EP0894887B1

EP0894887B1 - Process for making patterns on clothing articles

Info

Publication number: EP0894887B1
Application number: EP98113742A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Claudio Moroni
Original assignee: Milestone Color Sas Di Moroni Claudio & C
Current assignee: Milestone Color Sas Di Moroni Claudio & C
Priority date: 1997-07-28
Filing date: 1998-07-23
Publication date: 2003-10-08
Anticipated expiration: 2018-07-23
Also published as: DE69818765T2; EP0894887A3; ITPC970016A1; EP0894887A2; DE69818765D1; ITPC970016A0; IT1296222B1

Description

The invention relates to a process for making shades having a casual shape on ready-to-wear clothing articles.
For this purpose, according to the invention curling means are applied along the garment seams and the so curled garment is subjected to treatments such as fading, dyeing, sand blasting, scratching, brushing, "stone-washing", etc., acting only or mainly on the exposed fabric areas and to a less extent or to no extent at all on the inward curl areas, to determine the desired final effect.
The curl, obtained by means of any suitable material, e.g. strings, threads, elastic bands, clips or the like being applied on the seams, can be made on the whole garment or just a part thereof (for instance in the case of trousers a "wear" or light-and-shade effect can be achieved by making folds or the like, for example only in the knee area).
Thus, depending on the treatment used after the fabric curling process and, possibly, by combining a plurality of treatments, infinite different effects can be obtained on the garment fabric, such as decolorizing, fading, lights and shades, wear, fabric creasing due to folds and curls.
As known, the garments are dyed or processed otherwise, for example to remove partly the surface colour and enhance the fabric fibre etc. For this purpose several techniques are provided, for example techniques using enzyme baths which attack the fibre and therefore remove the colour, or fading chemical baths, or techniques utilizing mechanical means, such as the so-called "stone washing" technique or brushing, scratching or sand-blasting, performed by various known methods.
EP 0.393.902 relates to a metyhod to tye-dye an article of clothing which provides the following steps:
soaking the article of clothing in a soaking solution prior to dyeing; preparing a dyeing solution from a dyestuff material, banding the article of clothing by means of a plurality of rubber bands to create dye diffusion regions according to a selected tye-dye pattern, and applying said dyestuff material to said article of clothing by means of a squeeze dropper applicator.
FR 2.663.652 discloses a process for the treatment of a dyed fabric, especially of a garment made of dyed cloth, in which the fabric is deformed in such a way that it has a number of creases, and abrasive particles are projected on at least some of the tops of the creases formed, so as partially to wear away the dyed fabric.
US 3.102.771 discloses a method for dyeing textile fabrics in which the fabric is twisted and/or folded and thereafter is immersed in a dye bath.
The firms operating in the field are always searching new solutions, and the present invention falls within this scope by providing a method which permits to obtain on ready-to-wear clothing articles shades and casually shaped marks changing from one garment to another.
For this purpose, according to the invention, in some cases suitable means such as a ribbon, a string or the like is slidingly applied on the garment, preferably on the seams; by tightening said ribbon, string etc. the garment curls so that a portion of the fabric surface is exposed outwards and, therefore, it is more subject to the action of subsequent treatments, such as those previously mentioned, whereas other fabric portions inside the folds are affected by the treatments to a less extent or they are not even processed.
Thus, as described below, marks with the most different configurations can be provided.
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be illustrated in detail, by way of non restrictive example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

figure 1 shows a garment before being processed by the method of the invention;
figure 2 shows a detail of a garment during the initial stage of the method of the invention;
figures 3,4 and 5 show different ways for curling the fabric during a following stage of the process;
figure 6 schematically shows a garment during the fabric curling stage by means of bands or the like;
figure 7 schematically shows the garment at the end of the process,
figures 8-11 show the different ways for applying one of the means for curling the fabric for the process;
figure 12 shows the fabric of figure 6 just before curling;
figure 13 schematically shows a garment at the end of a localized treatment;
figures 14, 15 and 16 schematically show the results of possible applications of the method to a skirt and a jersey, respectively;
figures 17-20 show further possible means for curling the fabric for processing a garment;
figures 21-28 are photographs of a pair of jeans processed with the method of the invention showing the results which can be obtained after the known processes.

