Claims
- 1. In a stitching machine for producing a decorative wired ribbon, said stitching machine having a work plate, a needle, filament loopers and a driving means, the improvement comprising:
- a needle plate disposed within and generally coplanar with the work plate, positioned above the loopers and for the needle to pass therethrough, and having a tine that extends in the stitching direction,
- a first groove traversing the underside of the needle plate and progressing at least a portion of the length of the needle plate in the stitching direction, and
- a second groove communicating with the first groove and traversing a lateral face of the tine of the needle plate and progressing substantially the length of the tine in the stitching direction and at an upward incline,
- said first and second grooves receiving, transporting, and delivering a wire filament in cooperation with the ribbon via the drive means, for stitching the wire filament to the ribbon with at least a trim filament and a binding filament via the needle and loopers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 321,720, filed Mar. 10, 1989.
This invention relates to decorative ribbons, and to methods and machines for making them. More specifically, the invention relates to fabric ribbons that are edged with wire and trimmed with an overlay of decorative thread.
According to the invention, a run of fabric ribbon is simultaneously edged with wire and tightly bound with a binding filament (such as monofilament) and a trim filament (such as decorative thread). This is done in a single operation. The result is a unique ribbon construction, which has many desirable properties. The new ribbons are flexible, but will retain their shape when bent, twisted or tied into a desired configuration. They are elegantly simple in design and provide a novel streamlined finished product with components that are firmly bound together. The ribbons provide an improved edge and trimming where the wire meets the fabric. They represent an improvement in strength and design, by conveniently providing a two-sided edged ribbon rather than a one-sided edged ribbon having a definite front side and back side. These and other advantages and objectives will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention below.
Decorative fabric ribbons are known, as are fabric ribbons that have been edged with wire. However, the prior art wire ribbons are made by laying a wire near the edge of a fabric ribbon, folding the edge of the ribbon over the wire, and sewing or gluing down the folded edge to hold the wire in place.
This type of construction provides a ribbon that will retain its shape when bent, but which suffers from several significant disadvantages.
The folded edge in these known ribbons produces an unsightly seam, which gives the ribbon a definite front and a back, and which makes it more difficult to fashion the ribbon into pleasing shapes.
When the fabric edge is sewn down, the wire is only loosely held within a fabric sleeve, and thus it can move apart from the ribbon. This makes it more difficult to shape the ribbon, and a sliding wire can result in excess wire at one end of the ribbon and no wire at the other end. The sliding wire also makes the ribbon more difficult to control, and the ribbon is less likely to retain its shape over time. Side to side slippage of the wire can also cause undesirable bunching and/or buckling of the fabric.
Similar problems arise when glue is used. Although some glues may help keep the wire firmly in place, in general the bond is weak and cannot withstand the stress of normal use. Thus, the wire will eventually separate from the glue and ribbon over time, or when the ribbon is bent, twisted or tied in use. In addition, the application of the glue and the removal of excess glue results in significant production and quality control problems. For example, excess glue can deface the fabric ribbon, and glues of sufficient strength to hold the wire in place can degrade the fabric.
Another known method involves loosely sealing a wire between two laminated and/or embossed surfaces, which disadvantageously requires the use of two independent fabric surfaces. These ribbons typically are bulky and have an unsightly rear face. Additionally, the two surfaces have a tendency to separate, which defeats the purpose of having a reliable wired ribbon.
In view of these disadvantages, there has been a need for an improved decorative wired ribbon, especially one that provides a firm and integral union of fabric and wire, without the undesirable folds, seams and glue of prior ribbons.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of known wired ribbons, by providing a fabric ribbon edged with wire and bound with trim, so that the wire is hidden from view and yet is firmly affixed to the ribbon without folds, seams or glue.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method of making ribbons edged with wire and bound with trim.
It is yet another objective to provide an apparatus for making the ribbons of the invention.
The decorative ribbon of the invention comprises a fabric ribbon, a wire filament, at least one decorative or trim filament, and at least one binding filament. The trim and wire filaments are firmly bound and affixed to the fabric by the binding filament. In a preferred embodiment, this is achieved in one simultaneous and continuous operation. Also, the binding filament is preferably chosen and the trim filament is applied in a size, quantity and manner such that the wire filament and binding filament are both substantially or even completely hidden by the trim filament. This provides a seamless stitched border in one operation that holds the wire filament in place without slippage, and without intermediate folding, gluing, embossing or laminating steps.
