IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THREAD FOR SEWING, EMBROIDERY, AND SOUND ANALOGOUS PURPOSES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Archibald Turner, of Leicester, in the County
of Leicester, Elastic Web Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THREAD FOR SEWING, EMBROIDERY,
AND SOUND ANALOGOUS PURPOSES"
Sealed the 28th October 1870, and dated the 27th July 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Archibald Turner at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th July 1870.
I, ARCHIBALD TURNER, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester,
Elastic Web Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THREAD FOR SEWING,
EMBROIDERY, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
Sewing threads are usually made of a number of yarns twisted or
doubled together so as to produce a thread of the desired strength and
thickness. Sometimes two or more yarns are first twisted together, and

page_text: then two or more of these threads are doubled or twisted together so as
to form a thread of the desired strength and thickness. When threads
are made in this manner by twisting or doubling two or more yarns
or threads they are (when slack) liable to form kinks which will be
very annoying and inconvenient when the thread is being used for
sewing.
The object of my Invention is to manufacture sewing and embroidery
threads in such a manner or manners as to prevent them from forming
kinks, and this I do by so combining the yarns when priming the thread
that the twist therein is neutralized or rendered dead, so that when slack
the thread will not have a tendency to twist on itself as is now the case.
This object may be effected in various ways, one plan consists in inter-
weaving or braiding the yarns instead of simply twisting or doubling
them, as heretofore.
In carrying out my Invention I prefer to divide the yarns into two
sets, and cause these two sets of yarns in the braiding process to cross
each other and travel in opposite directions. By this means instead of
simply twisting a number of threads or yarns together I form a regular
fabric by causing the thread or yarn to become interwoven with each
other,
In order to produce a thick heavy thread such as would be required
for some kinds of embroidery I braid silken yarns over an inner thread
or yarn of cotton or other suitable fibrous material which will thus form
a core.
Another mode of effecting the desired object consists in twisting
two sets of threads or yarns in opposite directions so that the twist
of one set will neutralize or counteract the twist of the other set,
A similar effect will also be produced by causing one thread to be laid
round another which is passed up a central tube with but slight tension
while the lapping thread has greater tension put on it: The twist of
these two threads should be in opposite directions so that the twist of
one shall be made to neutralize the twist in the other, and thus produce
what is called a dead twist.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Archibald Turner in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th January 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARCHIBALD
TURNER, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Elastic Web Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Archibald Turner, Her special licence,
that I, the said Archibald Turner, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Archibald Turner, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THREAD FOR SEWING, EMBROIDERY, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS
PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Archibald
Turner, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Archibald Turner, do 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, reference being had to the Drawing here-
unto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
Sewing threads are usually made of a number of separate yarns
twisted or doubled together so as to produce a thread of the desired
strength and thickness. Sometimes two or more yarns are first twisted
together and then two or more of these threads or strands are doubled.
or twisted together so as to form a thread of the desired strength and

page_text: thickness. When threads are made in this manner by twisting or
doubling two or more yarns or strands they will (when slack and
doubled into a loop) twist on themselves and form kinks, which will
be very annoying and inconvenient when the thread is being used for
sewing.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying diagram represents a piece of ordinary
sewing silk suspended by the two ends. It will be seen that when:
suspended in this manner the thread will twist on itself, and when used
for sewing purposes it is liable to form kinks; as shewn in Fig. 2.
This arises (as has been already explained) from the fact that the strands
or yarns of which the thread is composed are doubled or twisted together
to form one solid thread. Fig. 3 represents a piece of my Patent braided
sewing thread or silk suspended by the two ends in precisely the same
manner as the ordinary sewing thread in Fig. 1, but in consequence of
the yarns or strands being "braided" together instead of being twisted
or doubled in the ordinary manner the thread so produced will be dead
and have no twist, and consequently will never form into kinks, as shewn
at Fig. 2.
The object of my Invention is to manufacture sewing threads (in-
tended to be used with a needle either by hand or in sewing or
embroidering machines) in such a manner as to prevent the thread from
twisting upon itself and forming the kinks above mentioned when being
used in the operation of sewing or embroidering. I effect this object by
so combining the separate yarns of which the thread is composed that
the twist in the separate yarns is neutralized or rendered dead, so that
when the thread is slack it will not have a tendency to twist on itself, as
as is now the case.
The manner in which I effect the object of my Invention consists in
combining the yarns or strands by interweaving or braiding them
instead of simply twisting or doubling them as heretofore.
In carrying out my Invention I employ round braiding machines of
the ordinary well-known construction, and I form my improved sewing
thread of four or more strands. In the braiding process these strands or
yarns are made to cross each other alternately under and over and travel
in opposite directions. By this means instead of simply twisting a
number of strands or yarns together to form a thread as heretofore, I
form a regular fabric by causing the strands or yarns to become inter-
woven or braided with each other so that the twist in all the yarns or

page_text: strands will be neutralized, and thereby a perfectly dead thread without
the slightest tendency to kink or twist will be produced.
Having now described my Invention of Improvements in the
Manufacture of Thread for Sewing, Embroidery, and other Analogous
Purposes," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid, manufacturing threads to be used with a needle for sewing,
embroidery, and other, analogous purposes by causing the yarns or
strands of which such threads are composed to be interwoven, braided, or
intertwined as and for the purpose herein set forth instead of being
simply twisted or doubled together as heretofore.
In witness whereof, I, the said Archibald Turner, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.
.
Witness,
W. M. NEWTON.
A. TURNER. (L.S.)