CHAPTER V. 
MACHINERY AND PROCESSES. 
MACHINERY USED. 
The muslin-underwear industry is, comparatively Sealing, a new 
industry in this country. The oldest firms were established about 45 
Jour ago. It would, however, be correct to state that the industry 
egan to assume its present aspects about 20 years ago. In the early 
days handwork was chia extensively, but at the present time, 
with very few exceptions, it is wholly a machine-sewing industry. 
The hand-sewn ww underwear is mostly imported from European 
markets, where labor is much cheaper than in the United States. 
The increase in the amount of production in the lingerie industry is 
due chiefly to the invention of new devices and automatic attach- 
ments to sewing machines. The machine companies are producing 
machines ca he of turning out work much more quickly and per- 
fectly than erty, thereby lessening the cost of production. The 
machines in the main are simple and are easily managed by trained 
female operators, whose earnings have also increased materially 
through this progress. The effect of this progress can be observed in 
every department and process of manufacture. Many of these inven- 
tions oe] betterments can be traced to the operators and machinists 
in clothing factories. 
In establishments that make a large number of certain styles the 
laying-up machine has been adopted. This machine is a platform on 
ar, and the cloth is placed on the platform, which is pushed from 
one end of the cutting table to the other and which at the same time 
lays out the cloth until the desired thickness of the lay is obtained. 
Formerly cloth was cut by shears or knife, but now is nearly all 
cut by electric machines, the machine having either a rotary knife or 
a straight knife moving up and down. The straight-knife machine 
will cut a lay of 42 dozen or 504 thicknesses of cloth, which is about 
the maximum thickness of a lay. On very fine materials or on very 
small lays a short-handled knife is used instead of a machine. 
The sewing machines employed in the early days of this industry 
made a maximum of 1,600 or 1,800 stitches per minute. To-day there 
are machines making anywhere from 2,800 to 4,000 stitches per min- 
ute. The machines at the same time pare or retrim the cut edges of 
the cloth. Electricity has aided in this development. Formerly the 
machines were run by foot power, a much slower process and a more 
taxing one on the operator. At present they are run wholly by elec- 
tric power. The operator starts the power Ys pressing the foot rest 
and then gives her attention entirely to the material the needle. 
The development of the sewing machine has been along lines of low 
upkeep cost, high sustained speed, greater amount of production, 
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