Abstract: A process of decorating fabric includes the step of imparting wrinkles to the fabric oblique to the warp and weft directions and heat setting the wrinkles into the fabric. The wrinkle imparting step may include moving the fabric longitudinally and simultaneously moving portions of the fabric from side to side by frictionally engaging the fabric to an oscillating means such as an elastomeric pad or interleaved fingers and oscillating the pad or fingers from side to side. Heat setting of the fabric includes exposing the wrinkled fabric to heat at a sufficient temperature and for a sufficient duration to set the wrinkles in the fabric. Desirably, the wrinkled fabric is in contact with a transfer print paper while the fabric passes through the heat setting step to set the wrinkles and fix color on the fabric. The longitudinal movement is desirably coordinated with the side to side movement to obtain aesthetically pleasing results. The invention also includes apparatus and the product.

Abstract: An hydropatterning apparatus conveys a sheet of fabric through a patterning station along a machine direction on a conveyor, preferably a drum, having a support surface formed with a pattern of raised or solid areas and lowered or void areas, and has one or more manifolds of hydrojet nozzles disposed above the conveyor for directing a continuous curtain of fluid downwardly to impact on the fabric so that properties of the fabric become altered in correspondence to the pattern of the support surface. The hydropatterning technique is used to emboss the screen pattern into the nap of napped fabric in order to produce aesthetically pleasing surface textures and patterns in the napped fabric, such as a fur-like surface texture. The technique can also be used for displacement of yarn or fiber to obtain three-dimensional effects such as ribbing, wavy lines, checkering, geometric or floral designs, or lacework.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for simulating an appearance of a moire fabric on a textile fabric having a number of filling yarns per inch utilizing a substantially transparent sheet having a number of lines per inch which substantially corresponds to said number of filling yarns per inch in the textile fabric to be viewed. The lines are aligned substantially parallel to the filling yarns of the textile fabric thereby simulating the appearance of a moire fabric. When the textile fabric has a lateral shifting of the filling yarns, then the lines on the substantially transparent sheet are straight and if the filling yarns of the textile fabric are not yet shifted, then the lines on the substantially transparent sheet are curved in accordance with the proposed filling yarn shift.

Abstract: The invention discloses a heat processing apparatus for processing the surface in undulated form and expressing a pattern in a pile sheet having multiple piles on a base cloth, in particular, a pile sheet having piles composed of synthetic fibers, which comprises conveying means for conveying the pile sheet, heating means for heating the pile sheet during the conveying process, and pressing means provided on the conveying route for pressing the pile to the base cloth side by selectively pressing different ones of the piles of heated pile sheet to deform the piles, in which the processing for expressing a pattern by undulating the surface of the pile sheet forming multiple piles on the base cloth is done efficiently and simply by useing a plurality of elements in the pressing means.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for creation of moire fabric. This can be achieved by placing a first piece of fabric against a support member and directing at least one stream of fluid at the surface of said first piece of fabric to provide lateral yarn displacement. Then delivering said stream at a peak dynamic pressure in excess of about 300 p.s.i.g. and less than 4,000 p.s.i.g. and selectively interrupting and re-establishing contact between said stream and said surface in accordance with pattern information in order to pattern said first piece of fabric. This is followed by combining said patterned first piece of fabric with an unpatterned second piece of fabric in overlapping relationship and applying pressure by means of calender rolls having smooth surfaces to said combination of said first piece of patterned fabric and said second piece of unpatterned fabric.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for creation of moire fabric by moving textile fabric over a member, with a longitudinal axis, having several areas of a lesser width or diameter along the longitudinal axis and several areas of a greater width or diameter along the longitudinal axis and sloped portions therebetween interconnecting the areas of greater width or diameter with the areas of lesser width or diameter. The areas of greater width or diameter on the member form lobes that retard the movement of filling yarns of the textile fabric by creating a longer path for the textile fabric to traverse thereby shifting the filling yarns while the areas of lesser width or diameter on the member form valleys that advance the movement of filling yarns of the textile fabric by creating a shorter path for the textile fabric to traverse. This shifting provides the proper filling pattern for the conventional moire fabric.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for creation of moire fabric. This can be achieved by placing a first piece of fabric against a support member and directing ant least one stream of fluid at the surface of said first piece of fabric to provide lateral yarn displacement. Then delivering said stream at a peak dynamic pressure in excess of about 300 p.s.i.g. and less than 4,000 p.s.i.g. and selectively interrupting and re-establishing contact between said stream and said surface in accordance with pattern information in order to pattern said first piece of fabric. This is followed by combining said patterned first piece of fabric with an unpatterned second piece of fabric in overlapping relationship and applying pressure by means of calender rolls having smooth surfaces to said combination of said first piece of patterned fabric and said second piece of unpatterned fabric.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for creation of moire textile fabric. This can be achieved by directing at least one stream of pressurized heated gas at the surface of said first piece of overfed fabric to provide lateral yarn displacement and selectively interrupting and re-establishing contact between said stream and said surface in accordance with pattern information in order to pattern said first piece of fabric. This is followed by combining said patterned first piece of fabric with an unpatterned second piece of fabric in overlapping relationship and applying pressure by means of calender rolls having smooth surfaces to said combination of said first piece of patterned fabric and said second piece of unpatterned fabric. By using high pressure heated gas and shrinking some of the thermoplastic yarns, there is movement of the filling yarns in the fabric.

