Improvements in Corsets.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Apr., 1896-Accepted, 9th May, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Corsets.
I, JAMES STONE, of north-east corner of Main Street and Hickory Avenue,
in the City of Aurora, County of Kane and State of Illinois, United States of
America, 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:-
This invention relates to an improvement in the construction of corsets having
reference more especially to means for giving greater strength to that part of the
corset which covers the waist region of the wearer. The invention consists in the
matters hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims.
A corset embodying my invention is provided at or near its waist portion with a
girdle or circumferential band, consisting of a plurality of narrow strips or sub-
girdles of fabric located at distances apart, less than the width of the strips, and
equi-distant, or practically so, from each other at the side portions of the corset or
in the neighbourhood of the hips. Said strips may be divergent at the front and
rear of the corset, if such divergence be desired, to give a lighter and more
ornamental appearance to the girdle.
The strips forming the girdle each consists of one or more layers or thicknesses
of fabric, which is sewed to the body of the corset or to the cloth forming the
body of the corset, so as to extend beneath the vertical pockets which contain the
stiffening strips or bones. When the strips are of cloth cut from a large piece,
their edges will be folded beneath the strips, and the latter secured by lines of
stitching passing through with folded edges of the strips.
The girdle arranged as described, performs the function of a band or belt to give
greater strength circumferentially at the waist portion of the corset so as to prevent
an undue stretching of the material composing the corset, or possible tearing of the
same. The strips constituting the girdle perform the additional and important
function of strengthening the stiffening strips or bones without making the corset
unduly heavy or clumsy and at the same time of equalizing the bending of said
strips or bones so as to lessen the liability of their being bent at a sharp angle at
the points where the greatest strain comes upon them, this usually being above the
hip bones or part of the hips having the most abrupt enlargement. This effect of
the horizontal strips in equalizing the bending of the bones will be better understood
from the consideration of the fact that each strip, being firmly attached by
stitching to the cloth body and the cloth which forms the bone pockets, in itself
affords some resistance to the bending of that part of the bone embraced within its
width, or between its side edges, (especially if the fabric strip be of thick material
or folded cloth) and it follows that when a number of the said strips are securely
attached to the corset side by side and close together, if pressure be applied to the
bones tending to bend the same, the flexure will take place mainly at points
between the strips and to practically the same extent between each pair of adjacent
strips. The result is that the bones when bent will assume a curve approximating
that of a circle of considerable radius. The difference in action between a corset
thus made and one provided with a single wide strip or girdle, may be understood
if it be considered that such wide strip or girdle will give little or no increase of
stiffness to the bones and will not affect in any way the natural tendency of the
bones to bend at a relatively sharp angle at the points where the greatest bending
strain comes, or where the bones happen to be weakest or most yielding.

page_text: The invention may be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a side view of one side or half of the corset showing my improvement
applied thereto.
Figure 2 is an enlarged, detail, horizontal section taken on line 2-2 of
Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a vertical, transverse section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a view illustrative of the bending of a corset having girdles
constructed in accordance with my invention.
Figure 5 is a similar view showing the manner of bending where a single or
wide girdle is employed.
As shown in said drawings, A indicates the cloth composing the main or body
portion of the corset, the same in this instance being shown as made double and of
inner and outer layers a, a'. B, B, indicate vertical bone pockets formed by means
of strips of cloth c, which are folded at their edges and sewed to the outer surface
of the cloth body A. Within said bone pockets are located the usual bones or
stiffening strips C, as shown in Figure 2. E, indicates the steel or stiffening strip
at the front of the corset, provided with the usual fastening studs e, and F, F', the
two stiffening strips at the rear of the corset between which are located the lacing
eyelets f,f. G, G, indicate the circumferential strips which form the girdle and
to which the invention more particularly relates. Said strips extend along the
outer face of the body fabric A, between the same and the bone pocket B, B,
which latter extend over the said strips or girdles C from top to bottom of the
corset. The strips are secured by stitching to the body of the corset, preferably
by means of marginal lines of stitching extending both through the girdles and the
body of the corset.
The said strips at the point where additional strength or resistance to bending is
especially needed, are located at close intervals or at a distance apart much less
than the width of the strips themselves, which latter are all of the same width or
substantially so. At the front of the corset the strips are shown as arranged to
diverge in the manner of the sticks of a fan, preferably being divided into groups,
of which the strips forming each group are parallel with each other. The same
divergent arrangement at the rear part of the corset may be employed if desired.
As shown in the drawing, nine strips are used, which at the front of the corset are
divided into three groups of three each, which groups are divergent, the lower one
curving downwardly and the upper one upwardly, while the intermediate one takes
an intermediate course.
In the particular construction illustrated each strip consists of a narrow piece of
cloth, the margins of which are folded inwardly, so as to form folded edges
through which the stitching is inserted for attaching the strips to the corset. This
makes each strip practically of double thickness and increases the rigidity or
lateral stiffness of the same. The strips may, however, consist of more than one
layer of fabric, if found necessary or desirable.
The strips are placed so close together that any extreme bending of the bones or
stiffening will result in the edges of the strips, which are secured to the outer
surface of the body, being drawn or forced into contact with each other, so that
the strips will present considerable resistance to an extreme or dangerous flexure
of the bones at any one point. Moreover, the presence of the several narrow
strips give such additional thickness to the part of the corset at which they are
located, as to greatly strengthen the bones and to lengthen the capacity of the
same to bend. Moreover, each separate strip being strongly secured to the bone
pockets and therefore being closely and strongly held against the bones by the
stitching which unites the parts, it will tend to prevent flexure or lessen the
flexibility of a short section of bone comprised between its edges; while the section
of bone left between each pair of adjacent strips will be so short as to prevent any
considerable bending or flexure in such part between any two of the strips. It
follows from this construction that if pressure be applied to the bones above and

