Method of joining an elastic band to a continuously moving partially elastic substrate

A method of joining a plurality of elastic bands to a continuously moving, partially elastic substrate, comprising the steps of:

• continuously moving in a first direction a substrate including a plurality of non-elastic segments and a plurality of elastic segments that are extensible in a direction different from the first direction,
• providing a supply of a heat-elasticizable band,
• elastically activating selected portions of the heat-elasticizable band,
• cutting the heat-elasticizable band into individual heat-elasticizable bands so that each individual heat-elasticizable band includes at least one elastically activated portion and at least one non-activated heat-elasticizable portion,
• sequentially orienting each individual heat-elasticizable band so that it is extensible in substantially the same direction as the elastic segments of the continuously moving substrate,
• positioning each individual heat-elasticizable band over the continuously moving substrate so that each elastically activated portion is over one of the elastic segments of the substrate, and each non-activated heat-elasticizable portion is over one of the non-elastic segments of the substrate, and
• joining each individual heat-elasticizable band to the continuously moving substrate.