Abstract: Apparatus and process for the manufacture of imitation Jacquard fabric by passing a flocked fabric through a printing station whereat a selected drawing or design is printed on the fabric by pressurized air. The flocked fabric is moved on a table beneath a rotatable drawing cylinder extending transversely to the table and spaced from the table only by a distance to allow the passage of the fabric therebetween. A stationary tube is placed within the drawing cylinder and the tube is supplied with pressurized air which passes into the drawing cylinder. The pressurized air passes through apertures in the drawing cylinder correlated with the design to be printed onto the fabric. The fabric is advanced under tension by rollers and a driving assembly rotates the drawing cylinder and at least one of the rollers.

Abstract: A method of pleating a garment, wherein an unfinished garment, prepared by sewing cloth parts together, is folded, rolled and twisted, and then attached to a holder. The holder holding the garment is placed in a heat-treatment apparatus, and the unfinished garment is heat-treated and pleated at the same time in the heat-treatment apparatus filled with saturated steam.

Abstract: A method of pleating an unfinished garment, wherein an unfinished garment prepared by sewing cloth parts together is folded around a core plate, the unfinished garment, thus folded, is placed in a case. The case containing the folded garment is inserted into a heat-treating apparatus, and the folded garment is simultaneously heat-treating and pleated.

Abstract: A novel apparatus and method of patterning a textile fabric comprising fluid jets directed at an angle from the perpendicular line of intersection between the fluid jets and the fabric which eliminates stress lines, troughs and valleys in the fabric by placing a lateral force on the fabric.

Abstract: A process of decorating fabric includes the step of imparting wrinkles to the fabric oblique to the warp and weft directions and heat setting the wrinkles into the fabric. The wrinkle imparting step may include moving the fabric longitudinally and simultaneously moving portions of the fabric from side to side by frictionally engaging the fabric to an oscillating means such as an elastomeric pad or interleaved fingers and oscillating the pad or fingers from side to side. Heat setting of the fabric includes exposing the wrinkled fabric to heat at a sufficient temperature and for a sufficient duration to set the wrinkles in the fabric. Desirably, the wrinkled fabric is in contact with a transfer print paper while the fabric passes through the heat setting step to set the wrinkles and fix color on the fabric. The longitudinal movement is desirably coordinated with the side to side movement to obtain aesthetically pleasing results. The invention also includes apparatus and the product.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for treatment of relatively moving substrate materials by preheating the substrate before precise selective application of discrete, high temperature pressurized streams of fluid against the surface of the materials to impart a visual and tactile change thereto. The apparatus includes an elongate manifold for receiving heated pressurized fluid, such as air, disposed across the width of the relatively moving material and having a single slit the full width of the substrate for directing the fluid into the surface of the material. Pressurized cool fluid, such as air, is directed across selected portions of the manifold discharge slit to deflect pressurized heated air away from the substrate. The manifold is provided with cool air outlets which direct the heated air to a position upstream of the path of movement of the substrate for preheating purposes. The apparatus is further arranged and configured to enhance the visibility of faults in the substrate.

Abstract: Apparatus and method to sculpture a pile fabric from a predetermined pattern by controlling the movement of the cutter by a pantograph system which employs rotary mounted carriers. The cutter arrangement employs an arrangement where the individual pile fibers or looks are bent over and then individually released so that the rotating cutter blade can sever the fiber or loop against a fixed blade to provide a clean cut of the top of the fiber or fiber loop.

