Method of manufacturing a dry-formed, adhesively bonded, nonwoven fibrous sheet and the sheet formed thereby

A method for forming a bulky, flexible, stretchable, nonwoven fibrous sheet, said method comprising the steps of:

• A. dry-forming a low integrity, fibrous web having a basis weight of from about 5 to about 100 lbs. per ream of 2,880 square feet;
• B. applying a temporary binder uniformly and continuously over the planar extent of a surface of the web;
• C. setting the binder to form brittle, fragile, interfiber bonds which establish sufficient web integrity for subsequent processing, said fragile bonds being brittle enough to be broken during a subsequent creping operation;
• thereafter
• D. applying a permanent binder to a surface of the web which is stabilized by said temporary binder, said permanent binder being applied in a solids weight percent of from about 5 to about 30, based on the dry weight of the temporarily bonded web, said permanent binder being applied in a spaced-apart pattern covering from about 5 to about 60% of the surface area of the web and extending at least 10% through the thickness of said web;
• E. adhering to a creping surface, by use of the permanent binder, the areas of a surface of the web in which the permanent binder has been applied;
• F. creping said web from the creping surface for breaking temporary brittle bonds in said web to enhance the bulk, flexibility and extensibility characteristics of said web;
• and
• G. setting said permanent binder to complete the formation of the nonwoven sheet which is stabilized by said permanent binder.