Article of footwear upper incorporating a textile component with tensile elements

A textile component comprising:

• a first spacer knit portion forming a first side of an upper, a second spacer knit portion forming a second side of the upper, and a throat area located between the first side of the upper and the second side of the upper, each of the first spacer knit portion and the second spacer knit portion comprising two overlapping layers that are attached by transverse yarns that extend between the two overlapping layers;
• a plurality of first intermediate tensile segments located on the first side of the upper and at least partially extending between first passages formed by the transverse yarns of the first spacer knit portion;
• the plurality of first intermediate tensile segments forming a first set of lace apertures in the throat area adjacent to the first side;
• and
• a plurality of second intermediate tensile segments located on the second side of the upper and at least partially extending between second passages formed by the transverse yarns of the second spacer knit portion, the plurality of second intermediate tensile segments forming a second set of lace apertures in the throat area adjacent to the second side.

A method of forming an upper, the method comprising:

• knitting a spacer knit component comprising two overlapping layers that are attached by transverse yarns that extend between the two overlapping layers, the spacer knit component having a first side, an opposite second side, and a throat area between the first side and the second side;
• placing a tensile strand such that the tensile strand at least partially extends between passages formed by the transverse yarns of the spacer knit component;
• cutting the tensile strand to form a first intermediate tensile segment and a second intermediate tensile segment, the first intermediate tensile segment being located on the first side of the spacer knit component and the second intermediate tensile segment being located on the second side of the spacer knit component;
• and
• forming the spacer knit component into the upper such that the first side of the spacer knit component at least partially forms a first side of the upper and the second side of the spacer knit component at least partially forms a second side of the upper.