US3734040A

US3734040A - Sewing guide for pin strip

Info

Publication number: US3734040A
Application number: US00194847A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Lawson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-01-02
Filing date: 1971-01-02
Publication date: 1973-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 1990-05-22

Abstract

A device for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel which guides the inserting and positioning of a pin strip into a folded portion of the drapery heading and which guides the stitching of the pin strip onto the drapery heading. The guide device includes a base portion, upper and lower plate-like elements supported from the base portion and extending therefrom in parallel spaced apart relationship. The guide device further includes a rod also supported from the base portion and extending alongside of the lower platelike element in parallel spaced apart relationship therewith.

Description

limited States Patent [191 Lawson 51 May 22, 1973 154] SEWING GUIDE FOR PIN STRIP [22] Filed: Jan. 2, 1971 [21] App1.No.: 194,847

[52] US. Cl ..112/l53, 33/169 B, 160/348,

223/35 [51] Int. Cl. ..D05b 35/10 [58] Field 01 Search ..1l2/l36, 144-146,

2/1954 Gellman ..l12/136 9/1968 Euzarraga ..223/34 Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-William L. Falk AttorneyJohn R. Walker, 111

[57] ABSTRACT A device for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel which guides the inserting and positioning of a pin strip into a folded portion of the drapery heading and which guides the stitching of the pin strip onto the drapery heading. The guide device includes a base portion, upper and lower plate-like elements supported from the base portion and extending therefrom in parallel spaced apart relationship. The guide device further includes a rod also supported from the base portion and extending alongside of the lower platelike element in parallel spaced apart relationship therewith.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEW 3.734.040

INVENTOR. JACK M. LAWSON BY KIA/412 SEWING GUIDE FOR PIN STRIP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to sewing guides and more specifically to guides for installing pin strips in the pleated upper section of a drapery panel.

2. Description of the Prior Art Pin strips heretofore have been installed without the use of a guide. Without the use of a guide, problems arise when the pin strip is inserted into the folded portion of the drapery heading because the pin strip is hidden between the layers of fabric. The positioning and stiching of the pin strip is thus made extremely difficult.

A preliminary patentability search revealed the following U. S. patents: Heyer US. Pat. No. 74,533; Hilton U.S. Pat. No. 944,094; Hoffman U.S. Pat. No. 2,505,897; Gellman US Pat. No. 2,669,755; and Romano US. Pat. No. 3,350,787. None of the above references show or suggest the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed towards overcoming the disadvantages and problems in the installation of pin strips in the heading of draperies. The concept of the present invention is to provide a device to guide the installation of the pin strip in the heading of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel.

The guiding device includes guiding elements and stops to position the drapery heading, a rod means to hold and position the pin strip, and a guiding edge and indicating marks to guide the stitching of the pin strip to the drapery heading.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of the sewing guide of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the sewing guide.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the sewing guide showing a pin strip in phantom lines and the sewing guide in solid lines.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the sewing guide as taken on line IVIV of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the pin strip which is positioned by the sewing guide of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the pin strip as taken on line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a somewhat schematic view showing the insertion of the sewing guide and pin strip into a folded portion of a drapery heading.

FIG. 8 is a somewhat schematic view showing the guiding of the stitching operation.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the folded portion of drapery heading after the stitching of the pin strip to the fabric.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the folded portion of the drapery heading showing the finished pleat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT v The sewing guide 11 (see FIGS. 1 4) of the present invention includes an upper plate-like guiding element 13 and a lower plate-like guiding element 15 in overlapping parallel spaced relationship to each other. Elements l3 and 15 are preferably substantially flat and rectangular with the distal or lower ends thereof being preferably rounded as best seen in FIG. 3. Upper guiding element 13 and lower guiding element 15 are integrally joined to a spacer 17 and a plate 19 to form a base portion or handle 21. A rod 23 which extends alongside the lower guiding element 15 in spaced parallel relationship therewith is supported from handle 21, by suitable means, as by being embedded in handle 21 or suitably adhered thereto. Element 15 is preferably formed of a somewhat flexible material as an acrylic plastic, and, if desired, elements l3, l5, and handle 21 may be formed integrally of the same plastic. The lower edge 25 of spacer 17 acts as an upper fabric stop, and the lower edge 27 of plate 19 acts as a lower fabric stop, as will be better understood in the description to follow. Upper guiding element 13 is provided with a guiding edge 29 perpendicular to

edges

25 and 27 and is provided with indicia or indicating marks 31 along edge 29. Upper guiding element 13 extends beyond lower guiding element 15 to form a protruding portion 33 at the end opposite handle 21. It will be understood that, if desired,

elements

13, 15 and the remaining parts of guide 11 may be formed of other material without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as for example, being formed of wire configured generally in the shape of the outline of

elements

13 and 15, and the remaining parts.

A pin holder or strip 35 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) is of typical construction as described in the E. Strube U. S. Pat. No. 2,1 15,593, which is incorporated herein by reference. Briefly, the pin strip 35 consists of a tube-like portion 37 with a web portion 39 attached thereto. Apertures 41 are provided in the tubelike portion 37 of the pin strip 35 for the reception of a typical curtain rod or pole receiving hook, as explained in the Strube patent. Holes 43 are provided in the web portion 39 of the pin strip 35 to allow ease in the tacking together of the pleats.

