Improvements in the Manufacture of Compound Fabrics Suitable for Dresses, Table Covers, Curtains, and like Articles.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Nov., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 13th Aug., 1891-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Compound Fabrics Suitable for
Dresses, Table Covers, Curtains, and like Articles.
I, JACOB STEIGER-MEYER of Herisau, Switzerland, Embroiderer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to produce compound woven fabrics having a
novel and peculiar character, and suitable for conversion, amongst other things,
into ladies' dresses, antimacassars, table cloths, and curtains.
It is well known that fabrics woven in the loom, although admitting of varied
ornamentation, can only present, in a limited degree, different characteristics or
contrasts, as, for example, satin stripes on a plain or contrasting colored ground,
owing to the necessity for carrying the weft thread from selvage to selvage, and
the warps from end to end of the piece.
Moreover, the cost of weaving is enhanced by the variation introduced into the
fabric, irrespective of the amount of surface that the introduced variation occupies
in the woven fabric, even if the mechanical difficulty of beating up the work could
be overcome
Now in carrying out my invention, I propose to select such goods as may be
found in the market suitable for my purpose, and, in the case of wide goods, to cut
them up into strips ready for uniting with assorted and contrasted strips in the
manner to be presently explained. Or, I may take narrow selvage goods, such
as ribbons, and unite them in like manner to produce my compound fabric. Thus,
for example, I take textile fabrics of a dissimilar character, such as linen, silk,
cotton or wool, or of a dissimilar color or condition, and unite them by open work
in place of the ordinary seaming which has been used in producing patch-work,
and in inserting contrasting strips into ladies' skirts and dresses.
In the case of narrow selvage goods, I take any given number of lengths or pieces of
well-contrasted ribbons, say, velvet ribbon and satin, or ribbed ribbon, of the same or
varying colors, and I connect together the selvages of adjacent pieces by open-
work stitching, so as to produce a combined fabric of any desired width, preferring
the manner of working, which I will now explain.
Suppose two ribbons are to be connected by open work, I lay these ribbons face
to face, and insert between them a strip of straw board or equivalent material,
which admits of being readily pierced by the sewing machine needle, and of being
afterwards broken away from the stitches. The edges of the two fabrics and the
board I bring into line, and sew through the three thicknesses with a silk or other
thread, setting the stitches some th of an inch within the work. When a length
of this stitching has been effected, I open out the work, and break away the strips
of board in the line of the piercings of the needle, leaving the fabrics connected
together by the open stitches. The space between the united fabrics will be
determined by the thickness of the board employed.
Or, in place of the board, I may use a filling piece of slotted metal or other
material, the needle passing through the slot of the filling piece, and the seam, as
it is formed, being drawn out through the open end of the slot.
When a given length of seam has been completed, I proceed to add a third
ribbon, connecting this by stitches, as before, to the compound fabric and then a
fourth ribbon, and so on, until the required width of piece goods is obtained.
When uniting fabrics of a different class which have been woven in widths and
cut up into strips, I proceed in the same manner, but as, in this case, selvages will

page_text: be wanting, there will be folded-over edges, which will appear at the back of the
compound fabric; these edges I secure by lines of sewing to complete the fabric.
Dated this 14th day of November 1890
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Compound Fabrics Suitable for
Dresses, Table Covers, Curtains, and like Articles.
I JACOB STEIGER MEYER of Herisau, Switzerland, Embroiderer, 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:-
The object of this invention is to produce compound woven fabrics having a
novel and peculiar character, and suitable for conversion, amongst other things,
into ladies' dresses or the borders of under skirts. This compound fabric may also
be used for antimacassars, table cloths, and curtains, or parts of the same.
It is well known that fabrics woven in the loom, although admitting of varied
ornamentation, can only present, in a limited degree, different characteristics or
contrasts, as, for example, satin stripes on a plain or contrasting colored ground,
owing to the necessity for carrying the weft thread from selvage to selvage, and
the warps from end to end of the piece.
Moreover, the cost of weaving is enhanced by the variation introduced into the
fabric, irrespective of the amount of surface that the introduced variation occupies
in the woven fabric, even if the mechanical difficulty of beating up the work could
be overcome.
Now, in carrying out my invention, I propose to select such goods as may be
found in the market suitable for my purpose, and, in the case of wide goods, to cut
them up into strips ready for uniting with assorted and contrasted strips, in the
manner to be presently explained. Or, I may take narrow selvage goods, such as
ribbons, and unite them in like manner to produce my compound fabric. Thus, for
example, I take textile fabrics of a dissimilar character, such as linen, silk, cotton,
or wool, or of a dissimilar color or condition, and unite them by open work in place
of the ordinary seaming which has been used in producing patch-work, and in
inserting contrasting strips into ladies' skirts and dresses.
