Performance Hem for an Athletic Shirt Including Compression Material

Abstract

A method of manufacturing an athletic shirt. The method including manufacturing an athletic shirt that includes a performance flare. The performance flare gradually widens as it approaches the edge of the athletic shirt. The method also includes selecting elastic to be attached to the performance flare, such that a circumference of elastic is the same as a circumference of the performance flare. The method also includes manufacturing a performance hem by attaching the selected elastic to the performance flare such that the performance hem does not include scrunching when the selected elastic is attached to the performance flare.

Description

BACKGROUND

The present embodiments relate to athletic apparel. In particular, some embodiments relate to a performance hem for athletic shirts including compression material.

Some athletic shirts include a traditional fold-over hem with a cover stitch. FIG. 1 illustrates a side perspective of a traditional fold-over hem with a cover stitch. As shown in FIG. 1, the hem 100 of an athletic shirt 110 may include a cover stitch 120. The hem 100 runs along the bottom of the shirt 110 (the swivel line indicates the remainder of the upper part of the shirt). The process of creating the hem 100 includes folding the shirt 110 along the bottom edge and then using a cover stitch 120 to maintain the fold. The shirt 110 is generally folded such that the fold is toward the back 114 of the shirt 110 and not the front 112 of the shirt 110. The upper edge 116 of the fold is generally the bottom of the shirt 110.

Some athletic shirts, based on the way they are sewn together, include scrunching or gathering. As shown in FIG. 2, the result of sewing a cuff 124 together in this manner is that the cuff 124 appears with ridges or scrunching or gathering. This scrunching is intentionally built into the scrunched cuff or hem to allow the athletic shirt to stretch without tearing the clothing material. These ridges and scrunching is a result of the manufacturing process and/or the elastic sewn onto fabric. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2, the scrunched cuff or hem appears visually to be different than the remainder of the shirt.

Sometimes a piece of elastic is sewn onto the edge of clothing and is visually exposed. The elastic is exposed and is meant to be visible when worn. However, for many athletic shirts, which are meant to have a finished visual appearance, this style is generally not acceptable because the elastic is visually exposed.

Athletes desire a hem that allows elastic to be built into the edges of the sleeves or bottom of the shirt without being visually different than the remainder of the athletic shirt. Accordingly, there is a need for a performance hem for athletic shirts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-section view of a prior art fold-over hem.

FIG. 2 illustrates a frontal view of a prior art scrunched cuff.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a performance hem.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a method for manufacturing a performance hem.

FIG. 5A illustrates a chart showing exemplary sizes for a men's athletic shirt.

FIG. 5B illustrates a chart showing exemplary sizes for a women's athletic shirt.

FIG. 6A illustrates a chart showing exemplary lengths of elastic for a men's athletic shirt.

FIG. 6B illustrates a chart showing exemplary lengths of elastic for a women's athletic shirt.

FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a performance hem during a manufacturing process.

FIG. 7B illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a performance hem during a manufacturing process.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a performance hem.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of the difference of compression forces from an athletic shirt with a performance hem.

FIG. 10 illustrates some of the benefits of a performance hem.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of a method for manufacturing a performance hem using a performance flare.

FIG. 12A-12C illustrate the manufacture of a performance hem using a performance flare.

FIG. 13A-13B illustrate charts showing the differences in lengths.

DESCRIPTION

The present embodiments relate to a performance hem for athletic shirts including compression material.

In some embodiments, a performance hem is provided that includes elastic in the hem but visually appears to be the same as the remainder of the athletic shirt. For example, the performance hem lays flat with the remainder of the athletic shirt and does not include scrunching or gathering. However, because of the elastic in the performance hem, the performance hem is meant to provide a snug fit around the athlete to prevent the edges of the shirt from moving (e.g., sliding up or down). Due to the elastic, the performance hem provides a more snug fit relative to the remainder of the athletic shirt.

In an embodiment, a method of manufacturing an athletic shirt. The method including manufacturing an athletic shirt that includes a performance flare. The performance flare gradually widens as it approaches the edge of the athletic shirt. The method also includes selecting elastic to be attached to the performance flare, such that the elastic has the same or substantially the same circumference as a circumference of the performance flare. The length of the elastic and circumference of the performance flare should have a 1:1 ratio. The method also includes manufacturing a performance hem by attaching the selected elastic to the performance flare such that the performance hem does not include scrunching when the selected elastic is attached to the performance flare.

