvage for every one round the outer strand, and by this
means I obtain a better opening for the needle points; but I do not wish to
confine myself to this arrangement, as the object I have in view is merely
to drop occasional weft threads, so that the additional strand may be bound
or attached to the elastic band by occasional wefts instead of causing every
weft thread to pass round all the strands, as is now the case.