| 1. | 1 An apparatus to facilitate the stretching and alignment of distorted fabric on which fabric needlework has been produced, the apparatus comprising a frame which is larger than the area covered by the needlework, the frame having a plurality of clamping devices fixed or attached round its perimeter, each camping device allowing a ligature to pass through it or by it in its unclamped state but clamping the ligature in its clamped state, and each ligature having an easily releasable gripping device, such as a claw or clawplate or jaws resiliently biased towards each other, attached to it on the inside of the frame to temporarily grip the said fabric to allow tension to be applied to the said fabric by applying tension to the part of the ligature remote from the gripping device, the tension being retained in the fabric and part of the ligature between the clamp and the fabric after release of the applied tension by the automatic or manual operation of the clamp from its unclamped to its clamped state. |
| 2. | The stretching and alignment apparatus of Claim 1 hinged to or placed on top of a base or stage on which the workpiece, which is the combination of the needlework and substrate fabric, may be conveniently placed both for the attachment of the gripping devices to the said fabric and for the alignment process. |
| 3. | The stretching and alignment apparatus of Claim 2 wherein the base or stage is a light box incorporating a grid of orthogonal lines marked on or placed over or near the top surface of the light box to provide a means for visual alignment of the warp and weft of the said fabric. |
| 4. | The stretching and alignment apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein a single ajustable reference line or a set of reference lines is incorporated so that the single reference line or each reference line of the set can be arranged parallel to a side of the frame close to the fabric to facilitate alignment of the warp and weft of the said fabric parallel to sides of the frame. |
| 5. | The stretching and alignment apparatus of claim 4 wherein graduated distance scales are incorporated on the frame sides so that the reference line or set of reference lines can be set up to be accurately parallel to any side of the frame without the need for a separate measuring device such as a ruler. |
| 6. | The stretching and alignment apparatus of any one of claims 2 to 5 wherein the stage or base incorporates a facility on its underside to allow easy turning of the apparatus to permit easy access to whichever part of the frame is currently being used for adjustment of a reference line or for tensioning and alignment of the said fabric, this facility being a pad or set of pads of felt or fabric or any material which allows easy turning of the apparatus, or a platform below the base which inclues a bearing. |
| 7. | A needlework stretching and alignment apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. |
The invention allows the workpiece to be pulled back into its correct shape after the stitching or other work is finished, and to be stretched taut.
When a person works on a piece of needlework, the substrate material such as cloth is often pulled out of shape. This deformation has many causes, for example: use of different thicknesses of thread within the same piece of needlework; use of different stitch styles within the same piece of needlework; uneven tension applied to different stitches within the same piece of needlework; incorrect angle being applied to thread when stitching.
If the deformation is left uncorrected or only partially corrected, the unsightly misalignment of the substrate weave to the final display mount and any lack of straightness of the substrate or needlework weave can reduce the quality of the presentation of the needlework.
In the prior art there are several devices which have been developed to allow finished workpieces to be pulled back to shape and to be stretched taut after the stitching is finished.
The present stretching apparatus has been developed because no others have been found to be sufficiently convenient, simple to use, cheap to make, effective, and efficient.
2 Essential Features The problems of achieving well-aligned substrate fabrics for needlework using the prior art are overcome by the present invention which provides an apparatus to facilitate the stretching and alignment of distorted fabric on which fabric needlework has been produced, the apparatus comprising a frame which is larger than the area covered by the needlework, the frame having a plurality of camping devices fixed or attached round its perimeter, each camping device allowing a ligature to pass through it
or by it in its unciamped state but ciamping the ligature in its clamped state, and each ligature having an easily releasable gripping device, such as a claw or claw-plate or jaws resiliently biased towards each other, attached to it on the inside of the frame to temporarily grip the said fabric to allow tension to be applied to the said fabric by applying tension to the part of the ligature remote from the gripping device, the tension being retained in the fabric and part of the ligature between the clamp and the fabric after release of the applied tension by the automatic or manual operation of the clamp from its unclamped to its clamped state.
3 Preferred and Optional Features The apparatus allows needlework, particularly tapestry work to be stretched back into square. Once this has been achieved the needlework can then be mounted for display with no unsightly misalignments of the weave.
In a simple and effective form the apparatus has a square or rectangular frame which can be constructed from any rigid material, for example; timber, aluminium or steel.