In another embodiment, an athletic shirt including compression material, where the compression material is laid out in a shirt format to be worn by an athlete when performing athletics and the shirt format includes a sleeve edge or bottom hip edge; and a performance hem located at one of the sleeve edge or bottom hip edge, where the performance hem includes elastic in a hem but does not include scrunching.

In yet another embodiment, a performance hem including a fold-over hem of an athletic shirt; a section of elastic located in the fold-over hem; and one or more stitches that secure the section of elastic to the fold-over hem such that the performance hem does not include scrunching.

FIG. 3 illustrates an athletic shirt 300 including a performance hem 310. The performance hem 310 includes a performance hem 310a located around the edge(s) of the sleeve(s) of the shirt 300 and a performance hem 310b around the bottom of the shirt 300. The athletic shirt 300 may include additional, different, or fewer performance hems.

The athletic shirt 300 may be a short sleeve or long sleeve tee-shirt, tank-top, sweatshirt, or other athletic performance shirt. The athletic shirt 300 may be an undershirt (for example, meant to be worn under another shirt or jersey) or an outer garment (for example, mean to be worn alone or over other shirts).

The athletic shirt 300 may be a compression garment. A compression garment may be an athletic shirt that includes compression material. A compression garment includes a stretchable material that generally adheres tightly to an individual in one or more areas of the body. Different compression garments are designed to provide different degrees of compression to a body part. However, the degree of compression provided by a given garment is dependent on the wearer's individual body shape and/or size. For example, two different athletes wearing a size large compression shirt may have significantly different bicep circumferences, resulting in significantly different amounts of compression provided by the garment. Furthermore, different individuals may prefer greater or lesser compression on a body part based on their own personal preferences, needs, activities and/or comfort levels.

The athletic shirt 300 may include one or more materials. For example, the entire athletic shirt 300 may include compression material. In another example, only a part of the athletic shirt may include compression material.

In some embodiments, compression material may be stretchable. Compression material may include fabric including elastane, polyester, nylon, mixtures thereof, or other stretch fabrics (which may also be referred to herein as “elastic” materials or fabrics). However, it will be recognized that any fabric with some modulus of elasticity may be utilized in various embodiments of the garment with adjustable compression disclosed herein. Furthermore, although exemplary embodiments of the garment with adjustable compression are described herein with reference to an athletic shirt, it will be recognized that the garment may be provided in any of various other forms in other embodiments, such as shorts, arm sleeves, leg sleeves, socks, long pants, headgear, or any other type of garment.

The material of which the athletic shirt 300 may be chosen from a wide variety of fabric or different fabrics. In some embodiments, the athletic shirt 300 is made of panels of fabrics of elastane or similar stretch material, often combined with nylon or polyester or similar stretch materials of 40, 60 or up to 120 denier material, for example. Other ranges are possible. The specific stretch and recovery may be based on design requirements and needs. For example, an athletic shirt 300 that is meant to reduce bagginess of the shirt may have less compression than an athletic shirt 300 that is meant to increase blood circulation. In some embodiments, the stretch along the warp of the fabric is between 120% and 225% and its number for recovery is between 10% and 25%. Again, these ranges may differ based on the design requirements and needs of that particular athletic shirt and purpose (e.g., recovery, blood circulation, performance, activewear, visual appearance, etc.).

In some embodiments, the athletic shirt 300 may include a compression material that can effect a compression value of between 5 mm Hg and 25 mm Hg. The athletic shirt 300 may be used for therapy and in that case, compression levels may be greater, for example, up to 40 mm Hg. In most embodiments of the compression garment of the present invention, compression will be of a lower grade, being less than 25 mm Hg, ranging down to 5 mm Hg, for active wear and 30 mm Hg, ranging down to 8 mm Hg, for inactive or non-sports usage.

In some embodiments, the athletic shirt 300 may include cotton, polyester, Lycra®, Nylon, Spandex, Supplex, Wicking, or other material. In some embodiments, the shirt is made of a blend of material to optimize compression for certain athletes. For example, Italian nylon Lycra, wicking Lycra, super stretch spandex, spandura, cotton Lycra, equestrian Lycra, supplex Lycra or other blend of material. In a particular embodiment, the shirt 300 is made of 95% Polyester and 5% Lycra.

