Adjustable strap fastener assembly for body-encircling hat band, collar or belt

A hat comprising:

• a crown portion for covering the crown of a person's head, the crown portion having a front for location at the front of a person's head, a rear for location at the rear of a wearer's head, a concave inner face for facing a person's head when the hat is worn, and a convex outer face for facing outwardly from a person's head;
• the crown portion having a cut-out opening at the rear of the hat, the cut-out opening having opposite side edges;
• a pair of overlapping rings secured to one side edge of the opening;
• a fastener strap having a first end secured to the opposite side of said opening and a second, free end for threading through said rings with the free end located inside said crown portion, the strap having an inner face and an outer face;
• a first interengageable fastener portion on the inner face of said crown portion adjacent said opposite side of said opening and a second interengageable fastener portion on the inner face of said strap adjacent said free end for releasable mating engagement with said first fastener portion at the inner face of said hat.

An adjustable strap fastener assembly for forming a loop of adjustable diameter, comprising:

• an elongate member having an inner face, and outer face, and first and second ends, the inner face being adapted to face inwardly when the member is formed into a loop;
• the first end being folded back and secured to the inner face of the elongate member to form an eyelet;
• a pair of overlapping rings secured in said eyelet;
• a first interengageable fastener device secured to the inner face of the elongate member at the second end;
• and
• a second interengageable fastener device secured to the inner face of the strap member at a location spaced from the second end for releasable engagement with the first fastener device when said second end is folded back over said inner face to form a second, releasable eyelet extending through said overlapping rings to form said elongate member into a loop with both ends of the elongate member on the inside of the loop.

A method of securing an elongate member around a portion of a wearer's body, comprising the steps of:

• extending an elongate member around a portion of a wearer's body to form a loopshaving an inside and an outside, with an inner face of the member facing inwardly into the inside of the loop and an outer face of the member facing outwardly, the member having a pair of overlapping rings at one end and a second, free end, the rings comprising an innermost ring and an outermost ring;
• threading the second end of the elongate member first through the center of the innermost ring in an outward direction away from the loop, then around the outside of the outermost ring and back through the center of the outermost ring and innermost ring to the inside of the loop;
• pulling the second end through the rings until the loop has a selected diameter;
• and
• securing an interengageable fastener device on the inner face adjacent the second end to an underlying fastener device on the inner face of the elongate member within the loop.

A securing assembly, comprising:

• an elongate member bent to form a loop, the elongate member having an inner face facing inwardly into the loop and an opposing, outer face, and opposite first and second ends;
• a pair of overlapping rings secured to the first end of the elongate member;
• a first interengageable portion secured to the inner face of the elongate member adjacent the second end and a second interengageable portion for releasable attachment to the first interengageable portion secured to the inner face at a location spaced from the second end;
• and
• the second end of the elongate member being threaded through the center of an innermost one of the rings, around the outside of the other ring and back through the center of both rings into the inside of the loop, and the first interengageable portion being secured to the second interengageable portion to secure the member in the loop.