The steps in using the sewing guide 11 to install the pin strip 35 to the drapery heading 45 are described below. First, the drapery heading 45 is made in the typical way known to those skilled in the art. Next, the drapery heading 45 is preferably marked for pleats and spaces in a suitable manner known to those skilled in the art. The drapery heading 45 is then folded together forming a pocket 47. The pin strip 35 is placed on rod 23 of sewing guide 11 with rod 23 extending through tubelike portion 37 and with the upper end of pin strip 35 being contiguous or adjacent edge 27, as shown in FIG. 3. The sewing guide 11 with pin strip 35 is then placed into the pocket 47 (see FIG. 7). The protruding portion 33 of upper guiding element 13 is pressed against the first side 49 of pocket 47. This causes upper guiding element 13 to flex somewhat to spread element 13 away from lower guiding element 15 and pin strip 35 so that sewing guide 11 can be more easily started onto the drapery heading with lower guiding element 15 and rod 23 with pin strip 35 thereon being located between first side 49 and second side 51 of pocket 47. The sewing guide 11 with pin strip 35 is then pushed into the pocket 47 of drapery heading 45, lower guiding element 15 and rod 23 with pin strip 35 going into the pocket 47 and upper guiding element 13 remaining outside of pocket 47. The sewing guide 11 is pushed into the pocket 47 until the edge 52 of first side 49 of pocket 47 is in abutment with the lower edge 25 of spacer l7 and the edge 53 of second side 51 of pocket 47 is in abutment with the lower edge 27 of plate 19. The sewing guide can then be adjusted to have the guiding edge 29 of upper guiding element 13 positioned at the desired location. If the drapery heading 45 is marked for pleats and spaces, the guiding edge 29 should be located over the marks. In other words, the sewing guide 11 should be located to correctly position pin strip 35 at the rear of pocket 47 of the drapery heading 45. The next step is to stitch the pin strip 35 to the drapery heading 45 (see FIG. 8) while holding guide 11 in place by means of light pressure on element 13. The pressure foot 55 of the sewing machine (not shown) is positioned against the guiding edge 29 of upper guiding element 13 and moved along the guiding edge 29 until the needle 56 of the sewing machine reaches an indicating mark 31 on the upper guiding element 13 which indicates that that pin strip 35 is completely stitched to drapery heading 45 by stitches 57. It should be noted that any length ofpin strip 35 and width of drapery heading 45 could be used with corresponding markings on upper guiding element 13; typical marks of 3, 3-%, and 4 inches are shown in the drawings. After the stitching operation, the sewing guide 11 is removed from the drapery heading 45 by pulling on the handle 21, leaving pin strip 35 attached to drapery heading 45. The pocket 47 is then folded and tacked (see FIGS. 9 and The pocket 47 is folded back on pin strip 35 and tacked sewed by stitch 59, as shown in FIG. 10, through one or both holes 43 in web portion 39 of pin strip 35.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is not to be so limited since changes and modifications may be made therein which are within the full intended scope of the invention.

I claim:

1: A sewing guide for use in the positioning of a pin strip relative to a drapery comprising a base portion, upper and lower platelike elements supported from said base portion and extending therefrom in overlapping parallel spaced apart relationship for receiving a portion of the drapery therebetween, and a rod supported from said base portion and extending alongside of said lower platelike element in parallel spaced apart relationship therewith for slidably receiving a pin strip thereon.

2: The sewing guide of claim 1 in which said base portion includes stop means located contiguous with said upper and lower platelike elements and with said base portion for engaging an edge of the drapery to locate said guide relative thereto.

3: The sewing guide of claim 2 in which said upper platelike element includes a straight guiding edge parallel with said rod and perpendicular to said stop means for guiding the stitching in sewing a pin strip onto the drapery.

4: The sewing guide of claim 3 which includes indicia along said upper platelike element.

5: The sewing guide of claim 1 in which said upper platelike element is formed of flexible material and extends beyond the end of said lower platelike element to provide a protruding portion.

6. A sewing guide for use in the positioning of a pin strip relative to a drapery comprising a base portion, flat upper and lower platelike elements supported from said base portion and extending therefrom in overlapping parallel spaced apart relationship for receiving a portion of the drapery therebetween, a rod supported from said base portion and extending alongside of said lower platelike element in parallel spaced apart relationship therewith for slidably receiving a pin strip thereon, said base portion including stop means located contiguous with said upper and lower platelike elements and with said base portion for engaging an edge of the drapery to locate said guide relative thereto, said upper platelike element including a straight guiding edge parallel with said rod and perpendicular to said stop means for guiding the stitching and sewing of a pin strip onto the drapery, indicia being spaced along the length of said upper platelike element, and said upper platelike element being formed of a flexible material and extending beyond the end of said lower platelike element to provide a protruding portion.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3'734'O4O Dated May 22, 1973 Inventor s) JACK M LAWSON It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet [22] Jan. 2, 1971" should read Nov. 2, 1971-- Signed and sealed this 20th day of November 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M .YFLETCHER J R RENE D TEGTMEXER Attesting Officer Acting Commissioner of Patents U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE I. 0-36-331,