The compression may be made from a single elastomeric material or from several different elastomeric materials.

The athletic shirt that is a compression garment may include panels of variable compression fabric within or added over panels of other compression fabric to give better muscle support. For example, a first panel of fabric along the arms may have more compression or elasticity than a second panel of fabric along the torso or abdomen. There are stylistic, performance, and medical reasons for including compression material in the athletic shirt 300. From a stylistic perspective, compression shirts are less baggy. Instead, compression garments are generally more form fitting. This may reveal a person's muscle definition or form. A form-fitting garment is an article of clothing that tightly follows the contours of the part of the body being covered. There are numerous types of clothing which typically are or which can be made form-fitting. For example, stockings, leggings, tights and socks are usually form-fitting. Clothing used in dance and in exercise, such as leotards, unitards, and swimsuits are usually form-fitting.

Undergarments or foundation garments such as bodysuits, brassieres and underpants as bodysuits, brassieres and underpants are form-fitting to give a smooth line to the outer clothing. Skin-tight garments are usually also form-fitting, but are held to the skin by elastic tension. In contrast, non-form-fitting garments are commonly referred to as “loose”. Though many materials can be used to make form-fitting garments, the thinner materials, such as synthetic fibers, are the most commonly used, because of the smooth line that can be produced as well as their extra strength when pulled tight. Some fabrics cling to the skin or do so when wet, giving a form-fitting effect. A feature of Western societies is the popularity of form-fitting clothing worn by women, compared to equivalent male garments. These include t-shirts, shorts and jeans. Some cultures and religious communities disapprove of form-fitting clothing, which they consider to be immodest.

From a performance standpoint, an athlete may choose compression garments to prevent movement of the shirt while performing. Since the shirt fits snuggly on the body, the shirt does not get in the way. Compression garments may prevent chafing because the garment fits snuggly.

From a medical perspective, the compression garment may improve blood circulation. Compression garments may also help relieve pain from muscle stiffness and soreness, reduces the time taken for muscles to repair themselves and, when the right amount of compression is used (will vary depending on body area, typically in the range of 10 to 25 mmHg), improved venous return and oxygenation to working muscles.

In some embodiments, the material may include wicking material. Wicking material acts to move moisture by capillary action from the inside to the surface. For example, wicking material may move sweat from the skin to the outer surface (e.g., furthest from the body) of the material, so that in use it draws moisture from the body.

In some embodiments, the material may include anti-odor technology that prevents the growth of odor causing microbes. A lot of workout clothing advertised as “antibacterial” or “anti-odor” includes microscopic particles, or nanoparticles, of silver. These particles, shrunk down to sizes as small as one billionth of a meter, are natural bacteria-killers that can prevent odor- and mildew-causing bacteria from ruining the athletic.

In some embodiments, the material may include Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) or Sun Protection Factor (SPF) protection fabric. For instance, the material may include technology that protects the athlete's skin from the sun's harmful rays. Protection may include eliminating or reducing the harmful effects of exposure to sun. SPF stands for the Sun Protection Factor, most commonly associated with sunscreen. This measures the amount of time it takes for skin to burn. UPF on the other hand stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor, which is a measure of the amount of UV radiation that penetrates a fabric and reaches your skin. For example, a fabric rated with a UPF of 20 will allow only 1/20th of the sun's UV rays to pass through. UPF fabrics come in, for example, UPF 20, 25, 30, 35, 45 & 50. Wearing a UPF fabric may reduce the athlete's exposure to UV rays, (where it covers your body). Dark colors and tight weaves will have higher UPF ratings. As well, nylons and polyesters are better than plain cotton because they reflect radiation.

In some embodiments, the compression garment may include smooth, chafe-free flatlock seam construction. Construction of the seams may be configured to eliminate or reduce chafing of the athlete's skin.

In some embodiments, the compression garment may include print. The print may include, for example, labels, logos, phrases, letter(s), number(s), symbols, designs, or a combination thereof. For example, a team's logo may be printed on the shirt. In some embodiments, the print may be an allover sublimated print.

