US2066545A

US2066545A - Rug making

Info

Publication number: US2066545A
Application number: US87673A
Authority: US
Inventors: Howard L Shuttleworth
Original assignee: Mohawk Carpet Mills Inc
Current assignee: Mohawk Carpet Mills Inc
Priority date: 1936-06-27
Filing date: 1936-06-27
Publication date: 1937-01-05
Anticipated expiration: 1954-01-05

Description

Jan- 5, 1937. H. l.. sHuT'rLEwoR'ri-l 2,066,545

Filed June 27' 1936 filing@ '/gmwwwwm ATTORNEYS I pleted -byflnishing the raw or cut edges.

accent 'une c novara it. staatsman, afnam, n. r., assignor to Mohawk @arnet Mills, inc., terdam, hl. if., a corporation of New York application `1llune 2f, i936, Serial No. 87,673

This .invention relates to pile surfaced rugs, such as vare produced from a pile fabric woven in an indeiinite length and subsequently cut into pieces of proper rug size, and is concerned more particularly with a novel binding or finish for the raw or cut edges of such a rug, and a method.

by which such binding or finish may be readily 'applied The new binding not only improves the appearance of the edges along which it is used, but also prevents distortion and unraveling of the edge portions of the fabric and supports and protects the adjacent pile tufts against undue wear. llt may-be employed to advantage in connection with pile fabrics of various types, but since its use is especially desirable in the manufacture of rugs of Axrninster fabrics, an adaptation of the invention for that purpose will be illustrated and described in detail for purposes of explanation. Itis to be understood, however, and will be readily apparent that the utility of the invention is not limited to its employment on pile fabrics of any specific type.

In the production of Arminster rugs, it is now the. common practice to Weave an indennita length of fabric which is made up of pile surfaced sections of final rug size connected by short lengths of web, referred to as headings, from which the pile tufts have been omitted. These rug sections are separated by cutting the headings transversely, and the rugs are then com- For this purpose, the portion of the heading at each end of the rug is usually folded back underneath the body of the fabric and, secured thereto by a hemming operation which involves stitching the inwardly folded edge to the main body of the fabric. In some instances, the raw edge of the of buttonholes. Regardless of whether or not the edge of the heading is thus bound, the folding under of the heading produces a double thickness of the web of the vfabric adjacent the end edges of the rug, so that along these edges, the pile surface is raised somewhat, and as a result, is subjected to increased wear and crushing so that its appearance soon becomes impaired. Sometes, in order to conceal'the bent portion of the fabric, the line of bending is made to lie within the pile surfaced section a short distancelso that one or more rows of pile tufts are included in the bent portion; le this improves the initial appear-u ance of the rug at its ends, thetufts referred to (Gi. i12-262) are subjected to much wear, and as a result, they soon become matted and distorted and the edge becomes irregular and unattractive.

Another disadvantage of the present practice in the finishing of the raw or cut edges of such rugs is the result of the relatively loose weave of the fabric. Axminster fabrics are usually Woven with stuffer and binder threads which are unl sized and comparatively soft and the weft threads ordinarilyemploye'd are of unsized jute. This m combination does not produce a tight bind in the web of the fabric, and although it is the common practice to coat the back of the fabric with a size to stiften the web and bind the pile tufts in place, the web can be easily stretched and the weft threads moved out of alignment with one another. This is particularly true at any raw or unselvedged edge, and in the edge binding operation heretofore practiced, the stitches which attach the folded portion of the web to the :main body porm tion of the rug extend parallel to the weft threads and consequently do not protect the edge portion from being distorted as a result of wear, handling, or other strains applied thereto. Such distortion of the fabric edges not only detracts from the 9 appearance of the rug, but also permits the pile tufts along the edge to be loosened and dislodged.

The present invention is, accordingly, directed yto the provision of a novel binding or nish for the edge of a pile surfaced rug, which avoids the a@ disadvantages of the binding heretofore used, and also to a method by which the new binding may be readily applied. The binding of the invention does not increase the thickness of the body of the fabric to any important extent, it prevents gg undue wear of the pile tufts forming the face of the fabric along the bound edge, and it positively binds in place the threads in the body of the fabricfor a considerable distance bach from the edge so that raveling and pulling out of these 1 f threads and dislodgment of the pile tufts are avoided.

The new edge binding involves the use of a reinforcement which is applied to the back of the fabric along the edge thereof to be nished. This ad reinforcement may be of various materials, so

long as it performs its desired function of securing the component parts of the fabric against relative displacement and it may convenientlyA take the form of a strip of thin textile material tti which is preferably adhesively axed to the fabric with' one edge of the strip aligned with the raw edge of the fabric. The strip has a width such that 'it engages' a plurality of bach weft .threads and by reason of its being secured firmly thereto, these weft threads are held securely in place and dislodgement thereof and distortion of the fabric are avoided. The raw edge of the fabric is then finished byl overedge stitching which passes through the body of the fabric and the reinforcement, and the stitching is done in such manner that it embraces and encloses a plurality of weft threads in the fabric and at least one row of pile tufts. `The bound portion of the edge thus has considerable bulk and the stitching provides support for the row of pile tufts adjacent thereto, so that these tufts remain upright and do not become attened or otherwise displaced.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which l Figure l is a perspective view, partly in longitudinal section, illustrating a portion of a rug provided with the -new binding, and

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a pile fabric having its edge bound in accordance with the prior practice.

