IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of
Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN SEWING MACHINES."-A communication from abroad by the Grover
and Baker Sewing Machine Company, New York, in the United States
of America.
Sealed the 12th April 1861, and dated the 18th February 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th February 1861.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," a communication from abroad by the
Grover and Baker Sewing Machine Company, of New York, in the United
States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in a new apparatus for making what is commonly
known as a double-thread looped stitch; or rather seams made of a succession
of such stitches, such seams presenting on one side an upper or needle thread

page_text: not differing in looks or arrangement from the stitch of shuttle thread
machines, while on the other side the threads are looped together in a chain.
This stitch in machines now in use, and making it is formed by an eye-pointed
piercing needle, and by eye-pointed piercing instrument moving in planes
parallel to the cloth, or nearly so, each instrument carrying a thread in its
eye, and acting to pass thread through loops of thread held by the other. By
the present Invention this stitch is made by means of an eye-pointed piercing
needle and a hook, either reciprocating or rotating, and a thread post or guide,
which forces the lower thread to make a curve or angular bend in its passage
from the thread bobbin to the cloth or material to be sewed. The duty
performed by the eye-pointed needle is to pierce the cloth, to carry loops of
upper
thread through it, to open such loops when retrograding, and finally to
retreat from the cloth preparatory to a second descent. The duty of the hook
is to seize loops of upper thread when opened, to spread such loops, and carry
them away from the needle and beneath the bend or turn of lower thread,
then to pass such loops over that bend or turn so that a bight of lower thread
is, in fact, enclosed by a bight of upper thread, and then to cast the loop off
after the needle has descended a second time preparatory to opening a second
loop, which is seized by the hook in order to make the next succeeding stitch.
The hook also draws the stitches tight, and it performs this duty by spreading
loops of upper thread, as in doing so it pulls tight the loop that it has just cast
off, a second spread loop being in fact formed almost wholly out of thread that
formed the loop that preceded it. The post or guide holds the lower thread
in such manner that it forms an angle or bend, or curve, and the lower thread
leads from a spool or bobbin through an eye-hole or groove in the post, and
thence upwards to the cloth, the hole being at the turn or corner of the bend
of lower thread. This post, which is an arm supported at one end, and having
the hole or groove near its free end, lies beneath the table or platform on
which the cloth rests, and so close to the cloth that the point of the needle
descends below all parts of this angle or bend of lower thread, and the hook
during some part of its motion passes below the line of lower thread that lies
between the hole in the post and the cloth. The machine has a feed as usual,
which advances the cloth when the needle is withdrawn, has a table to support
the goods to be sewed, has proper bobbins to carry the threads and tensions
upon the threads, and also mechanism to impart motion to the needle and to
the hook, whether rotating or reciprocating, such. motions being of proper
extent and duration, and taking place in proper relative time. The hook is
sharp pointed, and that point is so moved in close proximity to the needle

page_text: when it is through the cloth, that the point shall seize loops of thread opened
by the needle. The hook is, moreover, so shaped as to spread or open such
loops, and so actuated and shaped as to carry such loops over the bend of
lower thread, or so as to enclose the bend of lower thread, and then cast them
off, or release them. In the operation of the machine the needle descends as
near as may be in the angle or very corner of the bend of lower thread, and
then rises a little to open a loop, the hook then advances, seizes such loop, and
pulls it out below the lower thread; the needle continues to rise, the hook
continues to spread the loop of upper thread, and then carries it over the bend
or bight of lower thread; the needle having now risen above the cloth, the feed
takes place; the needle descends again, and in descending passes between the
bight of lower thread and the loop of upper thread that is spread below the
cloth; when the point of the needle is below the bend of lower thread, the
loop of upper thread is released or cast off, the needle rises and opens a second
loop of upper thread, and the hook again seizes and spreads this new loop.
When the hook carries a loop of upper thread so as to enclose the bend of
lower thread, the thread post is enclosed by the same loop, and when the hook
spreads the new loop it tightens up the cast-off one, drawing it off the post or
guide, and up against the lower side of the cloth, and thus tightens the stitch;
one stitch is tightened by the operation of forming the succeeding one. The
feed is in a direction from the hole in the thread post, or from the angle or
point of the turn or bend of lower thread towards the line in which the needle
reciprocates, or nearly so.
The Invention consists in the combination of an eye-pointed needle with a
hook formed and operating as described, and with a thread guide or post, or
any equivalent thereof, causing the lower thread to make a curve or bend, as
described, whereby a double-thread looped seam is made when the cloth is
properly moved or fed along.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 17th August 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
and of 166, Buchanan Street, in the City of Glasgow,. North Britain, Gentle-
5 man, send greeting...

