Wetsuit, neck opening for wetsuit and method of making same

A collar for a wetsuit comprising:

• a collar piece defining a neck opening and including a single piece of a material having first, second, and third regions, with the third region located between the first and second regions, wherein
• the material has, in the first and second regions, a first thickness, when not compressed, between opposed first and second surfaces of the material,
• the material has, in the third region, a second thickness, when not compressed, that is smaller than the first thickness, between a third surface of the material and the second surface of the material,
• the third portion has, in cross-section, a U-shape defining a folded edge of the wetsuit neck opening,
• the folded edge has a thickness, when the material is not compressed, that is smaller than twice the first thickness, and
• the first and second regions of the material contact and are joined to each other, free of stitches, at the second surface of the material, at a location spaced from the folded edge.

A method of forming a collar for a wetsuit comprising:

• cutting a collar piece from a single sheet of a material having a first thickness, when not compressed, between opposed first and second surfaces of the material;
• treating an intermediate portion of the collar piece to produce an arcuate channel in the material, the material at the arcuate channel having a second thickness, when not compressed, that is smaller than the first thickness, the arcuate channel extending from the first surface of the material toward the second surface of the material and having an arcuate centerline;
• folding the collar piece along the arcuate centerline so that parts of the second surface of the material, on opposite sides of the arcuate channel and having the first thickness, are brought into contact with each other;
• and
• joining, free of stitches, the parts of the second surface that are in contact, whereby the material on opposite sides of the arcuate centerline defines a folded edge of a neck opening of the collar piece, the folded edge having a thickness, when not compressed, that is smaller than twice the first thickness.