GB2065182A - Fur and/or feather product and method making same - Google Patents

Abstract

A pile fabric is woven with conventional warps and groups of conventional wefts and fur warps S each in the form of a natural fur strip of 2 to 20 mm in width between the conventional weft groups. An air jet and/or a suction device is employed to ensure, during weaving, that the hairs H of the fur stand up from the fabric. The fabric may be a plied fabric with the fur weft strips S in one only of the plies and backed by the other ply, or the fur maybe on both faces of the fabric. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Fur and/or feather product and method of making same SPECIFICATION This invention relates to products, in the form of woven fabric, made with fur and/or feather, and a method of making the same. More particularly, the invention concerns fur and/or feather products in which furs and/or feathers are employed as part of a woven fabric, and a method of making it.

Materials employed as weft in carrying out the invention include tanned dressed fur skins or section pieces thereof (referred to hereinafter as "material A"), fabricated sheet material made by sewing and/or cueing the material A 9 referred to hereinafter as "material B") and bird feather (referred to hereinafter as "material C"). The above materials A, B and C (referred to hereinafter as "the main materials") are formed or cut with a width and/or diameter of 2 to 20 mm and to a suitable length and are used alone and/or in combination with "sub-materials" as described below.As sub-materials, use may be made of conventional yarns, such as spun yarns of long or short staple and made of natural fibre such as animal or vegetable fibre, and singular and/or plural synthetic fibres, such as cotton, viscoserayon, nylon, polyester, polyacrylic yarn, single yarn or a ply yarn, or a twisted yarn consisting of different individual yarns.

Hitherto, fur products, in general, have been manufactured by sewing to connect fur pieces with each other. The products thus prepared, however, have many knots or protrusions on the inner surface thereof, which arise from overlapping portions due to the sewing work.

These products, when used as a suit or dress material, must be provided with a proper cloth lining. This results in increase in the cost of processing the products, as well as in the weight of the articles made of the products. Also due to the high cost of the raw materials, the products are not used very extensively in the production of articles, and, therefore, the final articles, themselves are expensive.

In addition, a method has also been proposed which involves connecting, by continuously sewing, fur and leather and/or synthetic leather in alternating sequence so as to utilize the fur more economically. In this method, however, due to the knots formed between fur and fur pieces and/or fur and leather piece, and due to the uneconomically-complicated sewing operations, it was not possible to attain an overall economical reduction of the fur consumption and enhance the quality of the resulting product.

These difficulties in relation to the conventional fur products have been solved in accordance with the present invention.

Thus, an object of the invention is to provide a new and improved fur and/or feather woven fabric in which use is made of one or more of the aforementioned main materials wholly as weft or one of the aforementioned sub-materials is partially associated with the main materials to be used as weft, and this weft is woven with one of the sub-materials.

The other object of the invention is to provide a process for weaving such a fur and/or feather fabric.

These and other objects can be attained in accordance with the invention in which the weft of fur and/or feather with or without sub-materials is woven with the warp of conventional yarn or thread by means of a conventional weaving loom.

By means of the invention, it is possible to obtain a soft and pliable fur and/or feather woven fabric without knots or protrusions between the fur and/or feather pieces. Also, it is possible to extend the effective area of the fur and/or feather to O to 30 times as compared with the area in the conventional method. Furthermore, by means of a simple weaving process, various colours of fur or feathers can be arranged on one side or both sides of the woven fabric to achieve novel and/or aesthetically pleasing effects. The fabric in accordance with the invention can be used, for example, as a material for clothing such as fur garments, for interior decoration, for personal ornaments, for rugs, for upholstery purposes such as for coverings for chairs, or for purses.

In one aspect of the invention, the fur or feathers serving as weft are held stationary by the skin part thereof, with the strips or tapes of the fur or feathers disposed hairs downwards so that the hairs can stand perpendicularly to the surface of woven fabric; this is an essential step in carrying out the method of the invention.

In the invention, the fur or feather woven fabric, as in all typical woven fabrics, is woven by interweaving wefts and warps. As the warp, any of the aforementioned sub-materials may be used, whereas the weft comprises singular or plural main materials as aforementioned being the material A, B or C, or a combination of singular or plural main materials with singular or plural submaterials.

In order effectively to cause the hairs of the fur or feather to stand from the surface of woven fabric and from the woven structure, prior to weaving of the weft of the main material, of material, A, B or C, with the warp of sub-material, an air stream is blown upwards from the reverse side of the fabric being woven so that the hairs of the fur stand up from the surface of the fabric, or a vacuum aspirator device may be provided above the surface of fabric, so as to suck the hairs up relative to the surface of fabric. It is possible to use a combination of these two methods, as may be desired.

