KNITTED AND WOVEN FABRIC AND GARMENTS MADE THEREWITH

Abstract

A knit fabric has a first yarn having a first spandex fibre core and a rayon fibre sheath and a second yarn having a second spandex fibre core and a nylon fibre sheath. A woven fabric has a warp yarn having a first spandex core and a cotton fibre sheath and a weft yarn having a second spandex core and a blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath. Garments are made from these fabrics.

Description

FIELD

The present invention relates generally to knitted and woven fabrics which may be used in the manufacture of garments.

BACKGROUND

Elastic materials are commonly used in the construction of garments to improve comfort to the wearer. Garments constructed from such elastic materials may stretch to conform to the body of the wearer when worn, and recover to their relaxed state after removal from the wearer and laundering. However, it would also be desirable for such garments to produce a slimming effect on the wearer, thereby enabling the wearer to present an aesthetically appealing, contoured and shaped body profile.

Accordingly, there is a need for improved fabrics and designs in the manufacturing of garments.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to new and improved knit fabric for use in the manufacturing of garments. The fabric comprises a first yarn having a first spandex fibre core and a rayon fibre sheath; and a second yarn having a second spandex fibre core and a nylon fibre sheath.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a new and improved garment composed of sewn sections of a knit fabric, said knit fabric comprising: a first yarn having a first spandex fibre core and a rayon fibre sheath; and a second yarn having a second spandex fibre core and a nylon fibre sheath, wherein said rayon fibre sheath comprises rayon having an S number of 40, said nylon fibre sheath comprises nylon having a denier of 70, and each of said first spandex fibre core and said second spandex fibre core comprises spandex having a denier of 40.

In another aspect there is provided a woven fabric comprising: a warp yarn having a first spandex core and a cotton fibre sheath; and a weft yarn having a second spandex core and a blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the figures, which illustrate, by way of example only, embodiments of the present disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating the knit pattern of a fabric made in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the weave pattern of a fabric made in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of pants made from the fabric depicted in FIG. 1 in accordance a further embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the pants of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the pants of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the pants of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a left side view of the pants of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 are patterns for the front of a leg and buttock portion of the pants of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 are patterns for the back of a leg and buttock portion of the pants of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 10 is a front perspective of pants made from the fabric depicted in FIG. 2 in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a fabric that may be used in the manufacturing of garments. The fabric is well-suited for use in the manufacture of pants.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates the knit pattern of a knitted fabric 100 made in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the fabric 100 is knitted in a double-layered weft-knitted pattern. Fabric 100 includes a plurality of courses C and a plurality of wales W, the courses C run roughly parallel to one another in the weft direction, and the wales W are oriented perpendicularly to courses C.

The knitting pattern depicted in FIG. 1 is a double-layered stockinette stitch. However, the knitting pattern used in the construction of fabric 100 may be any type of double-layered weft-knitted pattern known in the art. The double-layering can result in a tighter, stronger and smoother fabric which has somewhat less stretch, but better recovery.

Each course C includes two threads of yarn. The fabric 100 is comprised of two types of yarns, a first elastic core-spun yarn having a spandex fibre core and a rayon fibre sheath, and a second elastic core-spun yarn having a spandex fibre core and a nylon fibre sheath. The courses C are arranged such that they alternately include threads of yarn with spandex fibre core and rayon fibre sheath, and threads of yarn with spandex fibre core and nylon fibre sheath. Thus, the threads of yarn in a given course C are of the same composition, but differ in composition from the threads of yarn in the courses directly adjacent to it.

For example, in FIG. 1, course C1 includes threads 102 and 104, course C2 includes threads 106 and 108, and course C3 includes threads 110 and 112, wherein the threads of course C1-102, 104 and of C3-110 112- are comprised of yarn having a spandex fibre core and a rayon fibre sheath, while the threads of course C2-106 and 108- are comprised of yarn having a spandex fibre core and a nylon fibre sheath.

The rayon fibre sheath of the yarn comprising threads 102, 104, 110, and 112 may be a Siro compact yarn with an S number of 40. The nylon fibre sheath of the yarn comprising threads 106 and 108 may be 70 denier nylon 66 yarn. The spandex core of the yarns comprising threads 102, 104, 106, 108, 110 and 112 may be 40 denier spandex. The fabric 100 may thus have a rayon content of 68% by weight, a nylon content of 28% by weight, and a spandex content of 4% by weight.