According to the method of the invention, flexible means such as threads or a ribbon, string, band, rubber band or the like are applied to the garment, preferably on the seams. By tightening said ribbon, string etc. the fabric curls, after which the garment is subjected to a subsequent process changing the garment surface colour, so much more as more exposed the fabric is.
The method is schematically illustrated in figures 1-6.
A flexible means such as a ribbon or a string 3 or the like, or even a rubber band 10 (fig.6), is applied onto the seams 2 of a garment, such as, for example, a pair of trousers 1.
The ribbon (figs. 3a-3c) is slidingly applied to the garment, as will be illustrated in more detail below, so that the garment, by sliding on the ribbon 3 or the like, can be curled, thus assuming the illustrated configuration.
In figure 3 the fabric has curled because, by tightening the band, the fabric has been held as if in a vice, thus making curls.
The ends of the band of figure 3 have been tied together, but tying is not restrictive, since locking knots 11 could be made at the band ends (fig. 4) or one end might be stitched or fastened by a suitable means and a knot 12 might be tied at the other end (fig 5).
Figure 6 shows the configuration of the fabric at the beginning of the curling phase, when a band 10 fastened in several places is used.
The garment is then subjected to a treatment which changes the garment surface colour.
These treatments are already known and they can comprise, for example, sand-blasting, brushing, scratching, cleaning treatments with chemicals, enzymes, abrasives, dyeing treatments with dyes and chemicals, manual processing with bags, spraying dyes and/or fading products, and other processes, all of which change the fabric colour (and the fibre structure) in the contact areas, more or less evidently depending on the processing time, the contact extent, etc.
The exposed fabric areas are then subjected to decolorizing and/or wear, whereas the less exposed fabric areas, for example the inward fold areas or the contact areas of two fabric surfaces, are not affected by the treatment or are much less affected by it.
At the end, the garment looks for example like in figure 7, with a plurality of marks 13 due to decolorizing which extend from the curled areas.
Thus, it is possible to make for example faded stripes extending from the trousers seams, thus providing a "wear" effect.
Obviously, by changing the kind of treatment, the garment curled areas and the curl extent, infinite combinations of different patterns can be obtained.
The effects which can be achieved are illustrated by way of example in the photographs of figures 21-28.
In particular figure 25 shows the effect which is obtained by curling the fabric on the seams.
As already stated, the methods for curling the garment can be different and some of them are illustrated in figures 8-12.
With reference to figure 8, numerals 4 and 5 respectively show the seam edges in a garment 6.
Means 8 like clips, rings or the like are applied to the seam edges, to allow the insertion of flexible elements such as a string, a ribbon and/or a band 7. Said means 8 are preferably applied on the seam inward edges, to prevent the fabric surface from being pierced.
The seam edges can also be pierced to let a band 7 or the like pass therethrough, by tightening which the fabric is fastened and curled.
Thus it is not necessary to apply external elements which then should be removed and, in the case of a band, said band can simply be cut and drawn out.
When the ribbon or band 7 has been inserted, it can be tightened and tied in various ways by folding it on one side or the other (i.e. towards the inside or the outside of the garment, as shown by the dotted lines L1 and L2 of figure 12) to curl the fabric.
Depending on the desired result the ribbon 7 can be applied along the whole height of the garment or just on some parts thereof, thus obtaining the desired effect only in some areas, for example in the knee area and in the pockets, as schematically shown in figure 13.
The same solution can be effectively applied also to other clothing articles, such as, for example, jerseys, as schematically shown in figure 16, or skirts, as schematically shown In figures 14 and 15, and to other garments such as jackets, shorts, sweaters, overalls, etc.
In particular figure 14 shows the results obtained by curling a skirt along its two side seams, whereas figure 15 schematically shows the result obtained by curling said skirt not only along the seams, but also along other lines therebetween (not necessarily along a seam length).
In other cases, a plurality of bands, rings 14 (fig.10) or loops 15 (fig.11), through which the sliding means 7 is inserted, can be incorporated in the seams or applied along the garment seams by sewing, stapling or stitching with conventional thread or with a special kind of thread which melts at a certain temperature.
Said bands, rings or loops can be joined and fastened together to make folds.
Figures 17-20 respectively show a method for curling a garment by means of a rubber band 16 stitched with conventional thread 20 (figs. 17-18), with thermic thread (fig. 19) or with fastening means 8 or the like (fig. 20).
The stretched rubber band is fastened or sewn on the garment, and when it is loosened it shrinks, thus curling the fabric.
Subsequently the rubber band is removed, during or after the above mentioned processes, for example by manually removing the seaming thread or by melting it during the treatments, in the case of thread which melts when the temperature rises.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the curled and shrinked garment can be sand-blasted with various abrasives, brushed and scratched, dyed, etc. to wear the curls and folds unevenly.
The brushing and scratching means process the garments curled and folded according to the invention, and worn by means of brushes which brush and/or scratch on the fabric folds and curls or on other fabric portions having no particular rising areas.
With sand-blasting by various abrasives, instead of the brushing means pipes are used which shoot granulated and/or powdered abrasives at a certain pressure onto the garment.
Anyway, the curled garments could also be brushed, scratched and sand-blasted placing and holding them on a flat surface.
Another method for making stripes is as follows:

