IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED SHIRTS, VESTS, AND JERSEYS
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert James Sargeant, of Leicester, in the County of
Leicester, Hosiery Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED SHIRTS, VESTS, AND JERSEYS."
Sealed the 9th Sentember 1879 and dated the 23rd May 1879
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert James Sargeant at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd May 1879.
ROBERT JAMES SARGEANT, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Hosiery
Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUfacture of KNITTED SHIRTS, VESTS,
AND JERSEYS."
According to the ordinary mode of manufacturing knitted under vests, shirts,
jerseys and similar articles of wearing apparel, it is usual to make a slit or opening
in the front of the garment to allow sufficient space for the head of the wearer to
pass through when the garment is being put on, and this slit or opening when
closed is fastened by buttons or strings which are continually coming unfastened,
or otherwise cause discomfort to the wearer.
Now the object of the present Invention is so to manufacture this class of goods
as to give an extra amount of elasticity to the neck opening, so that the garment
may be readily put on without the necessity for the slit or opening in the front.
To this end I insert into the front and back of the garment elastic gussets of
some knitted fabric, by preference, which has a great amount of lateral elasticity,
such for instance as the knitted fabric known in the trade as 1 & 1 rib. These
elastic gussets can be extended sufficiently to allow the garment to pass readily
over the head of the wearer, and when the garment is in place will contract, and
cause the garment to fit nicely round the neck of the wearer.
""
The manner of inserting the elastic gussets may be greatly varied according to
the style of garment to which they are to be adapted, that is to say, whether
fashioned, straight, ribbed, or plain knitted goods, but in general it will be
desirable to knit the elastic gussets in a separate machine, and to "run them on
the needles of the frame during the progress of knitting the garment, which when
completed will be removed from the frame, and the sides of the gusset will be
seamed up.
The join between the elastic gusset and the shirt, vest, or jersey may
be concealed by embroidery, and the edges of the neck and sleeves, whether the
knitted fabric be "wrought" or "cut up," may be finished by hand made crochet
or binding.

page_text: Or the garment may be knitted in the ordinary manner up to the part where it
is desired to insert the gusset when a certain number of the needles may be pressed
off so as to leave space for the insertion of a gusset, the shoulder pieces being
knitted by the remaining needles, each set of needles to form the shoulder pieces
being provided with a separate thread layer.
The garment when completed is taken to a suitable frame, and a previously
prepared gusset is run on in the machine, or is otherwise connected to the
garment.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Robert James Sargeant in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd
November 1879.
ROBERT JAMES SARGEANT, of Leicester, in the County of Leicester, Hosiery Manu-
facturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED SHIRTS, VESTS, AND
JERSEYS."
According to the ordinary mode of manufacturing knitted under vests, shirts,
jerseys, and similar articles of wearing apparel, it is usual to make a slit or opening
in the front of the garment to allow sufficient space for the head of the wearer to
pass through when the garinent is being put on, and this slit or opening when closed
fastened by buttons or strings, which are continually coming unfastened, or
otherwise cause discomfort to the wearer.
Now the object of the present Invention is so to manufacture this class of
goods as to give an extra amount of elasticity to the neck opening, so that the
garment may be readily put on without the necessity for the slit or opening in the
front. To this end I insert into the front and back of the garment pieces of elastic
fabric, such for instance as the knitted fabric known in the trade as 1-and-1 rib.
These elastic gussets can be extended sufficiently to allow the garment to pass
readily over the head of the wearer, and when the garment is in place will contract
and form a tight fit. The manner of inserting the clastic gussets may be greatly
varied according to the style of garment to which they are to be adapted, that is
to say, whether fashioned straight, ribbed, or plain knitted goods, but in general it
will be desirable to knit the elastic gussets in a separate machine, and to "run
them on" the needles of the frame during the progress of knitting the garment.
When the knitting of the garment is completed the sides of the gusset will require
to be seamed up to complete the manufacture. The seams between the elastic
gusset and the shirt, vest, or jersey may be concealed by embroidery, and the edges
of the neck and sleeves, whether the knitted fabric be "wrought
"cut up,"
may be finished by hand crochet or binding."
»
or
In the accompanying Drawing, I have shewn several modes of applying the.
elastic gusset to form a self fitting expansible neck to shirts, vests, and similar
articles. In fashioned goods, such as those known to hosiery manufacturers as
"men's white extra super long sleeve shirts," I prefer to adopt the manner of