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John. Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said John
Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as:
I, the said John. Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, or 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SEWING MACHINES," a communication from abroad by the
Grover and Baker Sewing Machine Company, of Broadway, New York, in the
United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand. and seal of one of them,
should particularly describe and. 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked: thereon, that is to say: - .
The said Invention consists of a new. apparatus for making what is
commonly known as the double-thread looped stitch, or rather seams made of
a succession of: such stitches, such seams presenting on one side: an upper or
needle thread not differing in appearance or arrangement from the stitch of
shuttle thread machines, while on the other side the threads are looped
together in a chain. This stitch in machines now in use is formed by an eye-
pointed piercing needle, and by an eye-pointed non-piercing instrument, and
moving in planes parallel to the cloth, or nearly so, each instrument carrying
a thread in its eye, and acting so as to pass a thread through the loops of
thread.held by the other instrument. By the present Invention this stitch is
made by means of an eye-pointed piercing needle and. a hook either recipro-
cating or rotating, and a thread post or guide, which forces the lower thread
.to.make a curve or angular bend in its passage from the thread bobbin to the

page_text: cloth or material to be sewed. The duty performed by the eye-pointed needle
is to pierce the cloth, to carry loops of the upper thread through it, to open
such loops when retrograding, and finally to retreat from the cloth preparatory
to a second descent. The duty of the hook is to seize loops of the upper
thread when opened, to spread such loops, and carry them away from the
needle and beneath the bend or turn of the lower thread; then to pass such
loops over that bend or turn, so that a bight of the lower thread is, in fact,
enclosed by a bight of the upper thread, and then to cast the loop. off after the
needle has descended a second time preparatory to opening a second loop,
which is to be seized by the hook, in order to make the next succeeding stitch.
The hook may also draw the stitches tight, and it performs this duty by
spreading the loops of the upper thread, as in doing so it pulls tight the loop
that it has just cast off, a second spread loop being, in fact, formed almost
wholly from the thread that formed the loop that preceded it. The post or
guide holds the lower thread in such a manner that it forms an angle or bend,
or curve, and the lower thread leads from a spool or bobbin through an eye-
hole or groove in the post, and thence upwards to the cloth, the hole being at
the turn or corner of the bend of the lower thread. This post lies beneath
the table or platform on which the cloth rests, and so close to the cloth that
the point of the needle descends below all parts of this angle or bend. of the
lower thread, and the hook during some part of its motion passes below the
line of the lower thread that lies between the hole in the post and the cloth.
The machine is provided with a feed as usual, which advances the cloth when
the needle. is withdrawn, has also a table to support the goods. to be sewed,
contains proper bobbins to carry the threads and tensions upon the threads,
and also mechanism to impart motions to the needle and to the hook, whether
rotating or reciprocating, such motions being of proper extent and duration,
and taking place in proper relative time. The hook is sharp pointed, and its
point is so moved in close proximity to the needle when it is through the
cloth, that the point shall seize the loops of thread opened by the needle. The
hook is, moreover, so shaped as to spread or open such loops, and so actuated
and shaped as to carry such loops over the bend of the lower thread, or so as
to enclose the bend of the lower thread, and then cast them off or release them.
In the operation of the machine the needle descends as near as may be in the
angle or corner of the bend of the lower thread, and then rises a little, so as
to open a loop; the hook then advances, seizes such loop, and: pulls it out
below the lower thread; the needle continues to rise, the book continues to
spread the loop of the upper thread, and then carries it over the bend or bight

