IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBROIDERING FABRICS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Heaven, of the City of Manchester, Embroiderer
by Machinery, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN EMBROIDERING
FABRICS."
Sealed the 26th February 1856, and dated the 3rd September 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Heaven at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
September 1855.
I, ALFRED HEAVEN, of the City of Manchester, Embroiderer by Machinery,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
EMBROIDERING FABRICS" to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to economise the silk or other thread employed
in embroidering fabrics. According to the mode hitherto practised an equal
quantity of the embroidering thread is shown on each side of the fabric. Now,
my Invention consists in so working the machine that the greater part of the
embroidering thread is brought to the face side of the fabric. In producing a
design of a flower, or any other design to which my improvements are appli-
cable, the embroidering thread is passed through the back of the fabric near
the centre of the design, then from the face side at the requisite distance to
form the design, then from the back to form the space between the leaves or
other division in the design, and so on, until the first row of threads is intro-
duced; the second row of embroidering threads are then put in around the

page_text: others, and so on, until the entire design is produced. By this means the
embroidering threads appear on the face side of the fabric, and on the back
only so much of the embroidering thread as is required to indicate the spaces
between the leaves or other divisions between the parts embroidered.
It is sometimes requisite to employ a shuttle or other instrument to introduce
a binding thread at the back of the fabric, whereby the embroidering thread is
secured. The embroidering thread is supplied to each needle by a bobbin,
which is unwound as the thread is drawn off, and worked on the fabrics.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Heaven in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd March 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
HEAVEN, of the City of Manchester, Embroiderer by Machinery, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Alfred Heaven, Her special license that I, the said Alfred Heaven, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred
Heaven, ny 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 EMBROIDERING
FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Heaven,
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 Alfred Heaven, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
Specification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, that is to say:―

page_text: The nature of my Invention consists, first, in so working embroidering
machines that the greater part of the embroidering thread is brought on to the
face side of the fabric, and only a small quantity of the embroidering thread on
the reverse side of the fabric.
Secondly, in the application of a shuttle or other instrument to introduce a
binding thread at the back of the fabric, whereby the embroidering thread is
secured.
And, lastly, in supplying each embroidering needle with a bobbin from which
the embroidering thread is unwound as it is required, for the purpose of saving
the time lost in threading the needles, as in the embroidering machines of the
usual construction.
I have in the said Drawings represented how my Invention may be per-
formed, similar parts in the different views being marked with similar letters
of reference.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation, and Figuro 2 a front elevation, in outline,
of an embroidering machine of the usual construction, to which part of my
improvements are applied.
a, a, are two pieces of fabric to be embroidered. These fabrics are wound
on the rollers b, b, supported in the frame c, which is raised and lowered and
moved sideways by the levers d, d, shewn in Figure 2. e and f are the carriages
for supporting the needle holders h. These carriages travel to and fro on the
rails g. These and all the other parts requisite to complete the machine are
made in the ordinary manner.
The first part of my Invention will be better understood on reference to
Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 represents the face side of a piece of fabric with
part of a design embroidered thereon, according to my improved mode of
working embroidering machines; Figures 4 represents the reverse side of the
same piece of fabric. In working this design, the needle holders, marked h in
Figure 2, are first fixed on the carriages e and fat the requisite distance apart
to produce the number of repeats desired on the fabric. The needles are then
passed thro' the fabric in the ordinary manner from the back, say, for instance,
at the point n. The frame c is then moved by the levers d, so that the needles
shall enter the face of the fabric at the point o, thereby forming the first stitch
of the leaf of a flower, as indicated by the line n, o, in Figure 3. The frame
is then moved sufficiently to allow the needles to re-enter from the back of the
fabric at the point p to form the short stitch, marked o, p, in Figure 4. This
short stitch is equal to the space between the leaves of the flower. The suc-
ceeding stitch is formed by inserting the needles from the front of the fabric at
the point q, and these operations are repeated until the first row of threads,