The ribbon can be any known fabric ribbon, either flat or pleated. It has been found however that certain lighter weight flat fabrics should be sized, to provide added stiffness, while pleated fabrics generally do not benefit from sizing because the heat treatment used to pleat the fabrics generally increases the stiffness anyway. As the width of the fabric ribbon is increased, the need for sizing also increases, especially in sheer or flimsy fabrics. Any known sizing can be used, such as spray starch, and skilled practitioners can readily determine without undue experimentation whether a particular fabric should be sized in connection with the decorative ribbons of the invention. Other fabric finishes can also be used, as desired.
Preferred finished ribbon sizes according to the invention are widths of 1 7/16 (#9), 23/4(#40), 4 (#100), 6, and 10 inches.
Pleated fabrics can be obtained from flat fabrics, for use in this invention, according to known means of pleating or texturing fabrics. Typically, a flat fabric is run through a pleating machine that is provided with knives. The fabric is scored with the knives, to produce the textured or pleated effect, which is preserved by heat treating the scored fabric to a temperature of about 250.degree.-300.degree. F. The pleated fabric is sandwiched between holding paper and rolled for storage, so that the pleats retain their shape without damage.
The wire filament can be any flexible filament that will hold its shape without breaking when bent or twisted. The preferred wire filament of the invention is galvanized steel, which can range in gauge from about 22 to 32. The wire filament should be both strong and light, and the most suitable compromise according to the invention, for ribbons ranging in width from 2 to 7 inches, is gauge 26 galvanized steel wire.
The trim filament of the invention can be any known decorative thread of a suitable strength and thickness, which can be wound around the wire filament and through the fabric on a needle, without breaking or snagging, and with enough weight and body to substantially or completely cover the wire filament. Metallic threads are particularly suitable, especially those comprising a metallic strand wrapped with one or two nylon strands. It has been found that a metallic strand that is 1/69th of an inch thick (about 150 gauge) that is wrapped with one, preferably two strands of 70 denier nylon strands is especially preferred. Non-metallic threads can also be used. According to the invention, threads ranging in thickness from 1/100th to 1/50th of an inch, and wrapped with one or two strands (or ends) of nylon ranging from 50 to 90 denier can be used.
The binding filament can be any filament chosen for strength and light weight, and preferably is one strand of monofilament ranging in thickness from 0.005 mil. to 0.009 mil. The preferred monofilament is 0.007 mil. in thickness.
The novel decorative ribbon of the invention is made by binding the wire filament and the trim filament to the fabric ribbon with the binding filament in one operation that both fixes the wire to the edge of the fabric, and hides the wire from view by covering it with turns of trim filament. This is done on a feed-driven stitching machine that is specially modified according to the invention, as further described below. Thus, the stitching machine supplies the fabric ribbon with a co-extensive length of wire filament that is simultaneously bound to the fabric by the binding filament and covered over by the trim filament.
The invention and specific examples and embodiments thereof are further described in connection with the following drawings and detailed description.
US Referenced Citations (4)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (14)
| Entry |
| Drawing No. Ex-B-708, T & O Machine Fabric Guide. |
| Drawing No. S6-106-23, Trimming & Overseaming Mch. Presser Foot Finger, Aug. 14, 1930. |
| Drawing No. Ex-B-723-1, T & O Mach. Finger, Presser Foot, Jun. 29, 1929. |
| Drawing No. S6-107-1, Trimming & Overseaming Mch. Fabric Guide, Oct. 16, 1914. |
| Drawing No. S6-106-13, Trimming & Overseaming Mch. Finger, Presser Foot, Apr. 1, 1924. |
| Drawing No. S6-107-6, Trimming & Overseaming Mch. Fabric Guide, May 11, 1925. |
| The Merrow Machine Co., Catalogue, 1913, pp. 30-31; 34-35. |
| The Merrow Machine Company, "Overseaming and Overedging Stitches and Seams", 1924, pp. 6-9. |
| The Merrow Machine Company, "High Speed Trimming and Overseaming, Overedging and Shell Stitch Machines", 1928, pp. 16-17. |
| Drawing No. S6-70-46, Trimming & Overseaming Finger Plate, Apr. 2, 1912. |
| Drawing No. S6-70-74, Trimming & Overseaming Mch. Finger Plate, Jun. 30, 1915. |
| Drawing No. S6-70-89, Trimming & Overseaming Mch. Finger Plate, Apr. 16, 1924. |
| Union Special Machine Co., "Seams and Stitches", 3rd Edition, 1955. |
| Federal Standard No. 751a, "Stitches, Seams and Stitchings", 1965. |
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
321720 |
Mar 1989 |
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Patent Grant
5080029