page_text: of the lower thread; the needle having now risen above the cloth, the feed
takes place; the needle descends again, and in descending passes between the
bight of the lower thread and the loop of the upper thread that is spread below.
the cloth; when the point of the needle is below the bend of the lower thread;
the loop of the upper thread is released or cast off, the needle rises and opens
a second loop of the upper thread, and the hook again seizes and spreads this
new loop. When the hook carries a loop of the upper thread so as to enclose
the bend of the lower thread, the thread post is enclosed by the same loop,
and when the hook spreads the new loop it tightens up the cast-off loop,
drawing it from off the post or guide, and up against the lower side of the
cloth, and thus tightens the stitch, one stitch being tightened by the operation
of forming the succeeding one. The feed is in a direction from the hole in.
the thread post, or from the angle or point of the turn or bend of the lower:
thread towards the line in which the needle reciprocates, or nearly so.
On Sheet 1 of the annexed Drawings is shewn a machine by which this
Invention is to be carried out by the use of a reciprocating look.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine, with a portion of the bed plate
or platform broken away; Figure 2 is a front elevation with the bed plate in
section; Figure 3 is a plan of a part of the machine with the bed plate
removed; Figure 4 is an elevation from one side of the hook; Figure 5, a
plan of the same; and Figure 6, an elevation of the other side thereof;
Figure 7 is a section through the hook; Figure 8 is an elevation of one side
of the lower thread post; Figure 9, an elevation of the other side of the same;"
and Figure 10, a plan thereof; Figures 11, 12, and 13 are front and side
elevations of the hook, needle, and lower thread post in the relative positions
that they assume in the operation of the machine; and Figure 14 is a sketch
of the stitch, made by either the rotating or the reciprocating machine,
represented as not drawn up tight, so as to exemplify the mode in which the:
threads are interlocked. In the Drawings the upper thread is represented by
blue and the lower by red lines.
The machine is mounted upon a bed plate a, a, a, making part of a table.
or platform on which the material to be sewed is supported. The machine
has a driving shaft with a belt pulley 6 mounted thereon; this shaft carries a
cam c, which actuates a roughened feeding surface, which is shewn at a, and
the same shaft is provided with a crank pin e, which traverses in a slot in the
needle arm f; this latter is pivotted near the rear end of the bed plate, and
carries the needle g, which, as the crank pin rotates, vibrates up and down.
The machine has a standard h and a présser foot i, as usual, and upon a

page_text: rocking shaft is mounted a hook stock j', which carries a hook ; this hook
stock has a slot in it, into which projects a pin / attached to the needle arm f;
as the needle arm vibrates up and down, this pin causes the hook to vibrate to
and fro; this hook is to be shaped and located substantially as shewn in the
Drawings, so as to produce the effects desired, and in order to effect them the
hook has a thin lancet-shaped point to seize the loops of thread, a flange such
as m to spread the loop, so that it may pass over the thread post, and a
spring n, which nips the loops of thread against the side of the hook, so that
the hook in retreating may pull a loop over the thread post, and consequently
over an angle or bend of the lower thread. The hook vibrates on one side of
the needle, and on the other side thereof there is located a thread post.
This post o is attached to the béd plate, and in the present instance has an
eye in its end, but a notch or guide groove would answer the same purpose:
By referring to the various Drawings it will be seen that this eye lies in close
proximity to the hook, and above the flange thereon, and that the post then
bends away from the hook, or has a recess formed in it, the needle rising and
falling between this bend or recess and the side of the hook; and by reference
also to the Drawings, it will be seen that the lower thread passes from a spool p
around a standard p', under the bed plate, through the eye in the post, and
thence upwards again through the bed plate, and to the under side of the
material being sewed, the eye in the post so supporting the thread that it
makes a bend or angle (see specially Figures. 1, 11, and 13. The upper
thread is furnished from a spool at q, and passes thence through a tension
apparatus, through a leading eye, and then through the eye of the needle.
The cloth is to be located under the presser foot, and the pulley b. is to be
rotated in the direction of the arrow; when rotated the needle will descend,
pass through the cloth, and down between the hook and the post; and will rise
a little so as to open its loop; as this loop opens the hook advances point first,
enters the loop, seizes and spreads it; Figure 13 shewing this position of the
parts. As the needle rises the hook continues to advance and spread this loop
wider (see Figures 1 and 2), spreading it so widely sidewise by the action of
the flange (see Figure 2), that on the retreat of the hook one side of the loop
will be carried along that side of the post furthest from the hook and needle.
As the hook advanced it grasped one part of the loop between its side and the
spring which makes part of the hook, the thread having slipped into the space
between the two. The hook now (after advancing to the position, Figure 1
and 2,) commences to retreat and the needle to descend, and as the hook
retreats with the loop in its grasp it carries it over the thread post, and con-

