Apparatus for manufacturing fabric for coverings for architectural openings

The combination of a fabric and an apparatus for stitching the fabric comprising in combination:

• a fabric comprised of at least one sheet of material, and
• an apparatus including at least one lift system for supporting the fabric in a substantially vertical orientation and including a mechanism for selectively raising or lowering said fabric in predetermined increments, an elongated tucker blade on one side of said fabric for forming a substantially horizontal elongated tuck in said fabric upon engagement with said fabric, a clamp on the opposite side of said fabric from said tucker blade for clamping a tuck formed in said fabric by said tucker blade, a system for removing said tucker blade from said tuck while it is being clamped and at least one sewing machine for performing sewing operations in said tuck after the removal of said tucker blade from said tuck.

The combination of a fabric and an apparatus for stitching the fabric comprising in combination:

• a fabric comprised of at least one sheet of material, and
• an apparatus including at least one lift system for supporting the fabric in a substantially vertical orientation and including a mechanism for selectively raising or lowering said fabric in predetermined increments, an elongated tucker blade on one side of said fabric for forming a substantially horizontal elongated tuck in said fabric upon engagement with said fabric, a clamp on the opposite side of said fabric from said tucker blade for clamping a tuck formed in said fabric by said tucker blade, and at least one sewing machine for performing sewing operations in said tuck, said at least one sewing machine forming a stitch in said tuck to hold the tuck together.

The combination of a fabric and an apparatus for stitching the fabric comprising in combination:

• a fabric comprised of at least one sheet of material, and
• an apparatus including at least one lift system for supporting the fabric in a substantially vertical orientation and including a mechanism for selectively raising or lowering said fabric in predetermined increments, an elongated tucker blade on one side of said fabric for forming a substantially horizontal elongated tuck in said fabric upon engagement with said fabric, a clamp on the opposite side of said fabric from said tucker blade for clamping a tuck formed in said fabric by said tucker blade, and two sewing machines with one of said sewing machines for stitching said tuck and the other said sewing machine for sewing rings to said tuck at horizontally spaced intervals along the length of said tuck.

The combination of a fabric and an apparatus for stitching the fabric comprising in combination:

• a fabric comprised of at least one sheet of material, and
• an apparatus including at least one lift system for supporting the fabric in a substantially vertical orientation and including a mechanism for selectively raising or lowering said fabric in predetermined increments, an elongated tucker blade on one side of said fabric for forming a substantially horizontal elongated tuck in said fabric upon engagement with said fabric, a clamp on the opposite side of said fabric from said tucker blade for clamping a tuck formed in said fabric by said tucker blade, and at least one sewing machine for performing sewing operations in said tuck, wherein said tucker blade has a low friction outer surface and is insertable along with said tuck into said clamp and is removed from said clamp while leaving said tuck in said clamp prior to said at least one sewing machine performing sewing operations on said tuck.