IMPROVEMENTS IN GATHERING OR FRILLING ATTACHMENTS FOR SEWING MACHINES
Year: 1874

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Massie at the Office
"
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
September 1874.-A communication from abroad by James Franklin
Kellogg, of the Village of Oshawa, in the County of Ontario, and
Province of Ontario, Canada.
I, JAMES MASSIE, presently residing at the Victoria Hotel, in the City
of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
GATHERING OR FRILLING ATTACHMENTS FOR SEWING MACHINES," the same being -
a communication to me. from abroad by James Franklin Kellogg, of the
Village of Oshawa, in the County of Ontario, and Province of Ontario,
Canada, to be as follows:-
The nature and novelty of the Invention consist as follows:-
First. In the peculiar construction of the base plate (attachable to the
sewing machine) by forming the same with a raised portion to admit of
the cloth being passed thereunder, and to adapt the device for gathering
at various distances from the edge of the cloth; also in forming the said

page_text: plate with a projecting arm to underlie the feed bar for compressing
cloth of various or several thicknesses by means of a flexible spring
attachment.
Second. The construction and employment of a feed bar operating on
the upper surface of the cloth and above the base plate, as before
described, to bring the gatherings or frillings towards the needle.
Third. The adaptation to the feed bar of a spiral spring passing around
the same, and lever engaging with the needle bar, whereby when the
lever is depressed by the needle bar the feed bar is pressed forward by
the tension of the spring, and drawn rearward by the lever to feed the
gathers when the needle is ascending.
Fourth. The application of the feed bar of a screw-adjusting device, by
which the extent of motion is regulated to govern the fullness or size of
the gatherings or frillings.
Fifth. The application to the base plate of an adjustable guide having
spring bars to receive two several layers of cloth outwardly from the feed
bar, with shoulders thereon to keep the inner edges, in line with the feed
bar. The tendency of the cloth is thus made inwardly, and the shoulders.
cause it to pass straight to the needle.
Figure 1 is a top view or plan of a gathering attachment constructed 2
in accordance with and illustrative of one modification of this Invention;
Figure 2 is an end view, and Figure 3 is a side view of the same, both
corresponding to Figure 1.
A is the base plate, by which the gathering or frilling mechanism or
device is attached to the sewing machine by a screw connection entering
the hole at J. This plate is formed with a projecting arm B extending
under the feed bar, and provided with a flexible end to adapt it to
various thicknesses of cloth. The plate A may be formed with the .
part C raised so as to admit of the cloth being passed thereunder and.
over the flexible end of the arm B to adapt the device to gather at such.
distances from the edge of the cloth as may be required. D is the feed
bar operating over the projecting arm B of the plate A, and on the
upper side of the cloth to be gathered; it and the bar B are provided
with flat spring pieces E and E' respectively slotted to admit the needle.
The arm B has also fixed on it an arm with a lateral projection E" 3
having a short elastic piece E2 (also slotted for the needle to pass

page_text: through) projecting back over the feed piece E. The bar D slides in
gudgeons or ears h bent upwards from the plate A, and between such
gudgeons or ears the bar is encircled by a spiral spring F, its tension
moving the feed bar forward in the act of gathering. G, G¹, is a bell-
crank lever, the long horizontal arm G of which is operated by a
needle bar, and is pivoted at G" to a standard bent upwards from the
plate A. The short end of this lever projects down into a recess H or
other equivalent in the bar D to engage with a projection or shoulder
on the inner end of the thumbscrew I screwed into the end of the bar D
for regulating the take up of the gathering action, so that when the
arm G of the lever is depressed by the needle-bar the feed bar D and
feed piece E are thereby drawn rearward or from the needle. The
screwing in or out of the thumbscrew I respectively raises or lowers the
end G of the lever, so that the downward action of the needle bar causes
it to draw back the feed bar D more or less, and compress the spiral
spring according as it foreshortens the bar D to adapt it to gather more
or less cloth at each successive stroke, according as it is desired that the
gathers should be more or less fine. M is a guide or bar having near
its inner end a slot through which passes a screw K to secure it to the
part C of the plate A, the elongated slot admitting of the guide being
adjusted inwardly or outwardly to the desired distance. Above and
below the guide fixed thereto are spring bars L, the inner ends bent to
form shoulders to direct the edge of the cloth to the needle and keep it
straight with the feed bar. The outward ends of the bars L pinch the
cloth passing between them, and thereby cause it to have an inward
tendency against the shoulders before passing the needle, as before
described.