page_text: sequently over the angie of the lower thread (see Figure 11), where the loop
has thus been cast over the lower thread, and where the needle has sub-
sequently descended between that loop and a part of the lower thread. A
further retreat of the hook causes the loop it held to slip off of it, or be
released, and the loop shortly after slips over the end of the thread post. All
parts now arrive at the position shewn in Figure 12, where the needle is
shewn as about to rise and open a new loop, and the hook is commencing. to
advance to spread that new loop. A succession of such motions in conjunction
with the feed which takes place when the needle is out of the cloth, and
advances the goods in a direction from the thread post towards the hook, will
make a stitch like that represented in Figure 14, except that the threads will
be pulled up tight, and it should be noted in examining carefully into the
operation of the machine that the needle descends between that part of the
lower thread leading from the post to the cloth and the loop that is then
passed over the thread post (see Figure 11), and that the needle does not
descend below the cloth until the loop is cast over the thread post. The post.
is curved in or recessed on the side furthest from the needle, as at s (see.
Figures 9 and 10), in order to ensure this position of the loop, so that the
needle must pass as above specified. The seizing and spreading of each loop
draws up the slack loop that has just been released by the hook and slipped
from off the end of the thread post, thus tightening each stitch in succession.
Other contrivances may be substituted for the spring which makes part of the
hook, so long as such contrivances perform the office of drawing a loop of the.
upper thread over a bend or angle of the lower thread on the retreat of
the hook.
.
On Sheets 2 and 3 a machine is represented by which this. Invention is:
carried out or performed by means of a rotating hook, and in these Sheets
Figure I. represents a side elevation of a sewing machine embodying the
present improvements; Figure 2 represents a plan of the same with the
bed plate and the parts above it removed; Figure 3 represents a transverse
section of the machine following the line x, x, in Figure 2; Figures 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 (Sheet 3); represent views of the principle parts of
the sewing mechanism in different positions, and on an enlarged.size, so as to
show more clearly their operation in forming the stitch; and Figure 13
illustrates the manner in which the threads act upon each other as the stitch
is drawn tight.
In this machinery, which is an example of one mode of carrying out the
Invention in practice, the needle a is secured to a vibrating arm. B, which

page_text: projects from a rocking shaft C that rocks upon pivots d secured to the bed A
of the machine. This bed forms a table on which the material to be sewed
is supported, and by which it is presented to the feed mechanism; it is per-
forated to permit the needle to descend through it. The arm B has a second
shorter arm B, whose extremity is connected with a crank pin D by means of
a connecting rod E. The crank pin D projects from a crank of short throw,
which is secured to a revolving shaft F that is supported in suitable bearings
beneath the table of the machine. As the shaft extends in line with the
needle arm B, the crank pin D. and the corresponding end of the short rocking
arm B, to which the connecting rod E is fitted, are made in ball form, and
the ends of the connecting rod are adapted thereto so as to permit its vibration
in two directions. The rotating shaft F. extends nearly up to the line of
motion of the needle,; and there overhangs its bearing. The overhanging
extremity of the shaft is fitted with a hook G, which in this. example rotates.
with the shaft, and is formed with a bill or point, which is caused to move in
close proximity to the needle when the latter is depressed, and is otherwise
shaped substantially as shewn in the Drawings to produce the desired effect.
The thread post or guide which presents the second thread has in this instance
the form of a short inclined tube or nozzle e projecting laterally from a block.
of metal H, which, for convenience of removal, is made fast to a removable
plate I. This nozzle projects across the line of the seam on the side of the
needle towards. the, unsewed cloth, and its butt is curved and notched on its
side, as shewn at b, Figure 4, to facilitate the spreading of the loop of needle.
thread by the hook... The block H, of which the thread guide forms part, in
this instance is so formed as to lap partially around the line of motion of the
needle, and.a portion of it g is in such close proximity with this line, that it
prevents the spreading of the needle thread from the side of the needle.
adjacent thereto when the needle rises. The feed mechanism used in this
machine is substantially like that represented in the machine illustrated on.
Sheet 1, its moving roughened surface being formed upon the extremity of a.
barf projecting upwards. through a hole in the table of the machine from
a vibrating frame J located beneath the table. The proper movements are.
imparted to this bar at proper times by moving the frame from which it.
projects by means of two eccentrics h and h¹ secured to the rotating shaft F,
and by a spring K. The other surface of the feed mechanism is formed by
the surface of the bottom of a presser foot L, whose shank moves in a groove
fornied in the head, of a stationary arm M above the table, and is fitted with a
cam; by which it can be raised, or let down to permit the introduction or

