Underwire brassiere, warp knitted textile fabric for use in fabricating same, and method of warp knitting such fabric

An underwire brassiere comprising a pair of adjoining breast cups, each breast cup defining an underwire channel extending along a lower margin of the breast cup for disposition immediately beneath a wearer's breasts, and at least one supporting underwire shaped in conformity with the lower margins of the breast cups and extending within the channels thereof, each channel comprising a generally inelastic and dimensionally stable warp knitted textile fabric comprising a plurality of generally inelastic yarns interknitted with one another in stitches arranged in longitudinally extending fabric wales and transversely extending fabric courses, the yarns comprising a first set of yarns each warp knitted in a pattern of coursewise spaced stitches with extended underlaps therebetween for providing structural stability and elongation resistance coursewise of the fabric and a second set of yarns each warp knitted in a pattern of walewise aligned chain stitches for providing structural stability and elongation resistance walewise of the fabric, the chain stitches of the second yarns being canted in a coursewise inclination relative to the walewise alignment of the second yarns for providing the fabric with a predetermined degree of walewise elongation to promote conformation of the fabric to the shape of the underwire in fabrication of the brassiere.

A method of warp knitting a generally inelastic and dimensionally stable textile fabric to be adapted for use as an underwire covering in a brassiere of the type having a supporting underwire shaped in conformity to a wearer's breasts, the method comprising the steps of warp knitting a plurality of warp yarns with one another in stitches arranged in longitudinally extending fabric wales and transversely extending fabric courses, wherein a first set of warp yarns are warp knitted in a pattern of coursewise spaced stitches with extended underlaps therebetween and a second set of warp yarns are simultaneously warp knitted in a pattern of walewise aligned chain stitches for cooperatively providing structural stability and elongation resistance both coursewise and walewise to the fabric, the warp knitting of the first and second sets of warp yarns being at selectively differing run-in values for causing the chain stitches of the second set of warp yarns to be canted in a coursewise inclination relative to their walewise alignment for providing the fabric with a predetermined degree of walewise elongation to promote conformation of the fabric to the shape of the underwire in fabrication of the brassieres.