Method of forming cloth into three-dimensional shapes and the articles produced by that method

• US 4,555,814 A
• Filed: 04/02/1984
• Issued: 12/03/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apparel Form Company
• Original Assignee: Apparel Form Company
• Inventors: Hostetler, John E., Sears, I. Weir, Hulsebusch, William H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hunter, H. Hampton
• Application Number:
  US06/596,025
• Time in Patent Office: 610 Days
• Field of Search: 2/227, 2/243 R, 2/409, 2/69, 66/177, 26/69 A, 26/69 B, 38/144, 264/231, 264/239, 264/291, 264/292, 264/299
• US Class Current: 2/227
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 1/06 Trousers
• CPC Class Codes: A41H 43/00 Other methods, machines or appliances

Abstract

A novel process is disclosed in which garments and other cloth items are formed into their predetermined three dimensional shapes. Unfinished cloth is used to construct a shell which is then completely finished while maintained in the shape of the final product on a mold. The invention is also directed to the products obtained from the novel process and to the one-piece pattern used in the manufacture of pant garments in accord with the process of the present invention.

Claims

1. A molded pant constructed from a performed shell of unfinished woven cloth, which has been finished by tentering on a mold to maintain a predetermined three-dimensional shape conforming to the shape of the mold and wherein said pant has a single seam on its outer periphery and a seam along the inside of each leg thereof.

2. A method for fabricating a garment from cloth comprising:

(a) subjecting a performed cloth shell generally in the size and shape of the garment to one or more treatments to completely finish the cloth, said one or more treatments being carried out while maintaining the cloth shell in generally uniform tension on a mold in the final three-dimensional shape of the garment.

3. A method for fabricating a pant garment from cloth comprising:

(a) cutting a one-piece pattern from cloth in the flat;

said pattern having an upper transverse edge, a lower transverse edge, and side edges each including a crotch point intermediate to said upper and lower edges;

said pattern also having an increasing transverse dimension from said lower edge to said crotch points, a decreasing transverse dimension from said crotch points to said upper edge, and a central cut from said lower edge to a central crotch point;

(b) forming said one-piece pattern into a cloth shell; and

(c) subjecting said cloth shell to one or more treatment to completely finish the cloth, said one or more treatments being carried out while maintaining the cloth shell on a mold in the final three-dimensional shape of the pant garment.

4. A one-piece pattern for use in fabricating a pant garment from cloth, comprising an upper transverse edge, a lower transverse edge and side edges extending between the upper and lower edges, each side edge including a crotch point;

the transverse dimension of said pattern increasing from said lower edge to said crotch points and decreasing from said crotch points to said upper edge;

and a central cut extending from the lower edge of said pattern to an inner crotch point.

5. The one-piece pattern of claim 4 wherein said side edges between said crotch points and the upper edge each includes a curved portion and a straight portion.

6. A one-piece pattern cut from flat cloth for use in producing a pant garment comprising:

(a) an upper waist area adjacent an upper transverse edge, a lower leg area adjacent a bottom transverse edge, and transversely extending hip and thigh areas positioned at selected locations between said upper and bottom edges;

(b) longitudinal side edges defined by the extremeties of said pattern; and

(c) a central cut extending from said bottom edge toward said upper edge through said thigh area to define inner side edges on said pattern which can be joined to said outer side edges to form leg portions for said pant garment; and

(d) said pattern being cut to have waist, hip, thigh and leg transverse dimensions such that uniform transverse tentering of the garment formed from said pattern expands each of said transverse dimensions a uniform selected percentage to a selected finished dimension.