page_text: below the girdle in a way to force them outwardly or to bring their free ends
together the uniformly arranged or spaced strips will tend to produce a uniform or
equal flexure of the bones and will hold them in the form of an arc of considerable
radius and thus prevent extreme flexure at any one point, which might either
immediately, or ultimately in continuous wear, fracture the bone or exceed its
limit of elasticity. This action of the strips in preventing excessive flexure may
be more readily understood by comparison of Figures 4 and 5.
Figure 4 shows the effect of bending the side portion of the corset by pressure
applied to the outer ends of the bones tending to force their free ends outwardly
and together, from which it will be seen that by reason of the presence of the
narrow strips placed close together the flexure is distributed with practical
uniformity in the spaces between the several strips, thereby preventing such
extreme flexure at any one point as would break or permanently bend them.
Figure 5 shows the effect which is likely to occur in similarly bending bones of
the side portion of a corset having a single wide girdle in place of a number of
narrow strips.
In this figure it will be seen that with the wide girdle flexure will take place
largely at one point, so as to make an extreme or acute bend at such point, such
wide girdle obviously affording no more resistance to bending than is due to the
presence of the thickness of the cloth composing it and leaving the bones free to
bend to the greatest extent at the point where they happen to be weakest, or where
the bending pressure happens to localize the bend.
From these examples it will be seen that a single broad girdle would have no
especial advantage, except that of preventing the circumferential stretching of the
corset, while the numerous narrow strips have the effect of greatly increasing the
strength of, and giving uniform elasticity to corset.
Moreover, the slight additional thickness given to the corset by the interposition
of the narrow girdle strips between the cloth of the corset and the bones or
stiffening thereof serves to give additional resistance to bending; for the reason
that the cloth body A, requires to be stretched considerably before any considerable
bending can take place, as will be clear from comparison of Figures 3 and 4: while
any extreme bending will tend to crowd the edges of the strips together, assuming
that the bones should give or slide endwise in the bone pockets during such
bending.
I prefer to make the strips of folded cloth with both edges folded, and that the
sewing of the strips to the corset shall be by means of lines of stitching adjacent to
such folded edges; this construction in the strips giving an appreciably greater
amount of stiffness or rigidity to the strips and to the part of the corset to which
they are applied, than is given by the use of strips made of a single thickness of
fabric, unless relatively thick fabric be used.
An important advantage gained in the manufacture of the corset by the use of
many narrow strips arranged as described, is, that such strips may be easily and
readily bent side-wise or edgewise in applying them to the corset body, so that
they will lie smoothly thereon, even though bent or curved to a considerable
extent, as in the case of the lowermost set of strips shown in Figure 1 of the
drawings.
As hereinbefore mentioned, it is preferred to divide the several strips into
divergent groups at the front of the corset, this construction being employed
because means for resisting. extreme flexure of the bones is not so much needed at
this point, and the corset has a more ornamental or pleasing appearance by the use
of such divergent arrangement. At the same time the narrow strips so arranged at
the front portion of the corset are not useless, because they also to a considerable
degree, increase the strength and uniformity of the stiffening at this point;
although by reason of the spreading apart of the groups they leave the stiffening
strips more free to bend than at the sides of the corset where they are spaced
uniformly or practically so.

page_text: 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. The combination with the cloth forming the body of the corset, bone pockets
formed by strips applied to the outer surface of the said cloth and stiffening strips
or bones inserted therein, of a wide girdle consisting of a plurality of narrow strips
applied circumferentially at the waist region of the corset between the said cloth
composing the body of the corset and the bones, at a distance apart less than the
width of the strips, each of said strips consisting of fabric stitched to the cloth
body, substantially as described.
2. The combination with the cloth forming the body of the corset, bone pockets
formed of strips applied to the outer surface of the said cloth and stiffening strips
or bones inserted therein, of a plurality of narrow strips applied circumferentially
at the waist region of the corset between the said cloth composing the body of the
corset and the bones, cach of said strips consisting of cloth folded at its edges and
secured to the cloth body by means of lines of stitching passing through its folded
edges, substantially as described.
Deted this 20th day of March 1806
JAMES STONE.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.