page_text: inserting the elastic gusset as shewn in Fig. 1 of the Drawing. The knitting of
the shirt is as usual commenced at the part a, which is to form the lower front
edge of the shirt, and continued until the line 1-2 is reached. The machine is
then stopped, and a piece of 1-and-1 ribbed fabric b of suitable size (previously
knitted in a rib machine) is "run on" the frame needles near the middle of the
division of the needles. A slack course is then worked at this part and "turned off."
The ordinary double thread layer narrowing apparatus for laying two threads
simultaneously over parts of the division of needles (in place of the single thread
layer used in the knitting of the plain part of the shirt) is now brought into use,
and the knitting of the two strips at opposite sides of the division is commenced
and continued up to the line 3-4, so as to complete (with the breadth of the
elastic gusset inserted) the width of the shirt. From this line the two strips of
knitted fabric are narrowed on the inside edge to the line 5-6, in order to form
a good fitting neck, and to leave a wider gap to be filled by a back elastic gusset c.
The knitting of the two strips at this narrowed width is continuous to the line
7-8. Another piece of 1-and-1 ribbed fabric is then "run on" the frame needles
corresponding in width to the gap provided for it, and the use of the double thread
laying apparatus is discontinued. The single thread carrier is now again employed
and the knitting is recommenced the full width of the shirt. This knitting is
continued, until a sufficient length has been knitted to form the back of the shirt.
On removal of the shirt from the machine the sides of the elastic gusset, and the
inner edges of the selvaged side pieces are seamed together by hand.
The edges of the fabric may, if desired, be finished in the usual manner by hand
knitting or crochet. The shape of the self fitting and expansible neck, and the
respective widths of the front and back elastic gussets may be greatly varied, as
shewn in the Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, which represent 2-and-1 ribbed shirts with
1-and-1 elastic gussets.
Fig. 4 shews a white cashmere vest (or it may be a chest protector) in which the
back gusset is of less width than the front, and the neck or shoulder pieces are
consequently widened in knitting the fabric from the line 3-4, as seen in the
Figure.
In "maid's white cashmere low necked vests" both widening and narrowing of
the shoulder pieces will be required on the inside edge, as seen at Fig. 5. This
class of goods may be finished by hand knitting or crochet.
Although in general it is desirable as above stated to knit the elastic gussets in
a separate "rib frame," attaching them during the process of knitting to the
garment, and completing the manufacture after its removal therefrom in the
manner above described, I have found that in fashioned ribbed shirts and vests a
stronger and neater finish is obtained by knitting the elastic gusset in the rib
frame employed to knit the main part of the garment..
In order to adopt the ordinary rib knitting machinery to the manufacture of
gusseted garments it is only necessary to supply the mechanism with a means of
drawing an extra amount of thread during the formation of the loops on that part
of the width of the needles where the elastic gusset is to be knitted. This is
conveniently and simply done by fitting the falling bar of the ordinary knitting
machine with a sliding plate slotted at its ends, and secured to the falling bar by
screws. Gaps are cut out of this plate of the required width of the gusset, and the
plate is adjusted in position by the knitter when required to be used.
With a rib frame or machine of about 24-gauge fitted as above described, the
operation of knitting, say a 2-and-1 ribbed shirt with a 1-and-1 ribbed clastic
gusset will be as follows:-The knitting is commenced as above described, and
continued as a 2-and-1 ribbed fabric across the whole of the width of the machine,
until the line 1-2 is reached. I then remove from the centre of the rib machine
a width of needles corresponding to the width of gusset intended to be worked,
say five leads of needles having of nine needles to the inch, and I substitute in
place thereof other leads of needles having, say, eighteen needles to the inch. The
nine loops from the machine needles are then placed upon every alternate needle of

page_text: the finer gauge machine needles; the remaining needles being looped by pulling up
threads from the last knitted course. The loose sliding bar above mentioned is
then to be pulled forward, so that the jacks and their sinkers belonging to that
part of the frame where the gusset is to be knitted may fall through the gap in
the bar onto the falling bar itself, that is to say, deeper than at the other part of
the width of the frame. By this means longer slack loops are formed at this part
of the work, and these slack loops provide thread for the extra number of machine
needles inserted. As an increased amount of thread is thrown into this part of
the fabric, and is taken up by forming an additional number of ribs, greater firmness
and clasticity is obtained at this part.
This change having been made by the knitter the knitting is continued, till
sufficient depth (say about five inches) is knitted for the elastic gusset. The loops
of the gusset are then removed from the machine needles, and placed on the frame
needles. A slack course is then made over this part and "turned off." This slack
course may be afterwards crocheted by hand to firmly fix the end threads.
The shoulder straps are now to be knitted, for which the ordinary double thread
laying and narrowing apparatus is employed, as before described, to lay the threads
for the two side strips decreasing or increasing the width of the fabric, according
to the desired shape of the neck.
When sufficient length of fabric is knitted to form the shoulder straps and the
narrowing apparatus is thrown out of use, the work may be again set on the 1-and-1
portion of the machine needles, the knitting across the full width being at the
same time resumed. This is continued until the required. depth of elastic gusset
for the back of the shirt is completed.
The loops of the 1-and-1 ribbed portion are then to be taken off the rib machine
needles and put onto the frame needles, the fine gauge machine needles removed
and replaced with 2-and-1 rib machine needles as before. Alternate loops are then
taken from the frame needles and placed on the rib machine needles, the knitting
of the shirt may then be continued and completed as usual.
To avoid the delay occasioned by the removal and adjustment of the differently
gauged needles upon the rib machine, and additional set of machine bars and
connections provided with needles having the required difference of gauge for the
knitting of the gusset, and the shirt may be kept prepared and substituted for the
one having an uniform gauge.
Another mode of carrying out my Invention is to knit the garment in the
ordinary manner up to the part where it is desired to insert the gusset, and then
to press off a certain number of needles so as to leave space for the insertion of
the gusset. The shoulder pieces will then be knitted by the remaining needles,
each set of needles to form the shoulder pieces being provided with a separate
thread layer. When the knitting of the garment is completed with the spaces left
for the gusset the work is taken to a suitable frame, and a previously prepared
gusset is run on in a manner well known to the trade.
"
"
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
Manufacture of Knitted Shirts, Vests, and Jerseys" and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent, I claim,-The manufacture of knitted shirts, vests, and
jerseys with elastic gussets in the manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert James Sargeant, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.