Method of making decorative articles from plastisol

Claim 1

A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said step of stretching is performed to the extent that the film thickness of the plastisol is reduced by about one-half, said compressing step being performed by displacing opposite lateral edges of the plastisol toward each other to the extent that the film thickness of the plastisol is restored to at least about 80 percent of its original thickness.

Claim 3

A method of making a decorative article from plastisol, comprising the steps of providing a body of liquid material immiscible with the plastisol and having a density in excess of the density of the plastisol, placing and spreading quantities of different-colored plastisol on the surface of the body so that the plastisol is supported thereon, maintaining the body of liquid in continuous motion in a given direction and at a given rate so that the quantities of plastisol supported thereon move therewith, compressing the plastisol at least before the plastisol completely gels, whereby the tendency of the plastisol to form bubbles is decreased, intermingling the plastisols of different colors to obtain a variegated color pattern, terminating the compression of the plastisol and allowing the plastisol to relax prior to gelation, heating the plastisol while it is supported on the body of liquid to gel but not to fuse the plastisol, placing a moving substrate of flexible sheet material in surface contact with the body and the gelled plastisol so that the gelled plastisol article adheres to the substrate, conveying the gelled plastisol article on the substrate away from the liquid body, and then further heating the article to fuse the plastisol.