Tubular fabric and method of making the same
AssigneeStretchline Intellectual Properties Limited
InventorsRobert Arthur Glenn, Henry Arthur Sebastian Price
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a tubular fabric for receiving an underwire in a garment such as a bra. The tubular fabric is formed by arranging a fusible yarn, such as Grillon™, and melting said yarn to form a barrier, which exhibits excellent resistance to penetration by underwires. Preferably the fabric does not include an elastomeric yarn and is treated to impart stretch to the fabric in the length direction.
Claims67
A method of making a tubular fabric with less than 0.5% elastomeric yarn comprising the steps of:
- providing a support yarn and a fusible yarn;
- forming said support yarn and said fusible yarn into a tubular fabric wherein said fusible yarn is arranged within said tubular fabric;
- treating said tubular fabric by heating to a temperature sufficient to melt said fusible yarn within said tubular fabric and subsequently cooling said fabric to produce a barrier to penetration;
- and
- treating said tubular fabric to force yarn strands located across the width of said fabric closer together to impart a stretch into the fabric in a lengthwise direction,
- wherein throughout the forming step, the fabric is maintained under a fixed tension.
A garment comprising:
- an underwire;
- and
- a tubular fabric comprising a support yarn and a fusible yarn, wherein the fusible yarn is arranged so that melting the fusible yarn forms a barrier to the penetration by the underwire, wherein the tubular fabric includes less than 0.5% elastomeric yarn, and wherein yarns across a width are forced closer to one another than yarns across a length.
A tubular fabric for use in encasing wires, including underwires, comprising a support yarn, a fusible yarn, and less than 0.5% elastomeric yarn wherein the fusible yarn is arranged so that when the fusible yarn melts it forms a barrier to the penetration by a wire, wherein yarns across a width are forced closer to one another than yarns across a length.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.