GB2187677A - Kit for use in designing articles of clothing - Google Patents

Abstract

A kit of transparent sheets for use in designing the appearance of finished articles of clothing comprises sets respectively of sheets, each sheet bearing an image of the feature capable of inclusion in a design and the sheets of each set bearing respective images of variants of a feature capable of inclusion in a design. The appearance of finished clothing articles is designed by selecting sheets from at least some of the sets and superposing them to form an image of an article of clothing. The resulting image can be photocopied onto plain paper. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Kit for use in designing articles of clothing This invention relates to a kit oftransparent sheets for use in designing the appearance offinished articles of clothing.

When designing articles of clothing it is desirable to be ableto see quickly and easily howthe appearance of the article is altered by varying a particularfeature of that article in a certain way.

Traditionally, a designerwill work by making a rough sketchofadesignfortheclothing article which he has conceived and then considering that sketch and altering it until he is satisfied with the design. Such alterations will usually be made either by rubbing out lines and redrawing them or by simply drawing further lines on the existing sketch. Drawing the sketch and altering it is time consuming andthe alterations may result in a confusing final sketch.

Additionally, such a design technique is dependant on the designer possessing basic drawing skills, even though the alterations to a first sketch may merely comprise the substitution one well-known and often-used feature by another such feature. For example, substitution of a rounded collarshapefora pointed collar shape our a raglan sleeve for a set-in sleeve.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a kit of transparent sheets for use in designing the appearance offinished articles of clothing comprising sets respectively of one or more sheets the sheet of each one-sheet set bearing an image ofthefeature capable of inclusion in design for a clothing article and the sheets of each set of more than one sheet bearing respective images of variants of a feature capable of inclusion in a design for a clothing article, whereby the appearance of finished clothing articles can be designed by selecting sheets from at least some of the sets and superposing said selected sheets to form an image of an article of clothing.

Use of a kit according to the present invention reduces the amount of drawing that must be done by a designer and also quickly and easily yields a final design image which is unconfused by alterations.

Furthermore, a hard copy ofthe design image can be easily obtained by photocopying the superposed sheets. Normally, in orderto achieve a good quality photocopy,asheetofplainpaperwill be placed on top ofthe superposed sheets on the photocopierto provide a uniform opaque background.

Within the term "clothing articles" as used herein as comprehended not only garments such as shirts, dresses, trousers and coats, but also items such as hats and footwear. By "the appearance of a finished article of clothing" is meanttheappearanceofan assembled clothing article, that is, an article after it has been sewn together, or of only a portion of such an article such as, a shirt body front showing the collar and pockets, but without the sleeves.

The kit may comprise only one set of more than one sheet or it may comprise several such sets.

The feature capable of inclusion in a design may be a feature of the clothing article, such as a collar or cuff or button, alternatively, it may be a fabric pattern our a pattern of stitching which will show in the finished article.

Itwill be understood that a kit may include only featuresforinclusion in a design of one particular article,forexample a coat. Normally it will include features for both the front and back of that article.

Alternatively, a kit may include sets of sheets bearing features which can be employed in the design of morethan onearticle,forexampleacollarfeature which may be used in a design of either dress ora jacket.

The kit of the present invention is especially suitableforusewhen designing articles which areto differ from basic patterns only by variations of standard features such as by variation of pockets, buttons, sleeves, collars, etc. It is, however, expected that existing kits will be updated and/or new kits produced to accommodate changes in fashion.

Furthermore, the sheets may be made of a transparent material which can be drawn on by the designer so that he can incorporate minorfashion details of his own preference in a design such as elaborate buttons or neck-tie features. If a pen employing inkwhich may be wiped offwith a cloth is used the sheets may be wiped clean after use so that onlytheiroriginal basic image remains on them.

The sheets of the kitwill desirably be of a uniform shape with the images thereon positioned so that when the sheets are superposed with their edges aligned, the images co-operate to form a composite image of a clothing article, rather than a collection of images off-set one from another. In addition, the sheets may be adapted to co-operate with a suitable mounting device so that the sheets are held in superposed position with the images in correct alignmenttoform a composite image of an article.

For example, the sheets may be provided with holes wherebytheycan be mounted on protrusions extending from a mounting device, such as the rod like protrusions of a ring binder.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1 to 3 and 5each show sets of sheets according to the invention bearing respective images of variants of a feature, these figures each comprise two or more sub-figures 1A, lA', 2B, 2B", 3C, 3C', 5E, 5E' with each sub-figure depicting one sheet from a set; Figures4and 6each show respective one-sheet sets according to the invention; Figures 7to 10 show respective images of an article of clothing formed according to the invention; Figure 11 shows a presentation case including a kit of sheets according to the present invention.