Fabric 100 may be dyed, washed, and finished to make it suitable for use in the construction of garments, and for example, pants. The dying, washing, and finishing processes used to treat fabric 100 are known in the art and so are not further described.

The fabric 100, as constructed in accordance with the present disclosure, can be stretched between 30% to 36% along the weft direction, and 48% to 58% along the warp direction, (i.e. perpendicular to the weft direction) when tested using Standard Test Method ASTM D-2594. The stretchability of finished fabric 100 is not significantly impacted by laundering the fabric. While fabric 100 is stretchable in both the weft and warp directions, it readily recovers to its relaxed state after tensile forces are removed from the fabric.

Turning to FIGS. 3-7, there is depicted an exemplary pair of pants 300 as manufactured using the knitted fabric 100 as disclosed above. However, it may be appreciated that the knitted fabric 100 can also be used in the manufacture of other garments (e.g., skirts, jackets, vests) as well as other products that require a stretchy fabric covering.

Pants 300 have a left side front panel 316 and a rear panel 318 and a right side front panel 320 and rear panel 322. When the pants are worn, front panel 316 covers the left thigh and front of the left leg of the wearer (not shown), back panel 318 covers the left buttock and rear of the left leg of the wearer, front panel 320 covers the right thigh and front of the right leg of the wearer, and back panel 322 covers the right buttock and rear of the right leg of the user. Each leg may terminate in a cuff 324, 326. The fabric 100 in pants 300 is oriented such that the courses C of fabric 100 run parallel to the waist of pants 300 (i.e. perpendicular to the length dimension, L, of the pants).

As can be appreciated, it would be desirable that pants 300 have a slimming effect on the wearer, thereby enabling the wearer to present an aesthetically appealing, contoured and shaped body profile. It has been surprisingly discovered that pants comprising the knitted fabric depicted in FIG. 1 and having a total crotch length (i.e., the sum of the front crotch length 340 and the back crotch length 342) that is between seven and twelve inches longer than 47% of a waist length 330 will provide the desired compressive forces to the waist, buttocks, upper hip, and lower hip of the wearer. Furthermore, it has been found that, the aforementioned total crotch length to waist length ratio produces the desired slimming effect on wearers throughout the different pants sizings and through a range of pants styles.

More specifically, as depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9, the dimensions of the patterns for the panels of the pants vary depending on sizing. FIG. 8 shows the left front panel 316 for the pants patterned from extra small pattern 316XS, small pattern 316S, medium pattern 316M, large pattern 316L, to extra-large pattern 316XL. FIG. 9 shows the left rear panel 318 of the pants correspondingly patterned from extra small pattern 318XS, small pattern 318S, medium pattern 318M, large pattern 318L, to extra-large pattern 318XL. The patterns of FIGS. 8 and 9 are also used to create corresponding right front panel 320 and right rear panel 322. The aforedescribed ratio of total crotch length to waist length holds for all of these different sizings.

The dimensions of the patterns may vary depending on the style of the pants to be constructed therefrom. For example, the length of the pants may change by varying the inseam length 350 and outseam length 352 of pants 300 to create different styles of pants. Thus, whereas the cuffs 324 and 326 of pants 300 may end at the ankles of the wearer for long pants, the cuffs 324 and 326 of the pants 300 may end just below the knees for culottes, or midway between the knees and ankles of the wearer for capris.

Moreover, the thigh circumference 332, knee circumference 334, calf circumference 336 and leg opening 336 of the pants 300 may be altered to change the silhouette of the pants constructed therefrom.

The aforementioned and other modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to create pants of different sizes and styles. For all such variants of pants 300, the total crotch length when configured to be between seven and twelve inches longer than 47% of the waist circumference provides compressive forces to the body of the wearer to produce a desired slimming effect on the wearer.

