Spacer fabrics and methods of making the same

Abstract

In one aspect, methods of making a spacer fabric are described herein. In some embodiments, a method comprises knitting a first yarn or fiber and a second yarn or fiber to form a knit structure, wherein the knit structure comprises a plurality of concave portions in facing opposition to a plurality of convex portions. Further, the concave portions and the convex portions together define void spaces having a substantially double convex cross section. In some cases, the method further comprises heating the knit structure at a temperature sufficient to cause the second yarn or fiber to shrink in at least one dimension. Additionally, the second yarn or fiber shrinks more than the first yarn or fiber during the heating step. Moreover, in some instances, heating the knit structure increases a size of the void spaces of the knit structure, particularly in a thickness direction of the fabric.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.