Improvements in Woven Rugs, Table Covers, Curtains, and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Dec., 1899 -Accepted, 27th Jan., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Woven Rugs, Table Covers, Curtains, and the like.
I, HARRY HARDWICK, of 3152, North Broad Street, in the City of Philadelphia,
State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Carpet Manufacturer, 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:-
My invention relates to the manufacture of rugs, table covers, curtains, and
like articles, comprising a centre piece with a border, the object of my invention
being to so weave the pieces of which such articles are made as to obtain the desired
contrast of centre piece and border without that waste of yarn in the centre
piece which results from the present method of weaving.
This object I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth with reference to a
rug from which its general application will also be understood.
In the accompanying drawing,
Fig. 1 represents a rug made in accordance with my invention;
Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the ordinary method of making such rugs.
Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are diagrams illustrating my improved method of
making the rug; and
Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of part of one of the strips of which the rug is
composed.
The rug shewn in Fig. 1 comprises a centre piece 1 of simple pattern and
colouring, and a border 2 of much more elaborate character both as regards
pattern and colouring.
If the rug be composed of pile fabric one, or two, colours of pile forming
warp may be sufficient for the centre piece, but a much greater number is
necessary for the border; as many as eight, or more, different colours, in the
border, being sometimes required.
An ordinary rug of this character is composed of longitudinal side strips 3
having a border pattern woven thereon and intermediate strips 4, each of which
has a central portion, 5, woven with the desired pattern for the centre piece of
the ring, and end portions, 6, woven with a border pattern, so that when the
selvedge edges of the strips are sewed together a rug having the desired centre
piece and border is produced.
The objection to this method of weaving is the waste of pile warps involved in
weaving the strips 4, each of the said strips having sets of pile warp each con-
taining as many different threads as are necessary for the elaborate pattern and
colouring of the border, but, as most of these warps are unused in the central
portion of the strip, they are buried out of sight at the back of the fabric, thus
causing a great waste of expensive yarn.

page_text: According to my invention I discard the usual plan of weaving a border
pattern at each end of each of the centre strips 4, and, instead, I weave centre
strips 4 each having a centre pattern throughout, and I use four border strips,
that is to say, two longitudinal border strips 3", and two transverse border
strips 6, the latter being either of a length equal to the full width of the rug,
as shewn in Fig. 4, or of a length only sufficient to fit between the longitudinal
border strips as in Fig. 3.
When the transverse strips 6 are of the full width of the rug they are woven
at the ends with the pattern for the corner pieces, 7, of the border, and, when
the longitudinal strips are of the full length of the rug; they are woven with
the corner piece patterns 7 at the ends.
By this means the centre strips 4ª, need only have as many pile forming warps
as are necessary for the simple pattern and colouring of the centre piece of
the rug, the greater number of warps necessary for the more elaborate pattern
and colouring of the border being confined wholly to the border strips, so that
there is no waste of the yarn as in the ordinary method of weaving.
When this said method of weaving according to this invention is used the warps
in the transverse border strips will run at right angles to those in the longitudinal
border strips, hence in sewing the strips together to form the rug the inner
selvedge edges of the transverse border strips will have to be united to the
warp ends of the longitudinal strips if the rug be made as shewn in Fig. 4, while
if the rug be made as shewn in Fig. 3, selvedges of the transverse strips 6",
will be united to the warp ends of the central strips 4ª, and the warp ends of
the said transverse strips 6", will be united to selvedges of the longitudinal
strips 3", and in order to facilitate this union the warp ends at each end of each
of the woven strips are preferably interwoven with wefts so as to form a short
heading 8, as shewn in Fig. 9, whereby the proper joining together of the strips
can be more readily effected.
Another method of carrying out my invention is that represented in Fig. 5.
In this case instead of weaving corner patterns at the opposite ends of two
border strips, as shewn in Figs. 3 and 4, each border strip has a corner pattern
at one end, and overlaps at one corner of the rug the border strip which is at
right angles thereto, and a further method of carrying out my invention is that
represented in Fig. 6, in which case the corner patterns are woven in separate
pieces, the inner edges of which are united to the ends of the border strips
in making up the rug.
In weaving an ingrain fabric in accordance with my invention the centre of the
rug may, as shewn in Fig. 7, be woven in one piece as at 4b, instead of in strips
and may have border strips woven at each end of the same as shewn at 6b, this
being permissible without waste, in the case of an ingrain fabric because, in such
fabric, the pattern is formed by the weft threads instead of by the warps. In
this case, however, the longitudinal border strips 3b, will, preferably, be woven
with the wefts running in a direction at right angles to those in the central
strip 4b so that the pattern in the strips 3b will be produced under the same
conditions and with the same facility as in weaving the end borders (b.
It will be evident that in a fabric of this character, as well as in a pile fabric,
the border portions can be woven with three, or more, patterning threads in
a set while the centre portion can be woven with one, or two, threads in a set,
thus saving waste of threads which must otherwise be hidden and useless.
In weaving pile fabrics also, the longitudinal borders 3", may be woven in one
piece with the centre piece 4, as shewn in Fig. 8, where the loom is wide
enough to permit it; a greater number of pile warps being used in the borders
than in the centre, and the transverse borders 6 being separately woven.
It will be manifest that the main object of my invention would be attained even
if the centre piece of the rug had, throughout a limited portion of its extent,
as many pattern forming threads as the borders, for instance, it might have
a central medallion, or other figure, in which the larger number of threads would

