Improvements in Shirts Composed of Knitted Fabric.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1889-Accepted, 2nd Nov., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Shirts Composed of Knitted Fabric.
I LOUIS NAPOLEON DEVON WILLIAMS, of No. 2079, East Cumberland Street, in
the City of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Manu-
facturer of Knitting Machinery and Knitted Goods, 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:-
The main object of this invention is to produce a knitted shirt in which objectionable
seams are avoided, especially in the shoulder portion of the shirt.
One feature of the invention lies in making the shoulder portion of the shirt of
a web continuous from front to back, that is to say, without seams on the shoulders ;
and a further feature consists in making the shoulder portion and sleeves of the
shirt in one piece, so as to dispense with seams around the arm holes.
In the accompanying drawings :-
Figs. 1 and 2, are views representing one method of making a seamless shouldered
knitted shirt in accordance with my invention.
Fig. 3, is a diagram, illustrating the method of forming a neck opening in the
shoulder web of the shirt.
Figs. 4 and 5, are views illustrating a method of making the shirt so as to dispense
with any seams at the arm holes.
Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the method of making the shoulder and sleeve
portions of the shirt shown in Figs. 4 and 5.
Figs. 7 and 8, are views showing other forms of seamless arm hole shirts; and
Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the method of making the shirt shown in Fig. 7.
In making the shirt shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I firstly form a flat web, A, of the
proper length and width for the shoulder portion of the garment, which web is
then folded as shown in Fig. 1, and the loops around the lower edges, b, of the web
are, by preference, applied to the needles of a circular or other knitting machine
capable of producing a seamless tubular fabric. Such fabric is then produced of a
length sufficient for the body, B, of a shirt, as shown in Fig. 2, and if the shirt is to
be sleeveless, all that then remains to be done is to form the neck opening and breast
slit, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2, or if desired, a neck opening of the required
form may be formed in the strip, A, during the making of the same or before it
is connected to the body, as shown for instance in Fig. 3. A strip of this character
may be made by first making a web on needles from, a, to, y, up to the line w, and
then while the needles from, v, to, y, retain their stitches proceeding with the formation
of fabric upon the needles from, x, to, v, and gradually dropping out needles at the
end, v, until at the line, w¹, the web has been properly narrowed, then gradually
bringing these needles into action until they are again operative up to the line, v,
when the web reaches the line w². The same operations are then performed upon the
other half of the needles from, y, to, v, producing narrowed web from, w, to, w¹, and
widened web from, to¹, to, to³, and web of the full width from, x, to, y, is then made
until the strip is completed.
A sleeveless shirt of this character is perfectly seamless, as the running of the
stitches along the edges, b, of the strip, A, upon the needles of the machine
which produces the tubular body, B, forms a seamless union between the parts, A,
and, B.
If a sleeved shirt is to be produced the sleeves, D, preferably of shaped tubular
seainless fabric, may be produced on another machine, and the loops or stitches at
the inner end of each sleeve secured to the arm holes formed by the edges of the
folded top or shoulder part, A, of the body of the shirt, the arin hole seams thus

page_text: constituting the only seams in the garment, and being formed by the usual seaming
machine, so that they are not bulky or uncomfortable, or if desired, selvage edges
around each arm hole may be applied to the needles of a circular machine, on which
the shaped tubular seainless sleeve is produced.
Various other modifications may be adopted, for instance the lower edges, b, of the
folded strip of fabric, A, forming the shoulder portion of the shirt may be secured by
the usual seaming machine to the upper edge of a previously prepared tube, B, of the
proper size for the body of the shirt, the sleeves may be united to the shoulder portion
either before or after the body portion is united thereto, and the shoulder portion may
be of different fabric from the body and sleeves, so as to be less elastic in character
than the rest of the garment, and thus form a comparatively stiff yoke for the
garment.
If it is desired to avoid all seams around the arm holes, the shoulder portion
and sleeves of the shirt may be made in one piece, as shown in Figs. 4, 5, 7 and 8.
In these figures the wales of stitches are represented by plain lines, the views
being on too small a scale to warrant the representation of the stitches composing
said wales.
The shirt shown in Figs. 4 and 5, comprises an upper shoulder and sleeve
portion, A, D, and a tubular body B, the upper portion, A, D, being tubular and
seamless as regards the opposite sleeve portions, D, and as regards the centre or
shoulder portion, A, comprising a seamless web having selvaged edges, b, which are
united to the upper edges, a, of the tubular body.
The courses of stitches in the shoulder and sleeve portion, A, D, of the shirt are
vertical, and the wales horizontal, as shown, while in the tubular body, B, of the shirt
these relations are reversed, the courses being horizontal and the wales vertical.