In the case of narrow selvage goods, I take any given number of lengths or
pieces of well contrasted ribbons, say, velvet ribbon and satin, or ribbed ribbon, of
the same or varying colors, and I connect together the selvages of adjacent pieces
by open-work stitching, so as to produce a combined fabric of any desired length
and breadth, preferring the manner of working which I will now explain.
Suppose two ribbons are to be connected by open work, I lay these ribbons face
to face, and insert between them a strip of straw board or equivalent material,
which admits of being readily pierced by the sewing machine needle, and of being
afterwards broken away from the stitches. The edges of the two fabrics and the
board I bring into line, and sew through the three thicknesses with a silk or other
thread, setting the stitches someth of an inch within the work. This mode of
working is illustrated in the accompanying drawings at Fig. 1, which shews two
narrow selvage fabrics with an interposed board connected together by lock stitch
sewing, the needle being passed through the board and the two fabrics between
which it is interposed.
When a length of this stitching has been effected, I open out the work, and
break away the strips of board in the line of the piercings of the needle, leaving
the fabrics connected together by the open stitches, as illustrated at Fig. 2.
The open work between the united strips will be determined by the thickness of
the board employed in holding them apart from each other during the sewing
operation.

page_text: Figs. 3 shew in front and back view, the new work produced from strips of
woven fabric with raw edges. In this example it will be seen that after the
joining, the raw edges are turned in at the back after the manner of forming a
hem, and that the hem is then secured by stitching after the usual manner.
In place of the straw board above mentioned and illustrated at Fig. 1, I may
use a filling piece of slotted metal or other material, the needle passing through
the slot of the filling piece, and the stitches, as they are formed, being drawn out
through the open end of the slot.
This mode of working is illustrated at Figs. 4 and 5, Fig. 4 being a plan view
of a portion of the table of a sewing machine with an attachment applied for
holding the strips apart while the joining seam is being made; Fig. 5 is a section
of the same in the line 1, 1 of Fig. 4, shewing the position of the strips while being
sewn.
In these figures, a is a plate, the ends of which fit into guides in the table of the
machine. Made fast to this plate, and overlying it, is a spring b, to which two
blocks c and d are attached, the same standing out at right angles from the
spring. These blocks, which are on the same level, stand slightly apart, to make
a free passage for the uppermost of the two fabrics to travel through, as the work
is fed away from the sewing machine needle. The block c is pierced to allow of the
needle passing down through it, and the needle hole is extended in the direction of
the feed, to join the space between the two blocks. A stud on the plate d, set opposite
this slot, serves as a guide to the attendant in guiding the course of the work. eandf
are the strips of fabric to be joined; the lower strip e is laid under the blocks c
and d with its face uppermost, and the strip is laid over the block " and passed
under the block d with its back uppermost; the inner or right hand edge of the
strips lies, say, a to of an inch to the right of the needle hole, thus leaving
ample margin for turning in, to form the hem.
Fig. 6 is an underside view of the blocks cd, detached from the plate a, the
object being to shew the slot from the needle hole in the block c, and the clearance
groove made in the under side of the block d, for the passage of the line of
stitches.
Fig. 7 shows a portion of the border of an under skirt made according to my
invention, and finished off at the bottom with a lace edging. From this example it
will be understood how a complete skirt, shewing any desired variety in the
character and color of the fabrics combined to produce it, may be manufactured.
In the production of curtains, as well as under skirts, it may be desirable to limit
the use of the compound fabric to a horizontal border of any desired depth,
embodying such compound fabric with a woven or knitted fabric of any ordinary
texture. From the above explanation it will be readily understood, that not only
contrasting textures may be brought together into one fabric, but a variety of
colors may be combined, with the result of a brilliancy not hitherto attainable by
the process of weaving, the continuance of the warp threads through the fabric
greatly detracting from the purity of color of contrasting weft threads, from their
unavoidable appearance on the face of the fabric.
When a given length of seam has been completed, I proceed to add a third strip,
connecting this by stitches, as before, to the compound fabric, and then a fourth
strip, and so on, until the required depth of piece goods is obtained.
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 :-
The mode above described of producing compound fabrics from ribbons or strips
of contrasting woven fabrics joined together by onenwork stitching