The performance hem 310 may be a hem that includes elastic. The performance hem 310 visually appears to be a fold-over hem without elastic because it appears visually the same as the rest of the shirt 100 (e.g., without scrunching or gathering). However, in actuality, the performance hem 110 does includes elastic such that the elastic snaps around the body part. This snapping may be the result of the elastic fitting more snuggly than the remainder of the compression garment and fitting more snuggly than the remainder of the athletic shirt. The performance hem 110 has more elasticity (i.e., is snugger, tighter, greater spring constant) than the remainder of the shirt. The performance hem 110 may visually appear to be a fold-over hem without elastic because when it is not being worn (e.g., laying on a table), the hem visually looks like a fold-over hem in the sense that there is no scrunching, shirring, or gathering. Scrunching is sometimes referred to as encasing. From the front, as shown in FIG. 3, the hem appears to be a fold-over hem without elastic. However, the performance hem includes elastic. As such, the performance hem provides both stylistic and performance benefits.

The performance hem 310 may be a Fusion Finish™ (owned and sold by ONE-P in Chicago, Ill.) hem. The Fusion Finish hem includes the fusion of technology and innovation to develop a new structure for compression. The result is the Fusion Finish. Making custom compression more intuitive, powerful, and useful. The Fusion Finish may begin with the properly sized fusion band (e.g., the elastic), which is folded and cover stitched onto Torify™ (owned and sold by ONE-P) fabric creating the Fusion Finish. Torify fabric is ONE-P's blended material used for performance material. Benefits of the Fusion Finish include extra support keeping the compression at the athletes waist preventing from sliding up and/or holds sleeves in place and prevents sliding up and down. No more cutting sleeves which causes loss of compression.

As mentioned above, by nature of the elastic material, which includes a spring constant (e.g., when stretched returns back to original length), the introduction of elastic to a hem generally causes scrunching or other gathering. For example, the following traditional techniques of attaching elastic cause scrunching or gathering: attaching elastic using an encased elastic band, zig-zag stitching elastic band and top stitching, zig-zag stitching elastic band and top stitching with elastic thread, elastic gathering and shirring, gathering and shirring with elastic thread, elastic channel, and elastic scrunchie. As a result, traditional hems that include elastic cause the material to scrunch or gather together when sewn onto the elastic.

The performance hem provides a combination of a finished look and performance. On the one hand, from a stylistic standpoint, the elastic is no longer visible when being worn. When viewing the athletic shirt, either when being worn or not being worn, it does not appear that there is elastic. There is no bunching and the material is folded over the elastic so that the elastic is not visible. On the other hand, from a performance standpoint, the elastic provides improved support. The elastic is configured to hold the edges of the shirt in the desired location. For example, the edges of the shirt do not slide up. The elastic provides a snug fit around the athlete.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a method 400 for manufacturing a performance hem. The method 400 may include additional, different, or fewer acts. The method 400 may include the acts shown in blocks 410-450. The acts in method 400 may be performed in the order shown in FIG. 4 or a different order.

The acts shown in FIG. 4 may be performed by hand and/or using one or more machines configured to perform the acts. For example, one or more of the acts may be performed by hand and the other acts may be performed using one or more machines. In another example, all of the acts may be performed using the same machine or different machines. In yet another example, one or more of the acts may be performed using a first machine, one or more other acts may be performed using a second machine, which is different than the first machine. This may continue until all the acts or a desired number of acts are completed.

In act 410, an athletic shirt is selected. The athletic shirt may include one or more finished or unfinished edges, such as a sleeve edge, collar edge, or bottom edge. In some embodiments, an unfinished edge is a raw edge (e.g., does not have a hem or any other stitching). A finished edge includes an edge that not raw (e.g., includes a hem or some other stitching). During production, the edge of the shirt may have been cut but has not been finished with a hem or cuff. In some embodiments, the unfinished edge may include a preliminary hem or cuff. The preliminary hem or cuff may be a hem or cuff that was added after production of the athletic shirt to prepare the shirt for finishing, such as adding a more advanced hem or cuff (e.g., performance hem).

The athletic shirt may be a compression shirt. Accordingly, selecting an athletic shirt may include selecting a compression shirt. The compression shirt may include compression material. For example, in some embodiments, the compression shirt may be made of 95% polyester and 5% Lycra.