Furthermore, it carrying out the invention, the weaving structure may be a plain, twill, sateen or pattern weave and may be wholly or partially single or double weave.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating a preferred embodiment of the woven fabric in accordance with the invention, showing the structure thereof enlarged; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective illustrating a section of the weft employed in the fabric shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged schematical view showing two alternative methods for ensuring that the hairs of the weft of fur or feathers stand from the fabric, and showing also the crossing structure of the warp and weft of the fabric; Figs. 4a and 4b are schematic views illustrating how a fur may be cut into strips for use in the invention; and Fig. 5a illustrates, diagrammatically and with exaggerated spacings between its components, the weaving structure of a second embodiment of the fabric of the invention, this being shown in plan, sectional side elevation and sectional end view; Fig. Sb is a view similar to the side elevation of Fig. 4a but showing a modification; and Fig. 5(B) illustrates a third embodiment of the fabric with views similar to those of Fig. 5a.

Referring firstly to Fig. 1 , skin part S, cut into narrow strips, of fur F is used as weft, and hair H of the fur F stands up from the surface of the finished fabric 1. The fur F is composed of the skin part S and the hair part H as shown in Fig. 2. This fur F is taken from various animal furs, and may be prepared as hereinafter described and shown with respect to Fig. 4.

As shown in Fig. 3, when the skin part S is woven with the warp in the fabric, the hair H is either blown upward by means of a compressed air blower 2 or an aspirating or air-suction device 3, provided so as to be spaced from the fabric being woven either from the reverse side or the upper side of the fabric, as desired. It is, of course, possible to use both blowers 2 and suction devices 3 on one and the same weaving loom on which the fabric of the invention is being woven.

Fig. 4 shows a method suitable for cutting the weft materials from whole fur skins. The weft material, used as illustrated by Fig. 2, may thus be obtained by cutting a fur in vertical, horizontal, or sloping direction (Fig. 4a) or in weave or chevron form (Fig. 4b). The width of the weft strips thus produced is preferably in the range of 2 to 20 mm depending upon the intended purpose of the eventual fabric. When the weft materials are obtained from an animal fur skin, for example the fur skin or blue fox, the fur skin is firstly moistened with water and then dried in the stretched out state. Thereafter, it is cut according to one of the methods aforementioned, in the form of strips or tapes of widths ranging, for example, from 2 mm to 20 mm.In this case, a plurality of the blue fox fur skins may be cut as individual skins, or after sewing together two or more skins end-to-end or side-by-side. Fur weft strips of width below 2 mm are apt to break easily due to its weak tensile strength, even after having been woven into the eventual fabric. When above 20 mm in width, the fur weft becomes unstable in the finished woven fur or feather fabric. Therefore, the widths of the fur weft strips are preferably in such range. The cutting may be effected by hand knife-cutting, or by use of customary automatic or manual fur cutting machines.

The Fig. 5 shows schematically, enlarged and with exaggerated spacing of its components, the weaving structure of an embodiment of the fur woven product of the invention. In Fig. 5(Aa), the symbol M indicates warps and the symbols H and K indicate respectively the fur wefts and the supplementary wefts which latter may be of the same materials as those of the warps M. Fig.

5(Ab) illustrates in sectional side elevation an embodiment of the fur fabric which is modified in comparison with that of Fig. 5(Aa) in that it has fur hairs at both sides of the fabric. Fig. Sb shows another embodiment of the fur fabric, which is similar to that in Fig. Sa. In this embodiment, however, the basic fabric is woven in double weave (that is to say the fabric is woven as a plated fabric) and the sicTn part S of the fur weft is positioned to be woven into the upper fabric surface. In this case, the warp yarns M serve to anchor the weft S to the lower ply of the base fabric and the other warp L interweaves the base fabric with weft K.

In carrying the method of the invention into effect, any hand loom, power loom, sutomatic loom or jet loom may be employed as desired. In preparing the fur and/or feather woven fabric in accordance with the invention, the main materials are used as weft; however, in most instances, for purpose of extending the effective surface area of the main material, sub-materials are preferably used as a part of weft. In this case, from 2 to 100 wefts of sub-materials may be inserted between adjacent wefts of the main materials.

In the present invention, when the sub-material as warp and the main material, A, B or C, as weft are woven together, it is essential to cause the hairs to stand up on the desired side. To this end, any hairs which may become compressed or entangled between the weft and warp are loosened and caused to stand upright by means of a compressed air blower or jet and/or a vacuumair suction device. A comb or brush may be employed as a supplementary device. The air blower or jet and/or the vacuum-air suction device are positioned at appropriate spacings respectively under and above the fabric being woven, so that any entangled and displaced hairs can be brought to their upright standing positions.

The invention is also illustrated by the following examples, it being understood that the scope of the invention is not limited thereby.