Referring to Figure 2, which illustrates one form of binding heretofore employed, the fabric shown therein comprises a web I having a pile surface formed of pile tufts II. Beyond the end of the pile surfaced portion is i heading I2 which is a portion of the web of the fabric from which the pile tufts had been omitted during the weaving. To nish the rug, the heading is folded inward beneath the pile surfaced section, with the free end I3 of the heading having a further reverse fold, if desired. The folded portions are then secured in place by a line of stitching I4 which passes through them and through the body of the fabric.

. With the prior construction illustrated, it will be noted that when the rug lies at on the floor, the pile surface adjacent the line of folding I5 will be raised upward above the top of the remainder of the pile surface so that the tufts along the edge Will be exposed to excessive Wear. Also, the pile tufts I6, I1, and I8 adjacent the line of folding are unsupported and they are bent downward in the folding operation so that they are subjected 'to the greatest Wear during the use of the rug, and frequently become matted together or worn off. Moreover, the binding operation does not hold together the weft threads in the folded portion at the left of the line of stitching, as illustrated in the drawing, and these threads, by reason of the excessive wear on the edge portions of the rug, become displaced, and this promotes the loss of the tufts.

The binding of the invention is illustrated in Figure 1 in which it is shown applied to a rug of a typical Axminster fabric of the two-plane, three-shot construction. In this fabric, the weft shots I9, 20, and 2l lie above the upper stuffer warps 22, between the upper and lower stuffer warps 22, 23, and below the lower stuffer warps 23, respectively. The weft shots are bound in place by a single set of binder Warps 24 and the tuft yarns 25 are looped about the middle weft shots 2B.

In the production of rugs from this fabric, the fabric is woven in an indenite length without headings and cut into pieces of rug size. Thereafter, the raw edges are finished by flrst applying a reinforcing strip 26 to the back of the fabric along each rawA edge, and preferably with one edge 21 of the strip substantially aligned with the raw edge of the fabric. The reinforcing strip may be of various materials, but it is preferably accette of thin closely woven textile material and it is preferably secured in place/by a film 28 of an adhesive, such as a plastic cement. An adhesive containing rubber is preferred by reason (of its waterproof qualities, and preferably the adhesive employed is one which is capable of setting quickly. The reinforcing strip is of a width such that it underlies a plurality of back weft shots 2|, and in the fabric illustrated, the strip underlies ve such shots, although a greater or less 'number may be engaged by the strip. Also in the drawing, the strip and the film of adhesive are shown somewhat enlarged, but it is to be under'- stood that together they do not add materially to the thickness of the fabric.

To complete the binding, each raw edge of the fabric is enclosed by overedge stitching 29 which passes through the pile surface, the body of the fabric, and the strip 26, with the stitching enclosing a plurality of weft shots and at least one row of pile tufts. In the construction illustrated, the stitches enclose four weft shots and one row of tufts 30, and the stitches lie close together and are drawn sufficiently taut to crush and compress the row of tufts enclosed by them. The compressed tufts 3U, together with the closely adjacent stitches which enclose and conceal them, produce an enlargement along the edge of the fabric which, as shown, is thicker than the body or web of the fabric and extends above it and part way up the height of the pile surface. One portion 3| of each of the stitches lies in contact with the pile tufts 32 in the row lying next adjacent to the bound edge, and the enlargement supports these tufts 32 and prevents them from being distorted and forced out of position when the rug is in use.

If desired, the strip 26 may be attached to the web before thel roll of fabric is cut, and it may be coated with an adhesive and applied to the back of the web by pressure or by heat, or the adhesive may be applied to the back of the web and the strip then aixed thereto.

It will be evident from the foregoing that the new binding is far superior to the binding now in use in numerous respects. The reinforcement engaging the back weft shots prevents the fabric from becoming loosened and the weft shots separated and it also provides an anchorage for the overedge stitches.' If no reinforcement were employed, the overedge stitches and the weft shots and pile tufts enclosed thereby would become loose in the course of time and might even pull off the binder and stuffer Warps. With the overedge stitches passing through the reinforcement and the latter secured to the back of the fabric over a substantial area thereof, the component parts of the fabric adjacent the edge are maintained firmly in position and the overedge stitches cannot vbe dislodged. The new binding does not add sufllciently to the thickness of the fabric to cause excessive wear on the pile tufts adjacent the bound edge, and since the visible portion of the binding has considerable bulk by reason of the pile tufts enclosed therein, the binding gives the rug an attractive appearance. 'I'he useiof the new binding also effects a saving in manufacture, in that when the new binding is employed, the fabric may be woven in a continuous length, and it is not necessary to weave headings between adjacent pile surfaced sections.