Figures 1 to4show sheets A, A', B, B', C, C' and D each bearing an imageofafeaturesuitablefor possible inclusion in a design for the front of a shirt.

The sheets are formed from a transparent plastic material. Figure 1 depicts a two-sheet set comprising sheets A and A'. Sheet A bears an image of the body outline 1 of a shirtfront excluding the shoulder line and having raglan sleeve seams 2 and 2'. Sheet A' bears an image of the body outline 3 of a shirtfront excluding the shoulder line and having set-in sleeve seams 4 and 4'. Figure 2 depicts a three-sheet set comprising sheets B, B' and B" each bearing respective images of variants of collar and front opening features for the front of a shirt. Each of sheets B, B' and B" bearan image of the shoulder line 11, collar 12 andfrontopening 13 of a shirt.In the case of B, the collar 12 has a contrasting inner 14 and top-stitching 15 around its periphery, and the front opening comprises a piaquet 16 which conceals a button line. In the case of sheet B' the collar 12 is plain butthe frontopening 13 extends only partway down the length of the shirt and has top stitching 18.

Sheet B" again depicts a plain collar 12 and a front opening 13 which extends only part way down the length of the shirt, but in this case thefront opening 13comprises a plaquet 19which concealsa rowof buttons and also is provided with a line of top stitching 20. Figure 3 is of two sheets Cand C' of which C bears an image of a single pocket 22 forthe frontofa shirt and C' bears an image 20 of a double pocket pair23 and 23'forthefrontofa shirt. Figure4 depicts the image 30, within the outline ofthefront of a shirt, ofa fabric pattern 31.

If, in accordance with the invention, sheets are selected from at least some of the sets shown in Figures 1 to 4 and are superposed, an image ofthe front of a shirt is formed. For example if the sheets A, B' and C are superposed the image shown in Figure 7 is formed. The user can quickly see without the need fordrawing whetherthis image is appealing and decide if he wishes to use itas a designfora shirt. In addition, by altering the selection the user is able to see quickly and easily the effect that varying a particularfeature has on the appearance of a shirt.

Thus if he likes the overall image but is unhappy about one particularfeature of it, he can quickly substitute a variation ofthatfeature in the image. For example, he may be unhappy with the pocket design ofthe image of Figure 7 and by simple substitution of sheet C' for sheet C, see Figure 8, he can decide whether he prefers a shirt with a double pocket design ratherthan a single pocket design.

By combination of sheets A', B and D, a completely different shirt front image is produced, in this case one incorporating a fabric pattern, see Figure 9.

Obviously, the user will want to design not only the front of a shirt but also a suitable back. In this case, he would select sheet E of Figure 5E since the shirt back 38 shown on this sheet has raglan sleeve seams 39 and 39' and will matchtheshirtfrontof sheet A, and he can combinethiswith the rearcollar feature 50 and shoulderline 51 of sheet Fof Figure 6.

The images of sheets E and F are shown superposed in Figure 10. Sheet E' of Figure 5E' depicts the image of a shirt back 59 with set-in sleeves 60 and 60'.

Figure 11 depicts a kit of sheets 40 according to the invention the sheets being provided with perforations (notvisible)wherebythesheets40are mounted in a presentation case 45 on metal stems 41 which co-operate with clamping means 42 to align the sheets and hold them in place. Space is also provided under flap 44 in the presentation case 40 for storage of sheets not in current use.

Claims (6)

1. A kit of transparent sheets for use in designing the appearance offinished articles of clothing comprising sets respectively of one or more sheets, the sheet of each one-sheet set bearing an image of a feature capable of inclusion in a design for a clothing article and the sheets of each set of more than one sheet bearing respective images of variants of a feature capable of inclusion in a design for a clothing article, whereby the appearance of finished clothing articles can be designed by selecting sheets from at least some of these sets and superposing said selected sheets to form an image of an article of clothing.

2. A kit as claimed in Claim 1 characterised in that at least one set comprises more than one sheet.

3. A kit as claimed in Claim 1 characterised in that several sets comprise more than one sheet.

4. A kit as claimed in anyone of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the feature of at least one set is a fabric pattern.

5. The kit as claimed in anyone of Claims 1 to4 characterised in thatthe sheets are adapted to co-operate with a mounting device so that said sheets are held bythe mounting device in superposed position with the images thereon in correct alignmentto form an image of an article of clothing.

6. A kit as claimed in Claim 5 characterised in that the sheets are provided with holes adapted to be mounted on protrusions extending from the mounting device.