GB2210253A

GB2210253A - A shoulder pad

Info

Publication number: GB2210253A
Application number: GB8820452A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ziya Aksahin
Original assignee: BABIK FASHIONS Ltd
Current assignee: BABIK FASHIONS Ltd
Priority date: 1988-08-30
Filing date: 1988-08-30
Publication date: 1989-06-07
Also published as: GB8820452D0

Abstract

A shoulder pad (1 Figs. 1 to 3) for a garment has an outer edge (2) comprising an upper portion 2a for supporting the fabric 8 of the garment and a lower portion 2b attachable to the garment and separate from the upper portion 2a. The pad (1) is of a synthetic foam material and has a cut 4 in the outer edge (2) which separates the upper and lower portions 2a, 2b. When the lower portion 2b is moved apart from the upper portion and stitched at 10 to the seam allowance 8a, 9a of a garment, the upper portion is not distorted and the appearance of the garment is thereby improved. The pad may instead comprise an ordinary shoulder pad fitted with a lower portion in the form of a fabric strip or a piece of synthetic foam or the like. <IMAGE>

Description

A Shoulder Pad.

This invention relates to a shoulder pad.

Known shoulder pads are formed either as foam or wadding-covered pads and are attached inside the shoulder areas of garments such as jackets, blouses, dresses etc. to increase the size of the shoulder area.

However, if a pad is rigidly attached to the garment by stitching, then the stitching is often visible from the outside of the garment. The upper surface of the pad can also be distorted which affects the appearance of the garment. This is particularly important when lightweight fabrics are used, such as those used for ladies blouses and dresses.

An object of the invention is to provide a shoulder pad which is rigidly attachable to a garment without any detriment to the external appearance of the garment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method for attaching such a shoulder pad to a garment.

The invention provides a shoulder pad for a garment, the shoulder pad having an outer edge comprising an upper portion for supporting the fabric of the garment, and a lower portion attachable to the garment and separable from the upper portion, such that stitching of the lower portion to the garment does not distort the upper portion.

Preferably, the pad is made of a synthetic foam material.

Preferably, the upper and lower portions are separated by a cut or groove in the outer edge of the foam pad.

Preferably, the cut or groove extends across more than half of the width of the pad and into the pad to a distance of between 10% and 50% of the length of the pad.

Preferably, the depth of the upper portion is substantially the same as the depth of the lower portion.

A shoulder pad according to the invention can be rigidly fixed by means of its lower portion to the fabric of a garment without distorting the upper portion of the pad which supports the fabric of the garment.

The garment thus has an improved appearance.

The invention also provides a method of attaching a shoulder pad according to the invention to a garment, and preferably to a seam allowance thereof.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of a shoulder pad according to the invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the pad of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section taken on line III-III of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a. diagrammatic view showing how the pad of Figures 1 to 3 may be attached to the seam allowance of a garment.

As can be seen from Figures 1 to 3, the shoulder pad 1 is rectangular in plan but has a generally part-cylindrical curvature to conform to the shape of a human shoulder. The pad 1 also tapers from an outer edge 2 to an inner edge 3. For the avoidance of doubt, this dimension between the outer and inner edges will henceforth be regarded as the "length" of the pad. The pad 1 is made of a synthetic foam material.

The outer edge 2 is separated into an upper portion 2a and a lower portion 2b by means of a cut 4 which extends into the body of the pad 1 from the outer edge 2. The cut 4 emerges through the upper portion 2a near to the sides 5 of the pad 1. The resilient nature of the foam of the pad 1 allows the upper and lower portions 2a and 2b to be separated from one another adjacent the outer edge 2.

Located at the centre of the outer edge 2 is a notch 6 running across both the upper and lower portions 2a and 2b. This notch 6 assists in positioning of the pad 1 centrally in a garment and is particularly useful when the garment has a central shoulder seam.

Figure 4 illustrates the manner in which the pad of Figures 1 to 3 can be rigidly attached to a garment.

The pad is positioned adjacent the shoulder seam 7 of the garment. The seam allowances 8a and 9a of the shoulder fabric 8 and sleeve fabric 9 are tucked into the cut and stitched firmly to the lower portion 2b.

The stitching 10 causes distortion of the lower portion 2b but, because of the separation of the upper and lower portions 2a and 2b, the upper portion is not distorted.

Thus the fabric of the garment, particularly the shoulder fabric 8, has an improved appearance.

The pad 1 of Figures 1 to 3 is not limited to use in garments with sleeves; it would be equally possible to use a pad as described above in sleeveless garments, or garments without shoulder seams. The pad can be attached to any convenient seam allowance, interior feature or even to the outer fabric of the garment, if desired.

A typical shoulder pad will measure 22 cm in width, 10 -- 13 cm in length and have a cut extending 2.5 cm into the pad. The cut will emerge through the upper portion approximately 2 cm from the sides of the pad and will divide the outer edge into upper and lower portions of substantially equal depth at the centre of the outer edge.

It is also envisaged that a shoulder pad having the same advantages may be manufactured by attaching a "lower portion" to an ordinary shoulder pad, the lower portion either in the form of a fabric strip or a piece of synthetic foam material or similar.

Claims

Claims:

1. A shoulder pad for a garment, the shoulder pad having an outer edge comprising an upper portion for supporting the fabric of the garment, and a lower portion separate from the upper portion and attachable to the garment, the upper and lower portions being movable apart such that stitching of the lower portion to the garment does not distort the upper portion.

2. A shoulder pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pad is made of a synthetic foam material.

3. A shoulder pad as claimed in claim 2, wherein the upper and lower portions are separated by a cut or groove in the outer edge of the foam pad.

4. A shoulder pad as claimed in claim 3, wherein the cut or groove extends across more than half of the width of the pad.

5. A shoulder pad as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cut or groove extends across approximately 80% of the width of the pad.

6. A shoulder pad as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the depth of the upper portion is substantially the same as the depth of the lower portion at the centre of the outer edge.

7. A shoulder pad as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the cut or groove extends into the pad. to a distance of between 10% and 50% of the length of the pad.

8. A shoulder pad as claimed in claim 7, wherein the cut or groove extends into the pad to a distance of from 20t to 25 & of the length of the pad.

9. A shoulder pad as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a notch is provided at the centre of the outer edge to facilitate attaching of the pad to a garment.

10. A shoulder pad substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

11. A method of attaching a shoulder pad as claimed in any one of the preceding claims to a garment, comprising the steps of a) positioning the pad in the desired position, and b) fastening the lower portion of the pad to the garment.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11. wherein the lower portion is fastened to a seam allowance of the garment.

13. A garment having at least one shoulder pad as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. A garment as claimed in claim 13, wherein the at least one shoulder pad has or have been attached thereto by a method as claimed in claim 11 or 12.