IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SILK PILE VELVET
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Kemp, of 20, Spital Square, and Thomas
Cowley, of Hart's Lane, Bethnal Green Road, both in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
SILK PILE VELVET."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Kemp and
Thomas Cowley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 3rd April 1862.
We, WILLIAM KEMP, of 20, Spital Square, and THOMAS COWLEY, of Hart's
Lane, Bethnal Green Road, both in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
PACTURE OF SILK PILE VELVET," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of silk.
pile velvet. In the manufacture of plain or unfigured silk velvets it is usual
to place the warp, which when cut on wires forms the pile in the loom, on a
single beam or roller, and oue thread of this warp is taken through each dent
of the reed, and is made to loop or pass over each of the velvet wires used in
weaving the fabric. This arrangement renders it desirable that the pile warp
should be very regular, as if there be even a single warp thread materially
thicker or thinner than the rest it will mark the fabric with a row or line

page_text: from end to end. To avoid this difficulty it has been proposed to divide the
pile warp into two parts, and to carry it on two warp beams or rollers; the
total number of warp threads employed not being changed, there being still
one for each dent of the reed. In weaving, in place of looping or taking
every pile warp thread over every wire, each one had only every alternate pile
warp thread looped or taken over it; thus the threads of one part of the pile
warp were taken over one wire, and those of the other part over the next, and
so on. This arrangement is successful as far as the hiding irregularities in
the pile warp is concerned, the lines or rows which an irregularity would
form being broken up; but the fabric produced will look comparatively poor,
as the number of pile warp threads looped or passed over each wire is only
half that of the threads which would be so looped over the wire were the
manufacture conducted in the ordinary manner; or, if to prevent such poverty,
each thread used in the pile warp be a double thread, or composed of two
ordinary sized threads, then the surface of the fabric will have a very coarse
appearance.
.:
Now according to our Invention, in manufacturing plain or unfigured. silk
velvets we employ two pile warps, each having a complete, number of threads.
The warps are carried on two separate beams, and two pile warp threads,
namely, one from each beam are passed through each dent of the reed, and
we make these two threads loop or pass over the wires alternately, that is to
say, if one of these two threads loops or passes over one wire, the other is
made to loop over the next, and so on.
According to our Invention, also, we cause that portion of the pile warp
which at any moment is not engaged in making the pile loop to pass on the
surface of the fabric immediately under the pile loops formed by the other
portion of the pile warp, so that the surface of the body fabric, the shoot of
which may be of cotton, becomes coated with silk.
In weaving velvet in the ordinary manner, it is customary to introduce
three shoots of weft between one pile wire and the next, and a safe tie has
not been made with a smaller number where a complete pile warp has
been looped over each wire. We, however, use only two shoots between the
pile wires, and we still get a safe tie, as there are, in fact, four shoots between
one loop and the next of the same pile thread.
The improvements above described apply to both terry, and cut pile velvet,
except that in manufacturing terry velvet it will usually be desirable to
introduce more than two shoots between the wires.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Kemp and Thomas Cowley in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 3rd October 1862.
2
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
KEMP, of 20, Spital Square, and THOMAS COWLEY, of Hart's Lane, Bethnal
Green Road, both in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said William Kemp and Thomas Cowley, Her special licence that we, the
said William Kemp and Thomas Cowley, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William Kemp and Thomas Cowley,
our 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 SILK PILE VELVET," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said William Kemp and Thomas Cowley, our executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under
the hand and seal of one of us, or 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 William Kemp, on behalf of myself
and the said Thomas Cowley, 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 thereof, that is
to say-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of silk
pile velvet. In the manufacture of plain or unfigured silk velvets it is usual
to place the warp, which when cut on wires forms the pile, in the loom on a
single beam or roller, and one thread of this warp is taken through each dent
of the reed, and is made to loop or pass over each of the velvet wires used in
weaving the fabric. This arrangement renders it desirable that the pile warp
should be very regular, as if there be even a single warp thread materially thicker

page_text: or thinner than the rest it will mark the fabric with a row or line from end to
end. To avoid this difficulty it has been proposed to divide the pile warp into
two parts, and to carry it on two warp beams or rollers; the total number
of warp threads employed not being changed, there being still one for each
dent of the reed. In weaving, in place of looping or taking every pile warp
thread over every wire, each wire had only every alternate pile warp thread
looped or taken over it; thus the threads of one part of the pile warp were
taken over one wire, and those of the other part over the next, and so on.
This arrangement is successful as far as the hiding irregularities in the pile
warp is concerned, the lines or rows which an irregularity would form being
broken up; but the fabric produced will look comparatively poor, as the
number of pile warp threads looped or passed over each wire is only half that
of the threads which would be so looped over the wire were the manufacture
conducted in the ordinary manner; or, if to prevent such poverty each thread
used in the pile warp be a double thread, or composed of two ordinary sized
threads, then the surface of the fabric will have a very coarse appearance.
Now according to our Invention, in manufacturing plain or unfigured silk
velvets we employ two pile warps, each having a complete number of threads.
The warps are carried on two separate beams, and two pile warp threads
(namely, one from each beam) are passed through each dent of the reed, and
we make these two threads loop or pass over the wires alternately, that is to
say, if one of these two threads loops or passes over one wire, the other is
made to loop over the next, and so on.
According to our Invention, also, we cause that portion of the pile warp
which at any moment is not engaged in making the pile loop to pass on the
surface of the fabric immediately under the pile loops formed by the other
portion of the pile warp, so that the surface of the body fabric, the shoot of
which may be of cotton, becomes coated with silk.
In weaving velvet in the ordinary manner it is customary to introduce three
shoots of weft between one pile wire and the next, and a safe tie has not been
made with a smaller number where a complete pile warp has been looped
over each wire. We, however, use only two shoots between the pile wires,
and we still get a safe tie, as there are, in fact, four shoots between one loop
and the next of the same pile thread.
The improvements above described apply to both terry and cut pile velvet,
except that in manufacturing terry velvet it will usually be desirable to
introduce more than two shoots between the wires.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, we will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same. In using a double

page_text: quantity of pile warp in weaving silk velvet according to our Invention the
tie may be varied, but we prefer that shewn in the Diagram hereunto annexed.
We would state that we do not claim the use of only two shoots of weft
between the succeeding wires when weaving silk velvet, but find it desirable
to use only two shoots of weft when weaving cut pile silk velvet, by employing
two beams of silk warp for the pile, each beam having a full compliment of
warps, that is, one for each dent in the reed. A workman from the above
description will readily carry out our Invention, whether weaving cut pile or
terry velvet.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Kemp, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
WILLIAM KEMP. (L.S.)