The frame can however can be of any shape, for example, octagonal or circular. On or through the frame, at frequent regular intervals are mounted a plurality of camping devices, each of which allows a ligature such as a string, wire, or tape to pass through it in its open position and clamps the ligature in its closed position. Each ligature passes through a clamp from the outside of the frame to the inside. The invention includes the use of clamping devices not at frequent regular intervals, but normally no advantage is obtained over those at frequent regular intervals.
On or near the end of each ligature, on the inside of the frame, is fastened a hook or claw or claw-plate or pair of jaws resiliently biased towards each other which are easily hooked or clamped onto the edge or outer part of the fabric on which the needlework has been produced, normally outside the area covered by the needlework. Each claw-plate could be as simple as a single barb, hook or pin, or a small piece of material such as plastic or metal with a series of barbs, hooks or pins, to hold the fabric by penetrating or gripping it when it is pushed into the fabric and tension is applied to the ligature. If resiliently-biased jaws are used they could be similar to crocodile clips with serrations inside the jaws for gripping the fabric. The preferred arrangement is to use a claw- plate made of small piece of sheet metal with the barbs, hooks or pins positioned (usually evenly-spaced) along one edge thereof, with the ligature attached or tied to a ring or hole on the opposite edge thereof. The shape of each claw-plate could be triangular or T-shaped, but can be any convenient shape which allows the attachment or
inclusion of the required barbs, hooks or pins, and means for attachment to the ligature.
At or near the end of each ligature on the outside of the frame may be a stop, such as a knot if the ligature is a string or tape, to prevent the ligature from accidentally passing completely through the clamp which would necessitate rethreading of the ligature through the clamp. The stop can be large enough to provide an easy means of pulling the ligature, or can retain a bead or woggle on the ligature for this purpose.
The frame is placed or mounted over a base or stage on which the workpiece is placed for stretching. On the top surface of the base or stage is marked or positioned a rectangular grid of lines crossing at right angles, and preferably but not essentially aligned parallel to the sides of the frame. The purpose of this grid is to provide a visual reference for alignment of the warp and weft of the needlework fabric.
This grid may be as simple as a series of ruled lines at intervals on paper, glass, or other translucent material, and may be the top surface of a light box, or on the top surface of a light box, the light box being the base or stage. The use of a light box enables the grid lines to be more easily seen through the needlework fabric. The simplest form of a grid is a reference line such as a string, cord, or wire, that can be set up either above or below the workpiece, first parallel to one side of the frame for alignment of the weave in one direction; then parallel to the orthogonal sides for alignment of the weave in the other direction. It has been found convenient to incorporate two pairs of reference lines that can be set orthogonally so that one reference line is near each edge of the needlework.
With the needlework fabric weave positioned as parallel to the front side of the frame as can be easily achieved by eye, the reference line is set up close to the boundary of the needlework closest to the operator exactly parallel to the side of the frame closest to the operator, either by measurement using a separate measure such as a ruler, or by using graduated distance markings incorporated along the frame sides. The weave along the fabric just below the reference line is adjusted to be exactly parallel to the reference line using the ligatures, claw-plates, and clamps by applying tension to the fabric where necessary to straighten the weave. The alignment of the other weave perpendicular to the front side of the frame is carried out in the same way but with the reference line set up perpendicular to the first reference line a measured distance from one side of the frame near the edge of the needlework. If necessary, the weave alignment can also be carried out at the other two edges of the needlework by the same method.
Fine adjustment of the weave may be required and if necessary each alignment can be
repeated until the weave is square to the required standard.
A convenient arrangement is for the frame to be hinged to the light box or base along its back edge so that the frame can be lifted from the front to allow easy insertion and removal of a mounting board or workpiece.
It is convenient to have the part of the apparatus currently being worked on closest to the operator. This can be achieved by the operator positioning himself next to this part, or by turning the base or stage to the required position. Turning the base or stage can be carried out very easily by hand on most horizontal surfaces such as bench tops, especially if a pad or a plurality of pads of felt or similar material is fastened to the underside of the base or stage. More-complex methods of turning the base or stage such as for example, mounting the base on a rotating platform containing a bearing such as a "Party Susan", could be used, but are unnecessary.
A steaming device can be incorporated in the apparatus to help set the stretched fabric in its aligned position before it is removed from the apparatus. Alternatively a steam iron can be applied to the workpiece if necessary after the alignment.