When pants 300 are worn, the fabric of pants 300 are in a perpetually stretched condition about the buttocks and upper thighs of the wearer. The pants 300 will thus snugly hug the waist, buttocks, upper hip and lower hip of the wearer such that the pants 300 create a slimming effect on the body of the wearer. Moreover, the elasticity of the fabric of the pants 300 is such that during movement of the wearer, for example, when the wearer sits down or bends over, the pants 300 do not ride up on the legs or into the crotch or intergluteal cleft of the wearer and do not have to be manually adjusted by the wearer. When the pants 300 are removed from the wearer, they will recover to their original relaxed state.

Turning now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated the weaving pattern of a woven fabric 200 made in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Fabric 200 may be used in the manufacturing of garments and other products that require a stretch fabric covering.

Woven fabric 200 has weft threads 202 and warp threads 204, woven together using a 3/1 twill weave pattern. Each weft thread 202 is a yarn having a spandex core of 70 denier spandex and a cotton fibre sheath of ring spun cotton with an S number of 16. Each warp thread 204 is a yarn having a spandex core of 70 denier spandex and a blended rayon and polyester sheath. Preferably, the rayon and polyester in the blended rayon and polyester sheath are blended together in a ratio of 22:19 rayon to polyester by weight. Further, the polyester of the blended rayon polyester sheath is preferably terylene. The fabric 200 may thus have a cotton content of 55% by weight, a rayon content of 22% by weight, a polyester content of 19% by weight, and a spandex content of 4% by weight.

Fabric 200 may be dyed, washed, and finished to make it suitable for use in the construction of garments. In a preferred finishing method, fabric 200 is first subjected to a desizing washing using water at a temperature of about 28° C. for about 20 minutes, then subjected to enzyme washing using water at a temperature of about 40° C. and cellulase (at a concentration which is selected dependent upon the desired fashion effect) for about 40 minutes, and then finally rinsed and softened.

The finished fabric 200 can be stretched between 50% to 58% along the weft direction, and 20% to 25% along the warp direction, (i.e. perpendicular to the weft direction) when tested using Standard Test Method ASTM D3107. The stretchability of finished fabric 200 is not significantly impacted by laundering the fabric. While fabric 200 is stretchable in both the weft and warp directions, it readily recovers to its relaxed state when tensile forces are removed.

Turning to FIG. 10, pants 1000 are constructed from the woven fabric 200 depicted in FIG. 2. It may be appreciated that the woven fabric 200 can also be used in the manufacture of other garments (e.g. skirts, jackets, vests) as well as other products that require a stretchy fabric covering.

Pants 1000 are dimensionally identical to pants 300 of FIG. 3—and like reference numerals have been given to like parts. The fabric 200 in pants 1000 is oriented such that weft threads 202 run parallel to the waist of pants 1000, and warp threads 204 run from the waist of pants 1000 toward the leg openings of pants 1000.

Given that pants 1000 are dimensionally identical to pants 300, pants 1000 are constructed from the patterns of FIGS. 8 and 9 and have a total crotch length (i.e. the sum of the front crotch length and the back crotch length) that is between seven and twelve inches longer than 47% of a waist length 1030. With this ratio of crotch length to waist length, pants 1000 provide desired compressive forces to the waist, buttocks, upper hip, and lower hip of the wearer, as aforedescribed. Also as aforedescribed, the patterns for pants 1000 may be varied to create pants of different sizes and styles with all such variants maintaining the noted crotch length to waist length ratio in order to provide the desired compressive forces.

The pants 1000 thus constructed snugly hug the waist, buttocks, upper hip, and lower hip of the wearer such that the pants create a slimming effect on the body of the wearer and conform to movements of the wearer. Moreover, the elasticity of the fabric of the pants 1000 is such that during movement of the wearer, such as, for example, when the wearer sits down or bends over, the pants 1000 do not ride up on the legs or into the crotch or intergluteal cleft of the wearer and do not have to be manually adjusted by the wearer.

Other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and, therefore, the invention is defined in the claims.

Claims

1. A knit fabric comprising:

a. a first yarn having a first spandex fibre core and a rayon fibre sheath; and

b. a second yarn having a second spandex fibre core and a nylon fibre sheath.

2. The knit fabric of claim 1 wherein said rayon fibre sheath comprises about 68% of said fabric by weight; said nylon fibre sheath comprises about 28% of said fabric by weight; and said first spandex fibre core and said second spandex fibre core comprise about 4% of said fabric by weight.