EXAMPLE I 1,200 grams of dressed mink fur skin were cut vertically into strips of 2 mm width which were then connected to form 850 mm length strips, by machine sewing. These 850 mm strips were used as weft. A three-ply yarn of 60-denier of 100% acrylic fibre was employed as warp. Using the above weft and warp, and a hand weaving loom, with fabric width of 900 mm, a mink fur woven fabric of 2150 cm length and 85 mm width was obtained.

EXAMPLE II This example concerns an embodiment corresponding to Fig. 5 described above.

Two blue fox skins (dressed by removing the head and the legs from the raw furs) were joined side-by-side, and the resulting fur element was moistened. Thereafter, the fur element was stretched to 90 cm in width and 65 cm in length, dried, and cut horizontally into strips of width of 7 mm, to be used as the weft F. Parallel yarns of 60-denier ply yarn, composed of 35% acrylic fibre and 65% cotton were prepared as the partial weft K. As the warp L, a 50-denier ply yarn with the number of twist 2, composed of 100% acrylic yarn, was employed. A 50-denier twisted union yarn, with single twist number, of 100% acrylic fibre (50-denier, single yarn) and 100% nylon fibre (50-denier, single yarn) was used as the warp M for fixing the fur weft.A hand weaving loom with weaving width of 95 cm was used for weaving the desired fur woven fabric, using the materials prepared above, as described hereinafter.

Primarily, by operating the heddle for the warp M to leave space on the fabric being woven, weaving was effected only with the weft K and the warp L to produce a 7.5 mm length of the fabric (first stepj; between the resultant K--L woven fabric and the warp M, the weft F was inserted and the weft F was slightly pressed down with the warp M; and, then, compressed air at a pressure of 2 atmospheres was directed upwards as a jet from the reverse side. of the fabric through a nozzle, in order to cause any of the hairs pressed down between the warp M and the fur weft F to stand up. Thereafter, the fur weff F was fixed in the fabric structure to obtain a kind of double or plated fabric (second step).

Then, the heddle of the warp M was operated to bring the warp M below the base fabric, and, thereafter, with the warps K and the weft L, weaving of a further 1 5 mm of the fabric was continued (third step).

The above-described first to third steps were alternately repeated such that the reverse side of the fabric is separately woven with the warp K and the weft L, and the surface of the fabric was formed by one fabric woven with the warp K and the weft L spaced in distance of 15 mm in accordance with the third step, and another fabric incorporating the fur weft F which has been fixed by the second step onto the fabric formed by the first step. As a result, a fur fabric of 1 50 cm length and 90 cm width was obtained. This fabric has a front surface of blue fox fur and reverse side of textile fabric.

In the foregoing examples, typical embodiments have been illustrated. It is important, however, to understand that in the present invention, as weft, one or more of the described main materials, A, B and C, or a combination of one or more of the said main materials, A, B and C with one or more of the described sub-materials, and, as warp, any of the said sub-materials may be employed. Further, the fabric structure may be of any of plain, twill, sateen or other weave, and may be either wholly or partially single or partially double weave.

The fabric of the invention has superior properties in flexibility, softness and outward appearance, as compared with conventional articles and moreover it is possible easily to create various patterns of the fur or feather therein.

Also, the method of the invention permits the high cost raw fur materials to be economically applied.

Claims (11)

1. A fur or feather woven fabric comprising a main weft component of fur or feather strips and a warp component of natural and/or synthetic fibre yarn.

2. A fabric as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main weft component consists of strips cut from dressed fur skins, or fur elements formed by securing together a plurality of fur skins either side-by-side or end-to-end, or of feather,

3. A fabric as claimed in claim 2, wherein said strips are sewn together as larger lengths.

4. A fabric as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said main weft component is used in a combination with one or more sub-materials.

5. A fabric as claimed in any preceding claim wherein said weft strips have a width of 2 to 20 mm.

6. A fabric as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the warp is of single cotton, viscose, rayon, nylon yarn, or a combination thereof.

7. A fabric as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a part of the weft includes a single yarn, twisted union yarn or ply yarn.

8. A fur or feather woven fabric substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, in Figs. 5(Aa); in Fig.

5(Ab) or in Fig. 5(B) of the accompanying drawings.

9. A method of weaving a fur or feather woven fabric having fur or feather on either one or both sides of said fabric comprising the steps of preparing a main weft material in the form of a strip or tape of width from 2 to 20 mm of dressed fur or feather, or pieces thereof, and a warp material of natural or synthetic yarn; and weaving said fabric using said main weft and warp materials by means of a conventional weaving loom while causing any hairs of said fur or feather which may have been entangled by said warp to stand from the fabric by means of a compressedair jet from below said fabric and/or a suction device disposed above said fabric, along the path of said fabric weaving, before the weft and said warp materials are woven together.

10. A method of claim 9 wherein said fabric is woven in the form of a single or double weave.

11. A method of weaving a fur or feather woven fabric substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, or in Example i or Example II hereof.