TEMPORARY HEMMING DEVICE
A temporary hemming device includes first and second rows of cooperating fasteners, such as hook and eye fasteners, or cooperating stud or snap members, and the like, with the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners affixed to the inside of a pant leg or sleeve of a garment, such that the pant leg or sleeve can be inwardly folded to removably fasten the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners together to form a temporary hem of the pant leg or sleeve of the garment.
This application is based upon Provisional Application No. 61/030,200, filed Feb. 20, 2008, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to fasteners for garments, and more particularly concerns a temporary hemming device for reversibly hemming a part of a garment to be hemmed, such as one or more legs of trousers, or one or more sleeves of a blouse or shirt.
Women's full length trousers are often hemmed to a length to fit over high heel shoes, so that the full length trousers tend to drag when worn with flat shoes or bare foot, for example. As an alternative to changing into a shorter garment, a common method of shortening trousers is by rolling up the bottoms of the trousers. Rolled up trousers can become unrolled, which is unsafe, and may not be suitably fashionable in some situations, and hemming of trousers by the traditional sewing method can take a relatively substantial amount of time and effort, particularly if the trousers only need to be hemmed for a short period of time. Sleeves of a shirt or blouse often need to be shortened temporarily, and rolled sleeves can similarly awkwardly become unrolled. Accordingly, there is a need for a device for temporarily hemming a garment allowing the garment to be rapidly and easily hemmed and unhemmed as needed. Gaping openings between buttons of a blouse or shirt can also be an embarrassment, and other portions of a garment can unexpectedly come apart, so that it would be desirable to provide a device for rapidly removably fastening portions of a garment together, at least temporarily, as needed.
Pins such as straight pins can be used for making a temporary hem, and for temporarily fastening portions of a garment together, such as for temporary repairs, but straight pins can be unsightly if not unsafe, and even safety pins typically leave visible traces on the outside of a garment, making a clean hem line difficult to achieve. One known temporary hemming system involves a magnetic pant cuff retaining device; another system involves attaching and detaching clothing sections with Velcro® brand hook and loop materials; and another system involves a pants cuff clip similar to a paper clip that can be slipped over the folded or rolled lower edge of a pant leg. Another known temporary hemming system involves fastening the two ends of a loop of material in place about the lower edge of part of the garment to be hemmed, with a fastener extending through the garment, leaving one part of the fastener concealed on the inside of the garment, but the other part of the fastener and a portion of the loop of material exposed on the outside of the garment.
There is therefore a need for a temporary hemming device with cooperating fasteners that can be fully concealed within the garment and that can be quickly and easily reversibly fastened together to temporarily hem the garment, by an inwardly folding of the part of the garment to be hemmed along the desired hem line, or to removably fasten gaps between buttons closed, and to make temporary garment repairs. The present invention addresses these and other needs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONBriefly, and in general terms, the present invention provides for a temporary hemming device that includes first and second rows of cooperating fasteners affixed to a portion of a garment to be temporarily hemmed. The portion of a garment to be temporarily hemmed can be quickly and easily temporarily hemmed by folding the portion of a garment to be temporarily hemmed about a desired hem line and connecting the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners.
Accordingly, the present invention provides for a temporary hemming device that includes first and second sheets of material with corresponding first and second rows of cooperating fasteners, respectively, with the first and second sheets of material affixed to a lower portion of a part of a garment to be hemmed, such that the part of a garment to be hemmed can be folded about a hem line to removably fasten the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners together to form a temporary hem of the pant leg or sleeve of the garment. In a presently preferred embodiment, the corresponding first and second rows of cooperating fasteners are hook and eye fasteners, although the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners may also be other suitable sets of fasteners, such as cooperating stud sets or snap sets, and the like, for example. In a presently preferred aspect, the part of a garment to be temporarily hemmed is a pant leg, although other parts of a garment, such as a sleeve or lower waist hem of a blouse or shirt, for example, could also be temporarily hemmed using the temporary hemming device of the present invention.
In another presently preferred aspect, the first and second sheets of material are affixed to an inside lower portion of the part of the garment to be hemmed, and the part of a garment to be hemmed is configured to be folded inwardly about the hem line to removably fasten the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners together to form a temporary hem of the pant leg or sleeve of the garment, so that the first and second sheets of material with their rows of cooperating fasteners are concealed within the part of the garment to be hemmed, and the temporary hem is completely concealed once the rows of fasteners are fastened together. In another presently preferred aspect, the first and second sheets of material have a coating of contact adhesive along one of the flat sides, with the rows of fasteners mounted to the other side of the first and second sheets of material, so that the sheets of material can be rapidly affixed to the part of the garment to be hemmed.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the temporary hemming device of the present invention.