Figure 1 shows one example of a stretching and alignment apparatus according to this invention.
Figure 2 is an enlarged portion of Figure 1 showing the circled portion of the stretching and alignment apparatus in Figure 1 in more detail than in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a side view of the stretching and alignment apparatus of Figure 1 and shows the frame elevated at the front by rotation about the hinge at the back.
4 Detailed description of one Example of the Needlework Stretching and Alignment Apparatus Referring to Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3,1 is a base on which the workpiece, which is the needlework and its substrate fabric, is placed. To this base, along the back is hinged a frame 2 which can be raised at the side opposite to the hinge. Figure 3 shows the frame raised so that a mounting board can be easily inserted undemeath the workpiece. The frame incorporates a plurality of clamps at frequent regular intervals on all four sides. The clamps are not shown, being inside the rectangular tubes 3 which are part of the frame. The lengths along the frame sides which incorporate the clamps correspond to the dimensions of the largest workpiece that is to be stretched and aligned using the apparatus.
Through each clamp passes a ligature some of which are marked 4. The parts of the ligatures on the outside of the clamps are shown for two sides of the frame only. Several of the parts of the ligatures inside the frame are shown. On the end of each ligature inside the frame are attached small plates only a few of which are shown and some of which are marked 5. The small plates have teeth some of which are marked 6 on the enlargement Figure 2. The teeth are pressed out of the plates and tumed down during manufacture so that they provide the means of gripping the fabric during the alignment process. Each of the plates incorporates a ring 7 to which a ligature is tied. Figure 2, is an enlarged view which is a portion of the frame 2, to illustrate the ligatures 4, the small plates 5, the teeth 6, and the rings 7. On the upper surfaces at each of the four sides of the frame 2 remounted two pairs of rigid rods 8, one of each pair being on a side of the frame opposite the other of the pair. The rigid rods opposite each other are identical. On each rigid rod two small cylinders 9 can be slid and clamped at any point by tightening a knurled screw 10. These small cylinders are positioned in pairs opposite each other. Between each pair of these small cylinders is attached a black twine 11 stretched taut across the frame as shown. On the rigid rods 8 are marked scales 12 which for each pair of rigid rods show distance from the same side of the frame. The scales are identical on opposite sides of the frame. On the underside of the base is glued a felt pad 13 which is shown in Figure 3. Also shown in Figure 3 is the hinge 14 at the back of the base 1 about which the frame 2 can be rotated relative to the base.
5 Method of Use of Example Apparatus The workpiece is placed onto the base or stage with the frame lowered. (The frame coutd be raised for this process but this has been found to be unnecessary.) The fabric weave is then adjusted to be as nearly parallel to the frame sides as can easily be achieved by eye. The clamps on the frame and the workpiece are in the same plane or approximately in the same plane when the frame is in its lowered position. The claw-plates or hooks at the ends of the ligatures are then used to grip the fabric at even intervals or where convenient. The reference lines are set up near the edges of the needlework as two pairs of parallel lines by using the small sliding cylinders on the rigid rods and the knurled screws and marked scates. Tension is then applied to the ligatures as necessary to align the weave of the fabric just below a reference line parallel to that reference line. Each ligature is clamped after adjustment. The weave below each of the other reference lines is aligned parallel to the reference line above it in the same way. It is convenient to turn the base or stage so that the edge of the fabric being hooked or adjusted is closest to the operator.
After the fabric has been tensioned around the needlework it is possible to achieve fine adjustment of the weave alignment to the grid by readjusting and reclamping the lengths of the ligatures.
After the final adjustment of the alignment of the fabric weave to the reference grid or line, the workpiece can be steamed using a steam iron. After steaming the tensioned fabric maintains the corrected shape when the workpiece is released from the gripping devices.
The workpiece can be attached to a mounting board before release from the stretching and alignment apparatus by lifting the front of the frame with the workpiece still attached by the gripping devices, then placing a mounting board immediately below the workpiece, making sure the board edges are aligned to the grid or reference line. The frame is then lowered and the workpiece attached to the board by, for example, stapling the fabric to the board round the edges of the fabric. The board can be also positioned on the base before the workpiece is inserted.
For special effects, the stretching and mounting apparatus can be used to stretch the weave of the fabric into curved or non-orthogonal lines.