page_text: hook G for the
removal of the material to be sewed. The presser foot is also fitted with a
spring, which is concealed in a recess in the head of the arm M, and causes the
presser foot to bear upon the cloth or other material to be sewed. A bracket N
and spindle P are provided for the spool of the needle thread, and a thread
tension is secured to the presser arm between the needle and the spool. The
thread tension in the present example is like that represented on Sheet 1 of
the Drawings, and consists of a pair of friction plates m, m, between which
the thread is passed, the proper tension being given by causing a spring k to
bear the upper plate towards the lower with more or less force, by turning a
nut R that controls the spring. A spindle P¹ is also located beneath the table
of the machine for the spool of the second thread, and a suitable thread
tension S, similar in this instance to that for the needle thread, is secured to
the machine in such a position that the second thread can be passed between.
its friction plates before it enters the thread post or guide. The shaft F is
fitted with a belt pulley Q, to which the driving belt is applied; by its
revolution the needle arm, the feed mechanism, and the
second thread are caused to operate at proper relative times and in a proper
manner. The vibration of the needle arm causes the needle to perforate the
cloth or other material to be sewed, to thrust the needle through the cloth
sufficiently far to present the needle thread carried by it to the hook, and to
withdraw the needle from the cloth. The feed mechanism is operated when
the needle is not in the cloth, so as to move the cloth. Z in the direction
indicated by the arrows p' in the Figures. The operation of the combination
of the needle, thread guide, or post and hook in forming the stitch is as
follows: Supposing the needle to be threaded with blue thread, and the
second or lower thread to be red, and that the two threads lead from the last
stitch formed in the seam; the needle thread through the eye of the needle to
the spool, and the second thread through the thread guide to its spool; the
second or red thread is held by the thread guide in the form of a bight, bend,
or turn, shown in plan and elevation at Figures 4 and 5, so that the needle
can pass down into this bight. The hook G is caused to move in such
manner in reference to the needle, that the bill or point of the hook passes
the line of motion of the needle after the latter has been protruded to its
furthest distance through the cloth and through the bight of the second thread,
and has commenced to retract. The partial retraction of the needle through
the cloth causes the loop of needle thread to open in a manner well known,
and by reason of the bearing g near the thread guide e, and at the side of the
needle opposite to the hook, this opening takes place only on that side of the