In making this shirt I prefer to employ a machine of that class having opposite
needle heads, m, and, n, as shown in Fig. 6, the web being started at the narrowest
or cuff portion of one sleeve, and this portion being formed by applying the yarn
first to the needles of one head and then to the needles of the other head, so as to form
a tubular fabric upon the needles, say from, a, to, ¹, Fig. 6.
After the cuff portion has been completed, additional needles are gradually introduced
at the end,, of the set, so as to widen the fabric as at, f, for the body of the sleeve,
the extra needles thus intoduced extending say from, ¹, to ². A tube of the latter
size is then produced until it becomes necessary to again widen the tube to form
the armpit gussets; g, extra. needles being then successively introduced, say
from, a, to
The production of tubular fabric is now arrested, and a strip of fabric with opposite
selvage edges is formed by carrying the yarn from the point, x, of one needle head
to the point, &, of the same, thence across to the point, a, of the other needle head,
thence to the point, 3, of said needle head, and thence back again to the starting point,
until a length of fabric has been produced equal to the desired width of the shirt from
armpit to armpit, the width of this strip being dependent upon the desired depth of
the shoulder portion of the garment.
The production of tubular fabric for the other sleeve is then resumed, and the
needles from, ³, to, ², are gradually thrown out of action so as to narrow the tube
and form the opposite armpit gusset, 9, the sleeve tube being then formed upon the
needles from, a, to, e, until it becomes necessary to again narrow at the cuff, which is
done by gradually throwing out of action the needles from, ², to, a¹, the final cuff
being then produced upon the needles from, a, to, a¹.
The selvaged edges, b, of the shoulder portion of the shirt are then by preference
applied to the needles of a circular knitting machine, upon which a tubular seamless
web for the body, B, of the shirt is produced, or if desired, such tubular seamless
web, previously produced upon a separate machine, may, after the completion of the
shoulder and sleeve portion of the shirt, have its upper edges, a, secured to the selvaged
edges, b, of said shoulder portion of the shirt by a looping machine of the usual
construction, or, in place of using a seamless tube for the body of the shirt, said tube

page_text: may consist of a flat web folded and looped together on one side, or of two flat webs
united together at their opposite edges so as to form seams at each side of the body,
and instead of starting the knitting of the shoulder and sleeve web at the outer end
of the cuff, as described, ribbed cuffs separately produced may be looped upon the
outer ends of the sleeves, D, after the formation of the latter, hence when 1' allude
to seamless sleeves, I do not in all cases mean sleeves with cuffs.
The shoulder and sleeve portions of the shirt may, however, be made in one seam-
less piece, with ribbed cuffs, if desired, upon a rib machine having supplementary
needles working in conjunction with those of the cylinder, a ribbed cuff being first
formed upon the needles of the cylinder and dial, and after the formation of said
ribbed cuff, the dial needles being thrown out of action and the sleeve portion
formed upon the needles of the cylinder alone, and widened during its formation by
the introduction one after another of the supplementary needles working in con-
junction with those of the cylinder, tubular fabric being produced until the arm-hole
gusset, g, has been completed, and a selvaged web then formed by reciprocating the
guide around the machine, instead of rotating it until the desired length of web for
the shoulder portion of the shirt has been produced, whereupon the rotation of the
guide will be again resumed and the supplementary needles gradually thrown out of
action so as to narrow the tubular web for the opposite sleeve, until finally the
cylinder needles alone remain in action, whereupon the dial needles may again be
rendered operative and the ribbed cuff for the opposite sleeve produced.
In some cases, also, the formation of the selvage edges on the shoulder portion of
the shirt may not be adhered to, said portion being knitted in tubular form with
sleeves and afterwards slit along the bottom for attachment to the upper edges of
the body portion, B, of the shirt, or the front and back webs of the shoulder portion
of the shirt may in the first instance be disconnected both at top and bottom and
afterwards seamed together over the shoulders, the seamless shoulders, however, being
preferred in all cases.
The making of the shoulder and sleeve portion of the shirt in one piece, so as to
dispense with seams where the sleeves join the shoulder portions, does not necessarily
involve the making of the sleeves in tubular seamless form, thus, a flat web with
opposite selvaged edges may be made of such shape that when folded in the centre
it will form the shoulder and sleeve portions of the shirt, as shown in Fig. 7, for
instance, the sleeves being completed by looping together the selvage edges, i. of
these portions of the web, while the selvaged edges of the shoulder portion may be
united to the body of the shirt in any of the ways hereinabove set forth, or the said
shoulder portion of the web may be of such width, as shown in Fig. 7, as to form
the body of the shirt when its opposite looped edges are united so as to form a
tube.