The athletic shirt may have been sized to fit athletes during performance. For example, FIGS. 5A and 5B shows exemplary sizes for the athletic shirt (men and women) that may be selected. In other examples, the sizes may vary from those shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B but still designed to fit athletes during performance. For instance, the sizes may be larger for an athletic shirt for football players than for golfers.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the athletic shirt may have a circumference at the chest (“Chest”) of 34½ inches for a men's, size small athletic shirt. “Waist” is the circumference of the athletic shirt at the waist. “Hips” is the circumference of the athletic shirt at the hips. “CF Length” is the length of the athletic shirt at the center front, which is generally measured from the neck to the bottom edge of the shirt at the center front location. “CB Length” is the length of the athletic shirt at the center back. “Sleeve (Long)” is the length of the sleeve, which is generally measured from the shoulder to the wrist. “Bicep” is the circumference of the athletic shirt at the bicep. “Sleeve (¾)” and “Sleeve (½)” is the length of the sleeves for shirts with ¾ lengths and ½ lengths, respectively.

In some embodiments, the method may include selecting an athletic shirt with different lengths of sleeves. Selecting an athletic shirt with different length sleeves By way of example, an athletic shirt may include a long sleeve on the left arm and a ¾ length sleeve on the right arm. The lengths of the sleeves may be those described herein and in the drawings or different lengths. This is beneficial for athletes that have needs for different length sleeves. For instance, a baseball pitcher may want a long sleeve on this throwing arm but a short sleeve on his other arm. The edges of the different length sleeves may include a performance hem. As a result, the performance hem may be located at different lengths along the arm.

In act 420, the elastic may be cut to a defined length. The defined length may be a length that allows the performance hem to lay flat when stitched together. The defined length may take into account the stitching and the stretch of the final product to allow for movement and stretch of the elastic. The elastic is cut at a 1:1 ratio with the athletic shirt. FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate exemplary sizes for the circumference length of the elastic. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the circumference length of the elastic for the wrist for a man's shirt, size large is 8 inches. In other words, the piece of elastic would be cut 8 inches long. Since the ratio is generally 1:1 with the circumference of the shirt, the circumference of the athletic shirt at the wrist will be 8 inches as well. In some embodiments, the size of the elastic is cut to the size of the performance flare discussed herein. In some embodiments, the length of the elastic is slightly (e.g., less than 1 inch, less than 1 centimeter, less than 1 millimeter) longer than the corresponding edge of the athletic shirt. In other embodiments, the length of the elastic is the same length as the corresponding edge of the athletic shirt. In yet other embodiments, the length of the elastic is slightly (e.g., less than 1 inch, less than 1 centimeter, less than 1 millimeter) shorter than the corresponding edge of the athletic shirt. These slight differences in length between the elastic and the shirt may take into account slight measuring errors, cutting errors, or other inadvertent manufacturing errors.

Returning to FIG. 4, in act 430, the elastic is sewn onto the athletic shirt. The elastic is sewn in a position that allows the edge of the athletic shirt to be folded over the backside of the athletic shirt. As shown in FIG. 7A, the athletic shirt 710 and elastic 720 are sewn together using a first stitch. The first stitch may be one or more stitches 730 that do not cause scrunching or gathering, such as a merrow serger. The first stitch is used to attach the elastic 720 on the backside 712 of the athletic shirt 710. As shown in FIG. 7A, prior to attaching the elastic 720 to the athletic shirt 710, the bottom edge of the elastic 720 is aligned with the bottom edge of the athletic shirt 710. Aligned with the bottom edge of the athletic shirt 710 may include placing the elastic 720 in a position such that the bottom edge of the elastic 720 ends at the same or substantially the same location 760 as the bottom edge of the athletic shirt 710. The bottom edge of the athletic shirt 710 may be a raw edge. The elastic 720 lays flat throughout this process without stretching either the fabric of the athletic shirt and/or elastic. Accordingly, attaching the elastic 720 to the athletic shirt 710 does not cause scrunching or gathering, for example.

In some alternative embodiments, which are not shown in FIG. 7A, the elastic may be attached in a different location. For instance, the elastic 720 may be attached in a location 740 that is further up the athletic shirt 710, such that the bottom edge of the athletic shirt 710 may be folded over the elastic 720 after the elastic 720 is attached to the athletic shirt 710.

