An Improved Manufacture of Hats.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 4th July, 1894-Accepted, 5th Oct., 1894
J. CLÉMENT GIRARD, of 20 Boulevard de Charonne, Paris, in the Republic
of France, Hatter, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
1
My invention relates to an improved manufacture of hats with flounces (à volants)
made of any material which can be fulled.
The manufacture of hats which I propose consists in the direct production, at
the moment when the hat form is fulled, of flounces capable of assuming any
desired shape.
I obtain this result by covering the hat form with a sheet of paper, cardboard
or other flexible material which I cover with pile, wool or other material capable
of being fulled, and continue the fulling operation.
I recommence this as many times as I wish to make flounces, giving to my
preservative sheet the form and dimension of the flounce to be obtained.
Dated this 5th day of October 1893.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Manufacture of Hats.
I, CLEMENT GIRARD, of 20 Boulevard de Charonne, Paris, in the Republic
of France, Hatter, 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:-
The bells, discs, berets and the like of felt, wool, cloth and the like or any
other material which can be fulled and has heretofore been employed in the
manufacture of hats of any kind, have always been plain that is to say the
material before its final shaping had a smooth and plain appearance on the two
faces.
The object of the present invention is the manufacture of forms, bells, discs,
berets which have formed on one of the faces kinds of flounces, not attached but
obtained at the moment of the felting to the first degree in the following
manner:
If I take for example a disc of felt which is to be felted to the first degree
by adding thereto a first flounce, I provide first the whole upper outer edge with
a ring of paper having the width of the flounce to be obtained, then, having
covered it with pile prepared for this purpose, I commence to felt to the first
degree in all directions the disc upon itself.
Where the paper is, it prevents the adherence of the pile to the disc, and the
pile projected as it is felted to the first degree produces a flounce forming one
piece with the disc by the edge where it projects beyond this preserving ring.
By covering this first flounce again in the same manner it will be seen that after
having operated in the same manner a second will be obtained and so forth.
In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated the manner in which my
invention may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.

page_text: Figure 1 is a plan view of a hat made according to my invention, and
Figures 2 and 3 show sections of the same provided with several flounces
or rims.
Figure 1 represents the body of a hat, of felt or any other material which can
be fulled, provided with flounces a bc obtained by my system, and formed in a
single piece with the said body A.
During the operation of felting to the first degree, (Figure 2) if it is desired to
obtain a flounce or rim upon a disc or rim A of felt, I cover the said disc or rim
with a ring B of paper or other similar material having the width of the Hounce or
rim to be produced, and 1 continue the fulling by covering this ring with the
necessary quantity of pile for obtaining the said flounce or rim c which is then
detached where the protecting ring B is arranged and forms one piece with the
body proper of the hat.
I repeat this operation as many times as I wish to obtain flounces or rims which
may assume any desired form and arrangements occupying the positions which are
desired as shown in Figure 3.
The flounces may be arranged in the contrary direction, parallel, circular or the
like they may also have such size as may be desired, and be heterogeneous as
regards materials and colour.
Whatever may be the forms of the bells, berets, discs, I may, as before stated,
obtain a series of superposed flounces or sheets extending over the whole or part of
the surface, and assuming any desired form.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
--
First. In the felting to the first degree of bells, discs and the like designed for
the manufacture of hats of materials which can be fulled, the direct production
of flounces of any form, dimension, number and arrangement, substantially as
described.
Second. The making of flounces of various materials and thus varying the
appearance as regards form and colour, substantially as described.
Third. The making of flounces of any outline in accordance with the fashion
directly without gumming or stitching, substantially as described.
Dated this 4th day of July 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.