Abstract: An hydropatterning apparatus and method conveys a sheet of fabric (12) through a patterning station (16) along a machine direction on a conveyor (24), preferably a drum, having a support surface (16, 60) formed with a pattern of raised or solid areas (16a) and lowered or void areas (16b), and has one or more manifolds (30) of hydrojet nozzles (32) disposed above the conveyor for directing a continuous curtain of fluid (40) downwardly to impact on the fabric so that properties of the fabric become altered in correspondence to the pattern of the support surface (16, 60). Fabric colored with a non-colorfast dye is hydropatterned by subtractive color removal to obtain a patterned washout effect. Alternatively, a support surface having raised or embossed areas is used to obtain a fiber displacement, lace-like effect in light fabrics. The disclosed hydropatterning technique is particularly suitable for producing a color washout effect in indigo dyed denim.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing permanently set crumple pleat crease patterns in fabric webs, having a heatable crumple tube with an oscillatingly driveable stuffing element with which a fabric web in rope form is batchwise successively inserted into the crumple tube, compressed and finally forced out. Upstream of the entry end of the crumple tube there is a rope feed tube of smaller diameter than the crumple tube. The rope feed tube has a through-hole connected on the outside to a vacuum source, while part of the crumple tube is concentrically surrounded by a jacket tube. Annular gaps between the crumple and jacket tubes are tightly sealed by annular walls, thereby forming a heating chamber with an inlet and an outlet for a fluid heating medium.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for giving relief in several directions to a textile cloth, characterized in that it consists:in known manner, in winding this cloth on a support tube,then in withdrawing said tube,thereafter in compressing the roll longitudinally along the axis of said support,finally, in fixing the roll thus compressed.The invention is more particularly applicable to fabric for home furnishings or clothes.

Abstract: Apparatus for imparting visual surface effects to a relatively moving substrate by application of discrete streams of heated pressurized fluid to surface areas of the substrate. The apparatus includes an elongate manifold assembly comprising two fluid receiving compartments, each extending across the path of said substrate. Fluid from the first compartment passes into the second compartment, which is comprised of a series of chambers, each associated with a throttling gap. The fluid is uniformly mixed within this second compartment, and may then be directed onto the substrate as a thin, continuous stream extending the length of the manifold. By use of blocking streams of relatively cool fluid, smaller streams or groups of streams extending along selected portions of the manifold may be formed.

Abstract: Improved apparatus for imparting visual surface effects to a relatively moving substrate material by application of discrete streams of heated pressurized fluid to surface areas of the material. The apparatus includes an elongate manifold assembly disposed across the path of relative movement of the material and comprising a pair of elongate manifold housings which are coupled by quick release clamping means in fluid tight relation to facilitate pattern changes and maintenance of the treating apparatus. The manifold housings are constructed and arranged so that any distortion of the manifold assembly caused by differential thermal expansion of the same is resolved to minimize displacement of the manifold toward or away from the substrate. Baffle means, filter means, and fluid passageways are provided in the manifold assembly to evenly distribute the heated air at uniform temperature throughout the full length of the assembly.

Abstract: Improved apparatus for treatment of relatively moving substrate materials by precise selective application of discrete, high temperature pressurized streams of fluid against the surface of the materials to impart a visual change thereto. The apparatus includes an elongate manifold for receiving pressurized heated fluid, such as air, disposed across the width of the relatively moving material and having a plurality of spaced parallel fluid stream discharge channels for directing the fluid into the surface of the material. Pressurized cool fluid, such as air, is directed into selected manifold discharge channels to block selectively the passage of pressurized heated air therethrough.

Abstract: A diagonal bias-stretching device and a method of enhancing surface grain of imitation-leather material with such device, which device comprises a reciprocating roller moving between lateral positions on either side of a line of advance of an imitation-leather material, to provide for alternating diagonal stretching and relaxing of the material as it moves under tension in the line of advance.

Abstract: A plurality of electrifier cylinders are arranged in tandem along the conveyance path of a synthetic pile fabric. Each cylinder is provided with surface grooves in opposite directions in order to introduce a bias of different directions to the individual fibers being treated. Individual speed and temperature controls are provided for these cylinders to effect a wide range of treatments.

Abstract: A cloth stuffing chamber or container, preferably a tube with entrance and exit portions, is provided with means for preventing backward movement of the cloth. This means is preferably in the form of a fixed ring at the beginning of the exit portion having around its inner surface at least several segments of wire which are slanted toward the exit portion of the tube. There is provided between the entrance and fixed ring a movable ring with wires or pins also slanting in the same exit direction, which ring is reciprocated by a drive, such as a cam and follower. Cloth is introduced into the entrance portion of the chamber and passes through the two rings, and as the movable ring reciprocates, its slanted wires move the cloth forward on the forward stroke and on the reverse stroke the slanted pins of the fixed ring prevent the cloth from moving backwards.

Abstract: Apparatus for compressing an accumulated mass of fabric to impart a change in its physical appearance wherein the fabric is continuously gravitationally fed in accumulated form to compression means. The apparatus is specifically directed to imparting a crushed appearance to pile fabrics such as lightweight velvet-type fabrics used in upholstery, draperies, and the like.