In some embodiments, act 430 is not needed. Instead, the elastic may be held in place using other methods, such as removable pins, machinery, or other fasteners. The first stitch does provide additional support for the elastic when the elastic is stretched during performance.

In act 440, the edge of the athletic shirt is folded over the back of the athletic shirt. In some embodiments, this may including the folding over the first stitch. The bottom edge of the athletic shirt 750 is at the same position as the bottom edge 722 of the elastic 720, as shown in FIG. 7B. When folded over (or up), the bottom edges of the shirt and elastic are flipped over toward the top of the shirt. For example, the bottom edges of the elastic is now the top edge of the elastic. In other embodiments, when folded over, the bottom edge of the athletic shirt 750 is at the nearly the same position as the top edge 722 of the elastic 720, for example, taking into account slight deviations during sewing or the manufacturing process.

In act 450, while in the folded over (up) position, the athletic shirt and elastic are attached again using a second stitch. The second stitch may be a stitch that does not cause scrunching or gathering, such as a 5 thread double cover stitch or a cover stitch with a zig-zag pattern. By way of example, FIG. 8 illustrates a side cross-section of the performance hem. As shown in FIG. 8, the athletic shirt 810 and elastic 820 are sewn together using a first stitch 830, which is the same or similar to the stitch 730 shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B. Once the elastic is folded over and the elastic is positioned between the front of the athletic shirt and the folded over piece of the athletic shirt, one or more second stitches 850, such as a 4, 5, or 6 thread double cover stitch or a regular double cover stitch, are used to attach or secure the front 860 of the athletic shirt 810 to the fold-over (e.g., including the athletic shirt and elastic) of the athletic shirt 810. The one or more stitches 850 penetrate (e.g., go thru) the front 860, elastic 820, and/or fold over section of the athletic shirt 870. The stitch 850 shown in FIG. 8 is a cover stitch, which appears to be two stitches but is a single stitch that cover stitch. Other stitches may be used for both the first stitch and second stitch. As described in this embodiment, the elastic 820 is secured (e.g., fastened, fixed into place) to the athletic shirt 810 using the first stitch 830 and second stitch 850, both of which do not cause scrunching or gathering.

FIG. 9 illustrates the relative compression forces between the performance hem 910 and the remainder of the athletic shirt 920. The remainder of the athletic shirt 910 has a smaller compression force F1 than the compression force F2 of the performance of the performance hem 910. The compression force is due to the elasticity. The compression of the remainder of the athletic shirt 920 does not have as large of a spring constant as the compression (e.g., elastic band) of the performance hem 910. The performance hem 910 creates more support than the remainder for the athletic shirt 920. More support relates to the force placed on the athlete. Due to the support, the performance hem 910 is snugger on the athlete than the remainder of the athletic shirt 920.

As shown in FIG. 10, due to this support of the elastic, it is more difficult to move (e.g., slide) the performance hem 910 up and down. The performance hem 1010 keeps the athletic shirt 1020 from sliding up and down (as shown by the arrows in FIG. 10) the athlete when being worn and the athlete is performing. By way of example, the sliding may be a sliding up and/or down the arm for the performance hem on the arms (e.g., wrist, ½ length, ¾ length, or cut off around the shoulder). In another example, the sliding may be a sliding up and/or down the torso. Reducing the amount of sliding is beneficial for athletes that move around and shirts typically slide up or down. The amount of times the athlete needs to keep sliding the edges back into place may be greatly reduced.

FIG. 11 a block diagram of a method 1100 for manufacturing a performance hem using a performance flare. The method 1100 may include the acts shown in blocks 1110-1130. The method 1100 may include additional, different, or fewer acts. The acts in method 1100 may be performed in the order shown in FIG. 11 or a different order.

The acts shown in FIG. 11 may be performed by hand and/or using one or more machines configured to perform the acts. For example, one or more of the acts may be performed by hand and the other acts may be performed using one or more machines. In another example, all of the acts may be performed using the same machine or different machines. In yet another example, one or more of the acts may be performed using a first machine, one or more other acts may be performed using a second machine, which is different than the first machine. This may continue until all the acts or a desired number of acts are completed.