With reference to the accompanying drawings, which are provided by way of example and not by way of limitation, the present invention provides for a temporary hemming device 10 that includes a first sheet of material 12 and a second sheet of material 14, with the first sheet of material having a corresponding first row 16 a plurality of first portions of a plurality of cooperating fastener pairs configured to be reversibly coupled together, and the second sheet of material having a corresponding second row 18 of the plurality of cooperating fastener pairs, respectively. The first and second sheets of material are preferably arranged in parallel or substantially parallel rings that are spaced apart and affixed to a portion 24 of a garment 28 to be hemmed, such that the portion of the garment to be hemmed can be folded about a hem line 30 to removably or reversibly fasten the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners together to form a temporary hem of the pant leg 32 or sleeve 34 of the garment, as shown in
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It should be readily apparent that the temporary hemming device of the invention can also be used to rapidly removably fasten gaps between buttons in a blouse or shirt by placing short strips of the cooperating fasteners between adjacent buttons, and to make rapid repairs of tears or rips or other fabric problems by placing appropriate lengths of the strips of cooperating fasteners along the fabric areas to be joined together. It will thus be apparent from the foregoing that while particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A hemming device, comprising:
- a first sheet of material having a first planar side configured to be affixed to a first portion of a garment to be hemmed, said first sheet of material having a second planar side including a first row of a plurality of first portions of a plurality of fastener pairs configured to be reversibly coupled together; and
- a second sheet of material having a first planar side configured to be affixed to a second portion of a garment to be hemmed, said second sheet of material having a second planar side including a second row of a plurality of second portions of said plurality of fastener pairs, said second row of a plurality of second portions of said plurality of fastener pairs being configured to be coupled with said first row of said plurality of first portions of said plurality of fastener pairs, wherein said first and second sheets of material with said first row of said plurality of first portions of said plurality of fastener pairs and said second row of a plurality of second portions of said plurality of fastener pairs are configured to be arranged such that the part of a garment to be hemmed can be folded about a hem line to reversibly couple the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners together to form a hem of the pant leg or sleeve of the garment.
2. The hemming device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of fastener pairs are cooperating pairs of stud fasteners.
3. The hemming device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of fastener pairs are cooperating pairs of snap fasteners.
4. The hemming device of claim 3, wherein said snap fasteners are configured to slidably rotate when fastened together without separating.
5. The hemming device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of fastener pairs are hook and eye fasteners.
6. The hemming device of claim 1, wherein said first planar sides of said first and second sheets of material include a coating of contact adhesive configured to rapidly affix said first planar sides of said first and second sheets of material to the portion of the garment to be hemmed.
7. The hemming device of claim 6, wherein said contact adhesive is reusable, such that said first and second sheets can be reapplied on the garment to be hemmed.
8. A hemming device, comprising:
- a first sheet of material and a second sheet of material each having first and second planar sides, said firs planar sides of said first and second sheets of material being configured to be affixed to first and second portions of a garment to be hemmed; and
- corresponding first and second rows of a plurality of pairs of cooperating fasteners affixed to said second sides of said first and second sheets of material, respectively, said first and second rows of said plurality of pairs of cooperating fasteners being configured to be removably coupled together, said first and second sheets of material being configured to be affixed to a portion of a part of a garment to be hemmed, such that the part of a garment to be hemmed can be folded about a hem line to removably fasten the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners together to form a hem of the pant leg or sleeve of the garment.
9. The hemming device of claim 8, wherein said plurality of pairs of cooperating fasteners are pairs of cooperating stud fasteners.
10. The hemming device of claim 8, wherein said plurality of pairs of cooperating fasteners are pairs of cooperating snap fasteners.
11. The hemming device of claim 10, wherein said snap fasteners are configured to slidably rotate when fastened together without separating.
12. The hemming device of claim 8, wherein said plurality of pairs of cooperating fasteners are hook and eye fasteners.
13. The hemming device of claim 8, wherein said first planar sides of said first and second sheets of material include a coating of contact adhesive configured to rapidly affix said first planar sides of said first and second sheets of material to the portion of the garment to be hemmed.
14. The hemming device of claim 13, wherein said contact adhesive is reusable, such that said first and second sheets can be reapplied on the garment to be hemmed.
15. A method of hemming a garment to be hemmed, comprising the steps of:
- providing a first sheet of material having a first planar side configured to be affixed to a first portion of a garment to be hemmed, said first sheet of material having a second planar side including a first row of a plurality of first portions of a plurality of fastener pairs configured to be reversibly coupled together;
- providing a second sheet of material having a first planar side configured to be affixed to a second portion of a garment to be hemmed, said second sheet of material having a second planar side including a second row of a plurality of second portions of said plurality of fastener pairs, said second row of a plurality of second portions of said plurality of fastener pairs being configured to be coupled with said first row of said plurality of first portions of said plurality of fastener pairs, wherein said first and second sheets of material with said first row of said plurality of first portions of said plurality of fastener pairs and said second row of a plurality of second portions of said plurality of fastener pairs are configured to be arranged such that the part of a garment to be hemmed can be folded about a hem line to reversibly couple the first and second rows of cooperating fasteners together to form a hem of the pant leg or sleeve of the garment;
- affixing the first and second sheets of material to an inside lower portion of the part of the garment to be hemmed in parallel or substantially parallel spaced apart rings;
- folding the portion of the garment to be hemmed inwardly about a desired hem line; and
- removably fastening said first and second rows of cooperating fasteners together to form a hem of the portion of the garment to be hemmed, such that the first and second sheets of material said first and second rows of cooperating fasteners are concealed within the part of the garment to be hemmed.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein said plurality of pairs of cooperating fasteners are pairs of cooperating stud fasteners.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein said plurality of pairs of cooperating fasteners are pairs of cooperating snap fasteners.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein said snap fasteners are configured to slidably rotate when fastened together without separating.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein said first planar sides of said first and second sheets of material include a coating of contact adhesive such that said first planar sides of said first and second sheets of material can be rapidly affixed to the portion of the garment to be hemmed.
20. The method of claim 15, wherein said contact adhesive is reusable, and further comprising the step of reapplying at least one of said first and second sheets on the garment to be hemmed.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 20, 2009
Publication Date: Aug 20, 2009
Inventors: Melissa S. George (New York, NY), Kara B. Harshbarger (Los Angeles, CA)
Application Number: 12/389,844
International Classification: D05B 1/24 (20060101); A41D 27/24 (20060101);