While I have described the new binding as applied to the transversely extending edge of an Axminster fabric, it will be evident that it 73 hdddbdb of pile tufts along said edge enclosed within and may be employed advantageously along any raw edge of any kind of pile fabric. llt is particularly useful. however, in connection with dnrninster fabrics because of the characteristics of that weave.

ll claim:

l. .d rug which comprises a fabric body made up of interwoven warp and weft threads and having a back and a pile surface formed of pile tufts, said body having a raw edge, a. reinforcement amxed tothe bach of the body along said edge, and an enlargement along said edge thiol:- er than the fabric body excluding the pile surfalce and formed of a plurality of closely adjacent overedge stitches along said edge passing throughthe body and reinforcement and at least one row of pile tufts along said edge enclosed within and concealed and compressed by said stitches, said enlargement engaging and supporting the pile tufts adjacent thereto.

2. A rug whichl comprises a fabric body made up of interwoven Warp and weft threads and having a back and a pile surface formed of pile tufts, said body having a raw edge, a reinforcement strip affixed to the back of the body along said edge, and an enlargement along said edge thiclrerthan the Afabric body excluding the pile siu'face and formed of a plurality of closely adjacent overedge stitches along said edge passing through the body and reinforcement and at least one row of pile tufts along said edge enclosed within and concealed and compressed by said stitches, said enlargement engaging and supporting the pile tufts adjacent thereto.

3. A rug which comprises a fabric body made up of interwoven warp and weft `threads land having a back 'and a pile surface formed of pile tufts, said body having a raw edge, a reinforcement adhesively affixed to the back of the body along said edge, and an enlargement along said edge thicker than the fabric body excluding the pile surface and formed of a plurality of closely adjacent overedge stitches along said edge passing through the body and reinforcement and at least one row of pile tufts along said edge enclosed within and concealed and compressed by said stitches, said enlargement engaging and supporting the pile tufts adjacent thereto.

4. A rug which comprises a fabric body made up of interwoven warp and weft threads and having a back and a pile surface formed of pile tufts, said body having a raw edge, a reinforcing strip amxed to the back of the body with one edge substantially in registry with said edge of the body, and an enlargement along said edge thicker than, the fabric body excluding the pile surface and formed of a plurality of closely adjacent overedge stitches along said edge passing through the body and strip and at least one row concealed and compressed by said stitches, said enlargement engaging and supporting the pile tufts adjacent thereto.

5. A rug which comprises a fabric body made up of interwoven warp and weft aan and having a bach and a pile surface formed of pile tufts arranged in rows, said body having a raw edge, a strip of fabric amazed to the bach of the fabric along said edge thereof by means of an interposedfilm of plastic cement, and an enlargement along said edge thicker than the fabric body excluding the pile surface and formed of a plurality of closely adjacent overedge stitches along said edge passing through the body and strip and at least one row of pile tufts along said edge enclosed within and concealed and oompressed by said stitches, said enlargement engaging and supporting the pile tufts adjacent thereto.

6. A rug which comprises a fabric body made up of interwoven warp and weft threads and having a back and a pile surface formed of pile tufts, said body having "a raw edge, means on the back of the body along said edge for preventing relative dislodgment ofthe warp and weft threads.; and an enlargement along said edge thicker than the fabric body excluding the pile surface and formed of a plurality of closely adjacent overedge stitches along said edge passing vthrough the body and said means, and at least one row of pile tufts along said edge enclosed within and concealed and compressed by ifi said stitches, said enlargement engaging and supporting the pile tufts adjacent thereto.

7. A method of binding the raw edge of a pile fabric having a pile surface formed of rows ofl pile tufts, winch comprises ailixing a reinforcing strip to the back of the fabric along said edge, and passing a series of closely adjacent overedge stitches through the fabric and strip along said raw edge with said stitches enclosing, compressing, and concealing at least one row of tufts, said stitches and compressed tufts forming an enlargement engaging and supporting the adjacent tufts.

8. A method of producing pile surfaced rugs which comprises weaving a pile fabric in an indefinite length, the fabric having a pile surface throughout, severing pieces of rug sizefrom the fabric, applying a reinforcement to the back of the fabric adjacent each cut edge, and passing a series of closely adjacent overedge stitches through the fabric and reinforcement along each cut edge with said stitches enclosing, concealing and compressing at least one row of tufts, said stitches and enclosed tufts forming an enlargement engaging and supporting the adjacent tufts.

HOWARD L. SHU'I'I'LEWORTH.