At block 1110, an athletic shirt is selected with a performance flare. In some embodiments, selecting an athletic shirt may include manufacturing an athletic shirt with a performance flare. For example, in general an athletic shirt tapers (e.g., become smaller and smaller) as it approaches the edge (e.g., end of sleeve or bottom of shirt). In another example, there is no taper. However, in either example, an athletic shirt may be manufactured that flares at the edge. This may be referred to a performance flare. The size of the flare (e.g., how far it flares out, how long it flares before the edge, or both) may be selected based on the elastic that is chosen to be used in the performance hem. In other embodiments, selecting an athletic shirt may include choosing an already manufactured athletic shirt with a performance hem. For example, an order may be received for a medium size athletic shirt with ¾ length sleeves. Accordingly, a medium size athletic shirt with ¾ length sleeves and a performance flare may be chosen.

The performance flare may be sewn onto the athletic shirt after the athletic shirt is manufactured or may be manufactured with the remainder of the athletic shirt.

FIG. 12A illustrates an athletic shirt 1200 with a performance flare 1210. As shown in FIG. 12A, the athletic shirt begins to flare as it approaches the edges. The performance flare is a gradual widening at one end. As shown in FIG. 12A, the performance flare gradually widens as it approaches the edge of the shirt. Accordingly, the diameter of the flare is larger than the diameter of the shirt nearest the flare.

Returning to FIG. 11, at block 1120, elastic may be selected. The size, dimensions and/or makeup (e.g., elasticity) of the elastic may be selected based on size, dimensions, and/or makeup (e.g., elasticity) of the performance flare. In some embodiments, the circumference of the elastic (e.g., when the ends are touching) will be smaller than the circumference of the performance flare. As such, when attached (e.g., block 1130), the elastic will cause the performance flare to shrink back to the exact or substantially the same size as the remainder of the shirt causing it to be have a finished look.

FIG. 12B illustrates an athletic shirt with a performance flare 1210 and elastic 1230 that was selected. As generally shown in FIG. 12B, the circumference of the elastic 1230 (e.g., when the ends are touching) is the same size or substantially the same size as the circumference of the performance flare, which is discussed above. Substantially the same size, as used herein, is meant to take into account minor deviations, such as minor deviations caused during measuring, manufacturing, attachment and so on. In some embodiments, substantially the same size may be less than a quarter of an inch. In some embodiments, substantially the same size may be less than a ⅛ of an inch. In some embodiments, substantially the same size may be less than a 1/16 of an inch. In some embodiments, substantially the same size may be less than a 1/32 of an inch. In some embodiments, substantially the same size may be less than a 1/64 of an inch.

Returning to FIG. 11, at block 1130, the selected elastic is attached to the performance hem of the selected athletic shirt to provide a performance hem. The elastic 1230 may be attached in accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein, for example. As shown in FIG. 12C, the result of attaching the selected elastic is a performance hem. Accordingly, as discussed herein, the athletic shirt is afforded the benefits and advantages of the performance hem.

In some embodiments, the size, dimensions, and/or makeup (e.g., elasticity) of the performance flare and also the elastic may be selected (e.g., blocks 1110 and 1120) based on the impact of attaching the elastic to the performance flare (e.g., block 1130). Attaching the elastic to the performance flare will generally cause the performance flare to shrink (e.g., diameter become smaller). Accordingly, in order to obtain a finished look of the performance hem (e.g., no bunching or scrunching) the right size flare needs to be chosen so that it looks like the remainder of the athletic shirt. The size and dimensions of the performance flare and also the elastic may be selected (e.g., FIGS. 12A and 12B) based on the desired performance hem (e.g., FIG. 12C). FIG. 13 illustrates a chart that shows the diameter difference between the performance flare (e.g., shown in FIG. 12A) and the diameter of the performance hem after the elastic is attached (e.g., shown in FIG. 12C). FIG. 13 helps understand the concept of selecting the dimensions of the performance flare and elastic based on the desired final diameter.

In some embodiments, one or more of the acts or embodiments may be performed automatically. A manufacturing machine, such as a sewing system, that is controlled by a computing device may be programmed to perform one or more of the acts or embodiments. For example, a sewing system may be configured to perform all or part of the methods shown in FIG. 4 and/or FIG. 11. In addition to performing stitches, some sewing systems are even configured to select material and elastic. Accordingly, one, some or all of the embodiments may be performed automatically (e.g., with no or little help from humans).

