UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.
SARAH J. BAKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.
IMPROVEMENT IN STOCKlNG-HEEL PROTECTORS.
Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 54,094, dated April 24, 1866.
To all 'whom it may concer/n:
Be it known that I, SARAH J. BAKER, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improved Stocking Heel Protector; and l do hereby declare and make known that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying-drawings, and the letters and ligures marked thereon, which form part of this specication.
The nature of my said invention consists in a novel device or, article to be worn upon the heel, being properly fastened thereupon by means of elastic bands, as hereinafter described, or in any other suitable manner, the same to be made or constructed of leather, cloth, felt, or any other iieXible and appropriate material, the design of said article being to supply a cheap and convenient device for protecting the heel of the stocking from wearing out, thus causing the stocking to last much longer than usual and saving much laborl and trouble in darning or mcnding the same.
This invention is peculiarly appropriate for childrens wear, but is equally useful for adults.
To enable those skilled in the art to under stand howto construct and use my said stocking-heel protector, I will proceed to describe the same with particularity, making reference in so doing to the aforesaid drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of my invention as applied to the foot of the wearer, and Fig. 2 a plan or pattern of the material cut out and ready for sewing into shape.
Similar letters of reference in the different figures denote corresponding parts of my invention.
AB represent the protector as completed and'worn in Fig. 1, being held and tted accurately to the heel over the stocking, as shown, by means of the elastic straps a b, which are attached at each end to the opposite corners of the article, and the whole may thus be drawn on over the foot.
I do not sew the protector to the stocking, for in that case it would have tol be washed with the stocking or ripped off and sewed on again every time the stocking is washed; but I make it a separate and distinct article and fasten it to the foot or ankle over the stocking, substantially as herein described, to be left off or worn at pleasure.
That part of the protector which lies against the back of the heel or ankle is cut and fitted so as to conform to the natural curve in the configuration of that part of the foot, if desired, although this is not necessary, being a matter of taste, in producing a neat and wellfitting article. v
This protector may be made of morocco leather or any other soft liexible material, and pattern is shown in Fig. 2 of the proper shape to cut the material, there being two pieces, sewed together at the back, as indicated by seam d, and suitable small triangular pieces bcin g cnt out upon each side. The heel is turned by bringing the edges c together and sewing them, as indicated in Fig. 1.
If preferred, the whole may be made of a single piece of the material, although a betteriitting article is made by taking the seam d, whereby the curve at the back of the ankle is attained, as hereinbefore mentioned.
It' preferred, one end of the straps a l) may be secured to the protector by means of a hook, button, or clasp, so that the article may be put on and adjusted without drawing it over the foot, in which case the said straps need not he elastic.
Having described my invention, I will now specify what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:
A stocking-heel protector constructed substantially as herein described, and for the purposes specified.
SARAH J. BAKER.
Witnesses LEwIs BROWN, W. E. MARES.