page_text: needle adjacent to the hook. At this time the bill of the hook, the needle,
and the thread guide occupy the respective positions in which they are shown
in plan, side view, and end view, Figures 4, 5, and 6. The forward move-
ment of the bill of the hook in the direction of the curved arrows in the
Drawings causes it to enter and seize the loop of the needle thread i, o, and
from the shape and motion of the hook the loop of the needle thread so seized
is spread or expanded as the hook continues to move while the needle rises, as
shown at Figures 7 and 8, so that when the hook has made about half a'
revolution, the several members of the mechanism and the threads occupy the
positions in which they are represented at Figures 9 and 10. In attaining
this position the hook by its form and motion has passed or carried the loop of
needle thread (i, o,) over the bight of the second thread c held by the thread.
guide, but this carrying over is incidental, as a further rotation of the hook'
throws the loop (i, o.) off again. The next operation is to turn the loop of
the needle thread half round, in order that the hook may slip out of it, hence
the hook is accompanied by a follower having the form of a wing, whose'
rounded edge t, bearing upon the needle thread after the hook has reached the
position shown at Figures 9 and 10, carries the part o of the loop to the left,
while the form of the hook permits the part i to slip to the right, until when
the hook has made about an additional quarter of a revolution, and the
members of the mechanism occupy the positions in which they are shown in
Figures 11 and 12, the loop of needle thread i, o, has been thrown from off
the thread post, turned half round, and is again thrown over the thread post
and over the bight of the second or lower thread c¹ presented by the thread
post e, and this enclosure of the second thread by the upper one is the one
that is essential to the operation of the machine. During this quarter of a
revolution of the book, the needle, which had been wholly retracted during the
preceding half revolution, is again thrust through the cloth, and as the feed
niechanism operates to move the cloth when the needle is out of the latter,
the neck n of the loop i, o, first seized has in the meantime been carried by
the feed movement of the cloth the space of a stitch from the place of per-
foration,, as shown at Figure 12. As the hook continues to revolve after
reaching the position in which it is-shewn at Figures 11 and 12, it regains the
position in which it is shown at Figures 4, 5, and 6, and then its bill seizes a.
new loop of needle thread presented through the bight of the second thread
by the retracting needle. While the hook moves forward to expand this new-
loop, the preceding loop r, Figures 7 and 8, slips off the rounded butt s of the
hook, and is drawn up through the space u, Figure 7, so as to tighten a stitch,

page_text: and as the preceding loop is slipped off the hook around the bight. of the
second thread c, through which the new loop of needle thread has been
introduced by the needle, the drawing up of the slack thread of the preceding
loop to tighten that loop causes it to choke the bight of the second thread, as
shown at Figure 13, and drag the neck made by this choking up to the cloth,
leaving the second thread leading from this neck to the thread guide extended
in a new bight e¹, to have the new loop of needle thread on the hook borne
over it, as shown at Figures 9 and 10. Hence, by the operation of the
mechanism described, the loop of needle thread is inserted through a bight or
loop of the second thread, and borne over, or, in other words, placed around a
loop of this second thread in alternate succession, and a double-thread chain
stitch is produced. The needle arm is fitted with a thread guide v, with an.
eye in it, which, by the vibration of the needle arm is alternately depressed
and raised above the level of an eye in a stationary thread guide v¹ on the
presser arm M. The thread is passed through both these eyes, and the
descent of the needle furnishes slack thread, while its ascent takes up slack.
A tubular case x is attached to the head of the presser, and contains a bolt
forced forward by a spring, so as to nip the thread slightly against a plate a².
The thread passes between the two, and is by the friction held up out of the
way of the needle point as it descends, but the thread is pulled downwards in
spite of this friction, when the hook expands or spreads a loop. As before
described, the thread post or guide for the second thread is made fast to a
removable plate I, which slides in a groove; this method of mounting the
thread guide in such manner that it can be readily removed and replaced is
advantageous, as it enables it to be threaded with facility, this operation being
effected by removing the plate I with the thread guide, turning it upside
down, and inserting the second thread through the thread guide and through
the needle hole, after which the plate is replaced in the machine.
Having thus described the Invention and machines embodying it, it is
proper to state that the Invention is not confined to the precise construction
and arrangement of parts exhibited in the machines described, but that these
may be varied as circumstances may render expedient, and that any proper
tensions, feed apparatus, and mechanism for giving motion to the working
parts may be used instead of those specially described; what I claim,
however, as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is,―
First, the general combinations of mechanism for effecting the stitching or
uniting of fabrics, as herein-before described.

page_text: Second, the combination of a thread post or guide, or any equivalent
thereof, supporting a second or lower thread, so as to form a turn, bend, or
bight, substantially as described, with a hook, having a mode of operation
substantially as set forth, and with an eye-pointed reciprocating needle, acting
substantially as specified, the three operating in combination to form a double-
thread looped seam when the material is fed along by any proper feeding
apparatus, substantially in the manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-one.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)