When the shoulder and sleeve portions of the shirt are formed with horizontal
wales in the manner set forth, they can be readily shaped, as the wrist and arm pit
gussets can be formed by bringing into or throwing out of action needle after
needle at the ends of the acting set, whereas widening and narrowing cannot be
effectively accomplished if the wales in the shoulder and sleeve portion of the shirt
are vertical, for the courses of stitches would in this case, be horizontal, and the
formation of the straight portions of the sleeves would necessitate the bringing into
or throwing out of action of a large number of needles simultaneously, which would
in practice be objectionable. While, however, this arrangement of the wales in the
shoulder and sleeve portions of the shirt is preferable, it is not absolutely necessary,
as in Fig. 8 I have shown a web shaped to form the shoulder and sleeve portions of
the shirt, and having longitudinal courses of stitches forming wales at right angles
thereto, this web being either shaped in the knitting, so as to present selvaged edges
in the sleeve portions, or being cut from a flat web, and being, after shaping, folded
on the centre line, p, and having its edges united, where necessary, to form the
sleeves.

page_text: The usual neck opening, shown by dotted lines in Figs. 4 and 7, is formed in the
shoulder portion of the shirt either by cutting the same or by forming said opening
with selvaged edges during the knitting of said shoulder portion of the shirt, and
if the shirt is intended as a woman's shirt, openings, as shown by dotted lines in
Fig. 7, may be formed in the front of said shoulder portion of the shirt, for the
reception of the usual breast pockets, and the body webs may be shaped to conform
to the waist and hips, as shown by dotted lines in said figure.
A diagram illustrating one method of forming such a web as is represented in
Fig. 7, is shown in Fig. 9, the horizontal lines representing a row of needles in a
straight frame. The web is commenced on the needles from, 1, to 1, this being the
width of the body portion of the shirt. At the waist the web is shaped by gradually
dropping needles out of action at each end from, 1, to, 2, and then gradually bringing
these needles into action again. Needles are gradually brought into action at each end, from
1, to 3, to form the armpit gussets, g, and the needles are then thrown into action
simultaneously, up to the line, 4, successively from, 4, to, 5, and simultaneously
from, 5, to, 6, to form the sleeve and cuff. After the desired length of fabric for the
cuff has been knitted, the operations are reversed, the needles being thrown out of
action simultaneously from, 6, to, 5, successively from, 5, to, 4, simultaneously from,
4, to, 3, and successively from, 3, to 1, so as to shape the other side of the sleeve, the
body web being then produced on the needles from, 1, to, 1, and shaped at the
waist by successively throwing out of action and bringing into action the needles
from, 1, to, 2.
In order to form the breast slits, three guides may be used in knitting this portion
of the fabric, one guide supplying the needles from, 1, to, 7, another guide supplying
the needles from, 7, to, 8, and the third guide supplying the needles from, 8, to, 1,
so that three independent webs will be produced.
In knitting that portion of the web in which the neck opening is formed, two
guides may be used, one guide supplying the needles from the end, 6, of the frame
to the centre line, 9, and the other guide supplying the needles from the centre
line, 9, to the opposite end, 6, and needles being successively thrown out of action
from the centre, 9, say to about the lines, 7, and, 8, until the neck opening has been
widened to the desired extent, and these needles being then successively brought into
action again to narrow the opening.
.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is.
1. A shirt of knit fabric having a seamless tubular body, and a seamless shoulder
web, substantially as hereinbefore specified.
2. A shirt of knit fabric having a seamless tubular body and a seamless shoulder
web, united to said body without a seam, substantially as hereinbefore specified.
3. A shirt of knit fabric, having a seamless tubular body, a seamless shoulder
web, and shaped tubular seamless sleeves, substantially as hereinbefore specified.
4. A shirt of knit fabric having the shoulder web and sleeves in one piece, and a
body depending from said shoulder web, as herein before set forth.
5. A shirt of knit fabric having a seamless shoulder web, sleeves in one piece
therewith, and a body depending from the shoulder web, as hereinbefore set forth.
6. A shirt of knit fabric having a seamless shoulder web, shaped tubular seamless
sleeves in one piece therewith, and a body depending from the shoulder web,
substantially as hereinbefore specified.
7. A shirt of knit fabric having a seamless shoulder portion, shaped tubular seam-
less sleeves in one piece therewith, and a seamless tubular body, substantially, as
herein before specified.
8. A shirt of knit fabric, having a seamless shoulder portion, sleeves in one piece
J1
'

page_text: therewith, and a body depending from the shoulder web, the direction of the wales in
the shoulder and sleeves being at right angles to the direction of the wales in the body,
substantially as herein before specified.
Dated this 26th day of Sentember 1889
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
321, High Holborn, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: No text detected.