page_text: forming the inner circle of the flower, is embroidered; the second row is formed
in like manner around the first, and so on, until the whole flower is produced.
By thus working embroidering machines the greater part of the embroidering
thread is applied on the face side of the fabric, and on the reverse side only
that much is applied which is required to indicate the spaces or divisions
between the leaves; consequently a great saving is effected in the silk or other
embroidering thread employed.
The centre part of the design, marked r, is embroidered in the ordinary
manner, that is to say, the same quantity of embroidering thread is used for
the reverse as for the face side of the design. Although I have described the
operation of working the design as commencing near the centre, and gradually
extending towards the circumference, it is apparent that the reverse mode of
operating may be adopted, that is to say, the outer edges of the design may be
commenced first, and the circles gradually diminished.
The leaf above the flower represents another modification of this part of my
Invention. The inner or outer row of stitches is first made, and the remainder
filled in precisely in the manner above described. Figure 5 represents a design
of another shape, which may be worked in the same manner. Many other
patterns might be shewn to which my improvements are applicable, but the
foregoing are sufficient to illustrate the mode of performing this part of my
Invention.
I will now proceed to describe the second of my improvements. In Figures
1 and 2, s is a moveable swing frame, supported at each end in levers s², s²,
which are jointed to the side frames w; to the swing frame s, which is made
with two rails, for the upper and lower row of needles, are attached as many
guide wires s' (seen best in Figure 6, which is drawn full size), as there are
repeats of the design to be embroidered. Above each rail of the swing frame s
is a slender rod t, to support the bobbins t', on which the binding thread is
wound. These bobbins are each provided with a spring or weight to give the
friction requisite to prevent the thread unwinding too fast.
In Figure 6 the back of the fabric is supposed to be seen, the lines u repre-
senting the binding thread. The embroidering thread is almost entirely on
the face of the fabric.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The guide s' is shewn at the left-hand
side of the design, and the binding thread extends from the point v to the
guide s'. The needles with the embroidering threads are now to be inserted
through the fabric at the point v', and the embroidering threads are drawn
tight in the usual manner; the attendant then presses down the handle into
the position shewn by dotted lines in Figure 2, thereby causing the swing

page_text: frames and guides s¹ to move laterally until the guides assume the position
shewn by dots in Figure 6. The binding threads are thus caused to pass over
the embroidering threads; consequently when the needles are again passed
from the back through the fabric at the point v², the embroidering threads
loop over the binding threads, and are thus prevented being drawn through
the fabric. When the needles have again been passed from the face of the
fabric at the point above ², the attendant raises the handle s to change the
position of the guide wires s¹ from the right to the left hand side of the design,
and the operations are repeated as before. This second part of my Invention
is applicable in many cases where the first is not beneficial.
Figure 7 is a front elevation of part of an embroidering machine, to which
the third part of my Invention is applied; and Figure 8 is a section, drawn
full size, of part of the same.
In Figure 7, w, w, are the side frames of the machine, similar to those in
Figure 2. To these frames are attached the bearings x of the levers a¹, to
which the swing frame y is suspended. To the axle of one of the levers ¹ is
fixed a pinion ², gearing into the segment a³. To the horizontal rails of the
swing frame y are attached as many hooks y' as there are needles in the
embroidering machine. To the frames ware also fixed the rails z, z, in which
are recesses, corresponding to the hooks and to the needles. At each side
of the machine are two shuttle boxes z¹, and two picking sticks 2², connected
together by a handle. The shuttles employed in this arrangement contain
binding thread, in the same manner as the bobbins t', in Figure 6. The em-
broidering thread is wound on bobbins 23, see Figure 8, and these bobbins
are supported by the needle holders h, which are affixed in the usual
manner to one of the carriages e or f. Each bobbin is provided with a spring
or weight to prevent the thread being drawn off too easily, The needles
required for this arrangement are longer than those in general use, and the eye
is near the end of the needle. In working or embroidering with the parts
above enumerated only one carriage is required, and the motion imparted to
this carriage is much less than in machines of the usual construction.
The mode of operation is as follows:-When the needle holders have been
set to coincide with the recesses in the rails z, z, the needles are passed through
the fabric, each needle with the embroidering thread entering one of the recesses
in the rails ; the attendant then partially withdraws the needles, so as to
slacken the embroidering threads at the upper side of the needle. The handle x'
is then raised into the position indicated by a dotted line in Figure 7, thereby
causing the segment a³ to move the pinion a², and with it the levers ¹ and
swing frame y, for the purpose of bringing the hooks y' under each embroidering

page_text: thread which had been slackened, as above mentioned, and then raising it into
the position shewn in Figure 8, to form races for the passage of the binding
thread, which is then introduced by the attendant acting on the picking sticks,
and throwing the shuttles across. As soon as the binding thread has been
thrown across, the needles are withdrawn from the fabric, the embroidering
threads being secured by the binding threads. The binding frame c is then
moved in the usual manner to bring a fresh portion of the fabric opposite to
the needles, which are again passed through, and the hooks y¹ are also brought
back to their original positions, after which the embroidering threads are again
raised to form a race for the binding threads, which are then thrown across
from the left-hand side of the machine, and in this manner the operations are
repeated as often as required. By this means the embroidering thread is
almost entirely deposited on the face of the fabric, and the time lost in threading
the needles is saved.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself
to the details herein set forth, as the same may be varied without departing
from the peculiar character of my Invention; but that what I do claim is,-
First, the improved mode of working embroidering machines, as described
in reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Secondly, the application of a binding thread to secure the embroidering
thread, as shewn and described in reference to Figures 1, 2, 6, 7, and 8.
And, lastly, the application of bobbins for supplying the embroidering threads
to the needles of embroidering machines, whereby the loss of time consequent
on threading the needles is diminished, and one of the carriages is dispensed
with, as shewn and described in reference to Figures 7 and 8.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Heaven, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
H. B. BARLOW,
Manchester.
ALFRED HEAVEN. (L.S.)