ART
BEAUTY & WELLNESS
CRAFT
CULTURE & HISTORY
ENTERTAINMENT
ENVIRONMENT
FOOD & DRINKS
REVERSE ENGINEERING
SCIENCES
SPORTS
TECHNOLOGY
WEARABLES
Uninked Ribbon Fabric: Narrow Woven Cotton Strip with Two Selvages (Rogers, US 420,312, 1890)
Early typewriter ribbons were cut from a roll of fine cotton cloth and the cut edges glued; the edges came out zigzag and the glue spoiled the inking surface. Rogers wove the ribbon to width instead, so it has two true selvages and needs no glue.
Result: a narrow cotton ribbon with straight woven edges, ready for inking.
Source: Rogers, US 420,312 (1890). He chose cotton over silk: silk cost more, held less ink and sagged in the middle. Not given: width, thread count. Picture drawn by Youblob.
Intermediate
Factory process
Instructions
1
1
Warp a narrow loom with fine cotton
Warp a narrow loom with fine cotton
Set up the loom for a ribbon of typewriter width, not a wide bolt. Rogers used fine cotton; width and thread count: not given. Ours: a power loom (Rogers built his own machinery).
Materials for this step:
Cotton Thread1 as requiredTools needed:
Power Loom2
2
Weave the ribbon to width
Weave the ribbon to width
Weave the strip at its final width so both edges are selvages: straight, unravelling-free, with no cut edge to glue.
Materials for this step:
Cotton Thread1 as requiredTools needed:
Power Loom3
3
Wind it off for inking
Wind it off for inking
Take the woven ribbon off the loom; its whole surface is free for ink. Rogers then inks it on one side only.
Tools needed:
Power LoomThis blueprint makes
Related Blueprints
These blueprints share knowledge with this one — techniques, materials, or principles that connect them in the learning graph.
CC0 Public Domain
This blueprint is released under CC0. You are free to copy, modify, distribute, and use this work for any purpose, without asking permission.
Support the Maker by purchasing products through their Blueprint where they earn a Maker Commission set by Vendors, or create a new iteration of this Blueprint and include it as a connection in your own Blueprint to share revenue.