Some of the described figures depict example block diagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams representative of methods that may be used to implement all or part of certain embodiments. One or more of the components, elements, blocks, and/or functionality of the example block diagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams may be implemented alone or in combination in hardware, firmware, discrete logic, as a set of computer readable instructions stored on a tangible computer readable medium, and/or any combinations thereof, for example.

The example block diagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams may be implemented using any combination of application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)), discrete logic, hardware, and/or firmware, for example. Also, some or all of the example methods may be implemented manually or in combination with the foregoing techniques, for example.

The example block diagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams may be performed using one or more processors, controllers, and/or other processing devices, for example. For example, the examples may be implemented using coded instructions, for example, computer readable instructions, stored on a tangible computer readable medium. A tangible computer readable medium may include various types of volatile and nonvolatile storage media, including, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, a hard disk drive, optical media, magnetic tape, a file server, any other tangible data storage device, or any combination thereof. The tangible computer readable medium is non-transitory.

Further, although the example block diagrams, systems, and/or flow diagrams are described above with reference to the figures, other implementations may be employed. For example, the order of execution of the components, elements, blocks, and/or functionality may be changed and/or some of the components, elements, blocks, and/or functionality described may be changed, eliminated, subdivided, or combined. Additionally, any or all of the components, elements, blocks, and/or functionality may be performed sequentially and/or in parallel by, for example, separate processing threads, processors, devices, discrete logic, and/or circuits.

While embodiments have been disclosed, various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosed technology not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An athletic shirt including:

compression material, where the compression material is laid out in a shirt format to be worn by an athlete when performing athletics and the shirt format includes at least a sleeve edge and bottom hip edge; and

a performance hem located at one of the sleeve edge or bottom hip edge, where the performance hem includes elastic in a hem but does not include scrunching.

2. The compression shirt of claim 1, wherein the athletic shirt is a compression shirt.

3. The compression shirt of claim 2, wherein the compression shirt includes compression material that enhances performance.

4. The compression shirt of claim 1, wherein the performance hem is located at a bottom edge of the athletic shirt.

5. The compression shirt of claim 1, wherein the performance hem is located at an edge of a sleeve of the athletic shirt.

6. The compression shirt of claim 1, wherein, in the event the performance hem is located along the bottom edge, the performance hem supports the athletic shirt such that it does not slide up and down the athlete.

7. A method of manufacturing an athletic shirt, comprising:

manufacturing an athletic shirt that includes a performance flare, where the performance flare gradually widens as it approaches the edge of the athletic shirt;

selecting elastic to be attached to the performance flare, where the elastic has a circumference that is the same as a circumference of the performance flare; and

manufacturing a performance hem by attaching the selected elastic to the performance flare such that the performance hem does not include scrunching when the selected elastic is attached to the performance flare.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the athletic shirt includes compression material that compresses to an athlete.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the performance hem appears to have a same finish as the athletic shirt.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the elastic provides a snug fit to an athlete when worn to prevent sliding up or down.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the elastic provides a more snug fit than the compression shirt.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the size and dimension of the performance flare is selected based on a size and dimension of the elastic.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the size and dimension of the performance flare is also selected based on a size and dimension of the athletic shirt such that the performance hem has substantially the same size and fit as the athletic shirt after the elastic is attached to the performance flare.

14. A performance hem including:

a fold-over hem of an athletic shirt;

a section of elastic located in the fold-over hem; and

one or more stitches that secure the section of elastic to the fold-over hem such that the performance hem does not include scrunching.

15. The performance hem of claim 14, wherein the athletic shirt is a compression shirt.

16. The performance hem of claim 14, wherein the fold-over hem is a section of the athletic shirt that is folded over such that the fold covers the section of elastic.

17. The performance hem of claim 14, wherein the performance hem appears the same as a remainder of the athletic shirt.

18. The performance hem of claim 14, wherein the stitching is a four, five, or six thread double cover stitch.

19. The performance hem of claim 14, wherein the section of elastic supports the athletic shirt in a way that reduces the chance of an edge of the athletic shirt from sliding up or down an athlete when performing.

20. The performance hem of claim 14, wherein a length of the elastic is selected based on a dimension or size of the athletic shirt.