3. The knit fabric of claim 2 wherein said rayon fibre sheath comprises rayon having an S number of 40.

4. The knit fabric of claim 3 wherein said nylon fibre sheath comprises nylon having a denier of 70.

5. The knit fabric of claim 4 wherein said spandex fibre core comprises spandex having a denier of 40.

6. The knit fabric of claim 4 wherein said first yarn and said second yarn are weft-knitted.

7. The knit fabric of claim 6 wherein said first yarn and said second yarn are knitted in a double-layered stockinette pattern such that said fabric can be stretched between 48% to 58% along a warp direction and between 30% to 36% along a weft direction.

8. The knit fabric of claim 3 wherein said rayon comprises a Siro compact yarn.

9. The knit fabric of claim 4 wherein said nylon is nylon 66.

10. A garment composed of sewn sections of a knit fabric, said knit fabric comprising:

a. a first yarn having a first spandex fibre core and a rayon fibre sheath; and

b. a second yarn having a second spandex fibre core and a nylon fibre sheath,

wherein said rayon fibre sheath comprises rayon having an S number of 40, said nylon fibre sheath comprises nylon having a denier of 70, and each of said first spandex fibre core and said second spandex fibre core comprises spandex having a denier of 40.

11. The garment of claim 8 wherein said rayon fibre sheath constitutes about 68% of said fabric by weight; said nylon fibre sheath constitutes about 28% of said fabric by weight; and said first spandex fibre core and said second spandex fibre core constitute about 4% of said fabric by weight.

12. The garment of claim 9 wherein said rayon comprises a Siro compact yarn.

13. The garment of claim 10 wherein said nylon is nylon 66.

14. The garment of claim 9 constructed as a pair of pants with a total crotch length that is between seven and twelve inches longer than 47% of a length of a waist of the pants.

15. A woven fabric comprising:

a. a warp yarn having a first spandex core and a cotton fibre sheath; and

b. a weft yarn having a second spandex core and a blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath.

16. The woven fabric of claim 13 wherein said cotton fibre sheath constitutes about 55% of said fabric by weight; said rayon of said blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath constitutes about 22% of said fabric by weight; said polyester of said blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath constitutes about 19% of said fabric by weight; and said first spandex fibre core and said second spandex fibre core constitute about 4% of said fabric by weight.

17. The woven fabric of claim 14 wherein said cotton fibre sheath comprises cotton having an S number of 16.

18. The woven fabric of claim 15 wherein said blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath comprises blended polyester and rayon having an S number of 16.

19. The woven fabric of claim 16 wherein said first spandex fibre core comprises spandex having a denier of 30 and said second spandex core comprises spandex having a denier of 70.

20. The woven fabric of claim 17 wherein said polyester is terylene.

21. The woven fabric of claim 18 wherein said cotton yarn is ring spun cotton yarn.

22. A method of processing the woven fabric of claim 17 comprising shrinking said fabric by washing such that said woven fabric can be stretched between 20% to 25% along a warp direction and between 50% to 58% along a weft direction.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein said washing comprises a desizing wash followed by an enzyme wash using cellulase, said enzyme wash having a duration of about 40 minutes at a temperature of about 40° C.

24. A garment composed of sewn sections of a woven fabric comprising:

a. a warp yarn having a first spandex core and a cotton fibre sheath; and

b. a weft yarn having a second spandex core and a blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath,

wherein said cotton fibre sheath comprises cotton having an S number of 16, said blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath comprises blended polyester and rayon having an S number of 16, said first spandex fibre core comprises spandex having a denier of 30, and said second spandex core comprises spandex having a denier of 70.

25. The garment of claim 22 wherein said cotton fibre sheath constitutes about 55% of said fabric by weight; said rayon of said blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath constitutes about 22% of said fabric by weight; said polyester of said blended polyester and rayon fibre sheath constitutes about 19% of said fabric by weight; and said first spandex fibre core and said second spandex fibre core constitute about 4% of said fabric by weight.

26. The garment of claim 23 wherein said polyester is terylene.

27. The garment of claim 23 constructed as a pair of pants with a total crotch length that is between seven and twelve inches longer than 47% of a length of a waist of the pants.