WATER WASHING

The shrinked garment can be treated with a plurality of products to provide different patterns, for example if it is treated with enzymes, abrasives, pumice, clay, etc., chemicals and/or fabric fading products, combining, if necessary, one or more of these treatments to obtain special effects.
The shrinked garments are processed in a washing machine with water and these chemicals, adding, if necessary, an abrasive such as granulated or pelleted pumice.
The folds and curls are worn with any kind of pellets or abrasive granules, thus forming parts which fade and other parts which keep dark because the abrasive cannot effectively pass through the folds.
If baths with a basis of fading chemicals (such as for example sodium hypochlorite) are used, on the spots where the fabric is tightened by the bands the fabric remains darker because- the product cannot pass therethrough, whereas other parts fade to a greater extent.
Therefore it is possible to obtain effects of:

creasing due to the tight hold of the bands;
light-and-shade stripes due to stone washing (with abrasives, enzymes and/or in conjunction with other chemicals);
lights and shades due to fading products and chemicals;
stripes, light-and-shade creasing and wear due to the combination of all chemical physical products.

The garments can be washed:

shrinked before being washed;
shrinked from dyeing;
shrinked from dyeing, unshrinking them before washing;
shrinked from sandblasting-scratching-brushing;
shrinked and unshrinked, from processes of spraying fading means or dyes or coating means etc.;
shrinked or unshrinked, from brushing fading means or dyes or coating means etc.;
shrinked in holed bags or with a garment portion being placed in a bag closed by a string (the brushing phases can be carried out with the shrinked garment).

DRY PROCESSES

The shrinked garments can be treated in rotating drums or washing machine cylinders with dry abrasives, forming, due to wear, portions with a lighter and darker tone or colour (the garments must be rinsed and processed in a water bath).

DYEING

The curled and shrinked garments can be subjected to colouring or dyeing processes in a washing machine or in dyeing vats.
The curled and shrinked garments can come from the stone washing process or from treatments with fading and non fading chemicals and then they can be finished.
In this case the dye dyes differently the striped and/or curled fabric portions and other fabric portions giving differentiated chromatic effects.
The garments can be dyed:

shrinked, before dyeing;
shrinked from washing;
coming from washing, but uncurling them before dyeing;
shrinked or coming from sand-blasting, scratching and/or brushing processes;
shrinked from dry cleaning and uncurling them, if necessary, before dyeing;
shrinked in holed bags; in this case the dye and other products pass through the little holes and act on the garment fabric;
shrinked with intact bags being applied only on a garment portion.

On the shrinked garments it is possible to spray fading means and other dyes or products which colour the garment more or less when dyeing the garment by means of a spray gun. On the wrapped garments it is possible to apply, by means of brushes, fading chemicals, dyes and products which colour the garment more or less upon dyeing.
The present invention has been described and illustrated by way of non restrictive example, according to preferred embodiments thereof, but those skilled in the art can provide variations and/or modifications of flexible and/or fixed means, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

A process for making shades having a casual shape on a garment , which provides for the curling and/or shrinking of a fabric or garment and the subsequent treatment of the garment by means of techniques which change the surface colour of the more or less exposed areas due to curling,
characterized in that:

flexible means (3,7) such as a string, ribbon, band or the like are slidingly inserted into said garment (1) or a portion thereof

said flexible means are tightened, thus curling and/or shrinking said garment.
A process according to claim 1, characterized in that the garment (1) is shrinked at least along a seam (2) length.
A process according to claim 1, wherein said flexible means (3) are inserted into means (8) like rings, buckles, loops, bands or the like, applied to the garment.
A process according to claim 1, wherein said flexible means 3 like strings, bands, rubber bands (16) are inserted through holes along the fabric seams.
A process according to claim 3, wherein said loops (15) bands rings (14) or the like are stitched on fabric portions by means of conventional thread or thread which melts when it is hot treated.
A process for making shades having a casual shape on a garment , which provides for the curling and/or shrinking of said garment and the subsequent treatment of the garment by means of techniques which change the surface colour of the more or less exposed areas due to curling,
characterized in that:

the garment (1) is provided with means (20) which anchor and/or stitch firmly, at least on a garment portion, stretched rubber bands (16) which, on shrinking, curl and/or wrap the fabric and which are subsequently removed and/or melted during the known treatments.
A process according to claim 6, characterized in that also said means which anchor and/or permit the flexible means to slide are made, like the sliding and/or anchored element, of materials which melt at certain temperatures during the processes, due to the action of hot water, steam, warm air, etc.
A process according to any preceding claim, characterized in that said process is combined with one or more processes for wearing, fading, colouring by means of chemical physical products.