page_text: be used, but throughout the greater portion of its extent it would only have one,
two, or three, pattern-forming threads, and such construction is therefore con-
sidered within the scope of my claims.
Each of the different constructions which I have described is distinct from
that class of made up rugs, table covers, carpets, or the like, in which a centro
piece composed of ordinary strips of carpeting is combined with a border composed
of bordering strips joined by a mitre joint at the corners of the article; for
although, in the latter case, the longitudinal border strips have pattern-forming
threads running at a right angle to those in the transverse border strips, there
are no corner patterns and no attempt at a harmonious pattern extending through-
out the border is possible, the patterns of the border strips being cut across
diagonally and abutting against each other at the mitre joints in the corners,
whereas in all forms of rugs, table covers, curtains, or the like, made according
to this invention, the seams are parallel with the edges of the rug, hence designed
corner pieces are provided for and a complete border with harmonious pattern
results.
"
ני
The term " edges as used in the claims means simply the sides, or ends, of
the rug, table cover, curtain, or the like, the term "edges" being employed in
order to avoid the use of alternative language in the claims, and the expression
pattern-forming threads" I use generically meaning, in the case of a pile fabric,
the pile warps, and, in the case of an ingrain fabric, the wefts.
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:—
1. A woven rug, table cover, curtain, or the like, having a centre piece and
border strips united by seams parallel throughout with the edges of the article,
the centre piece having a less number of pattern-forming threads than the border
strips, substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. A woven rug, table cover, curtain, or the like, having a centre piece and
border strips united by seams parallel throughout with the edges of the article,
the centre piece having a less number of pattern-forming threads than the border
strips, and the pattern-forming threads in the longitudinal portions of the border
being at right angles to those in the transverse portions of the same, substantially
as hereinbefore described.
3. A woven rug, table cover, curtain, or the like, having a centre piece and
border strips united by seams parallel throughout with the edges of the article,
the centre piece having a less number of pattern-forming threads than the border
strips, the pattern-forming threads in the longitudinal portions of the border
being at right angles to those in the transverse portions of the same, and the
border having at the corners, patterns distinct from those in the remaining
portions of the border, substantially as herein before described.
4. A woven rug, table cover, curtain, or the like, having a centre piece and
border strips united by seams parallel throughout with the edges of the article,
the centre piece having a less number of pattern-forming threads than the border
strips, the pattern-forming threads in the longitudinal portions of the border
being at right angles to those in the transverse portions of the same, and the
border strips having corner pieces woven at the ends of the same, substantially
as hereinbefore described.
5. A woven rug, table cover, curtain, or the like, having a centre piece and
independent longitudinal and transverse border strips united by seams parallel
throughout with the edges of the article, the centre piece having a less number
of pattern-forming threads than the border strips, and the pattern-forming
threads, in the longitudinal border strips, being at right angles to those in the
transverse border strips, substantially as hereinbefore described.
G. A woven rug, table cover, curtain, or the like, having a centre piece and

page_text: border strips united by seams formed by joining a selvedge edge of one strip
to a warp end heading on the adjoining strip, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Dated this 14th day of December 1899.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.