GB2328450A - Attaching an aesthetic item to a garment using visible embroidery applied by machine - Google Patents

Abstract

An aesthetic item e.g. a flower, is attached to a garment e.g. a hat, using embroidery which is complementary to the pattern and colour of the aesthetic item. The flower is formed from a ring of petals cut from a sheet of fabric and includes a central aperture 5 allowing the ring of petals to be attached to the garment by embroidery formed over the inner periphery of the aperture. The ring of petals and the embroidery pattern combine together to give a realistic 3-D effect of a flower attached to a hat. The embroidery may be applied mechanically using automated needle units (20, Fig 3) including needles 28 positioned above a table top 24.

Description

Improvements relating to Garments This invention relates to the manufacture of garments, which term is hereinafter intended to include items of millinery, and is of particular relevance to the aesthetic appearance of such garments.

The manufacture of garments currently involves a number of different processes, the ultimate result of which is to transform a web of cloth or other material into an item ready for sale and wear by a user. To enhance the aesthetic effect of such garments and provide a degree of individuality for a particular range of garments, it is common for separately manufactured articles to be attached to the garment during one of the finishing stages in the manufacture of said garment, or for a logo to be embroidered on the garment in a desired location. For instance, a badge may be adhered and optionally stitched around its periphery to a hat or the like.

Alternatively, aesthetically pleasing items such as artificial flower heads with petals may be attached to the garment, either by stitching through the item in a convenient location, or where the item is provided with pinning means, by piercing the fabric of the garment with the pin and applying a non-removable cap thereto in side the garment.

In many cases, the aim of attaching items to garments is to give the garment a three-dimensional effect in the location at which the item is attached, as opposed to simple embroidery or stitching in said location which merely increases the thickness of the garment in said location. However, the attachment of three-dimensional aesthetic items to garments is associated with the following disadvantages.

In all circumstances, the attachment of said aesthetic items is a painstaking process, and is not conventionally automated. Thus workers may be required to attach such items to individual garments, which necessarily increases the cost of such items. Often, in attempts by manufacturers to increase the speed of production of garments to which such items are attached, economies may be introduced which result in an insecure attachment between the item and the garment. The attendant disadvantages with manual attachment of aesthetic items are immediately apparent, and may give rise to a potential health risk where the garments are worn by small children who have a tendency to pull and detach such aesthetic items from the garments they wear, often eating the items.

Children may also instantly discard the items they remove from the garment which are thus lost.

Aesthetic items attached to garments are generally cumbersome in comparison to the weight of the material in which the garment is manufactured, especially where flimsy and delicate materials are used, for instance in the manufacture of warm season garments, blouses, and bonnets. In many cases, the use of the heavier aesthetic items is precluded by this factor, and where such items are attached to such garments, the garment often becomes misshapen after only relatively little use.

In addition, many aesthetic items, because they are manufactured separately, often possess a relatively heavy finish in comparison to the garment to which they are attached, resulting in an incongruous finished garment. The effect is accentuated when items are attached to garments of a flimsy, delicate or cloth-like material.

It is an object of this invention to provide a means of attachment of aesthetic items to garments which is secure, light-weight in comparison to the material of the garment, and when combined with the aesthetic item, provides the garment with an enhanced overall aesthetic effect.

It is a further object of the invention to create a three-dimensional effect at a particular location by attaching an aesthetic item in a manner which will not render the garment misshapen and will maintain the delicacy of the finish of the garment where required.

According to the present invention, there is provided method of attaching an aesthetic item provided with an attachment location, characterised in that the item is embroidered through said attachment location to attach said item to said garment and in that the embroidery complements or otherwise enhances the appearance of the item.

It is preferable that the embroidery is automated.

It is preferable that the attachment location is provided substantially centrally of the aesthetic item.

It is further preferable that an aperture is provided at the attachment location of the aesthetic item, and the edges of said aperture are embroidered to the fabric of the garment to prevent detachment of the item from the garment.

In the circumstance where an artificial flower head with petals is attached to a garment, it is preferable that the embroidery pattern forms the bud in the centre of the flower head.

It is further preferable that at least a portion of the aesthetic item rests naturally above the surface of the fabric of the garment to which it is attached.

The invention thus provides a convenient method of attaching an aesthetic item to a garment without the need for comparatively heavy fixing means, and further enhances the overall effect of both the aesthetic item and the garment.

A specific embodiment of the invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrams, wherein: Figure 1 shows an aesthetic item for use with the invention; Figure 2 shows a partial perspective view of a hat with the aesthetic item of Figure lattached to the brim thereof, and Figure 3 shows schematically how the invention may be automated.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, a flower head designated generally at 2 has a central portion 4 with an aperture 5 therethrough, around the periphery 6 of which are provided a number of petals 8. The aesthetic item is ideally fabricated from a cloth or canvas material which is light and of the order of only a few hundreds of microns thick, for it is the intention of the invention that the aesthetic item does cause the garment to become misshapen once attached thereto.

Additionally, when the aesthetic item is cut from the material of which it is made, the petals 8 are inclined upwardly towards the central portion 4 such that a three dimensional effect is provided once the aesthetic item is attached to the garment, that is to say the petals are inclined upwardly and are not in the same plane as the said central portion. It will be understood that the petals can be made to assume such a position naturally by subjecting the aesthetic item to a specifically designed steam press or the like.

In Figure 2, the aesthetic item is shown attached according to the invention to a hat 10 by embroidery within its central portion 4. The embroidery is designated generally at 12, shown as a criss-cross pattern in the figure, and is applied to both the hat 10 and the aesthetic item 2 such that the extent of the embroidery is greater than the aperture 5 of said aesthetic item. In this manner is an extremely secure attachment between hat and item achieved, as the aesthetic item is attached by, in some cases, many hundreds of individual stitches, whereas certain prior art aesthetic items are attached through only a single, albeit more substantial, pin.

Referring finally to figure 3 which schematically indicates the means by which the embroidery may be automated, needle motor units 20 are mounted on a fixed support beam 22 which is disposed above a table top 24 provided with a number of apertures, of which two are shown at 26 in the figure. The mounting of the needle motors is such that when the table is in its default position, needles 28 are positioned substantially centrally of said apertures.

The said needles are selectively attached to one of a number of threads 30 which are typically different colours. The table 24 split horizontally and a lower identical portion 25 may be separated from the upper portion to allow individual workpieces 30 to be position therebetween. The workpieces are clamped in place by bringing the two table halves together and clamping with bosses 32. Additionally means(not shown) are provided to ensure that the workpieces remain taught throughout their embroidering.

In the figure, the workpieces 30 are shown with aesthetic items 2 attached thereto, and in the first instance, the a marker stitch may be provided by the embroidery machine on the workpieces to indicate to an operator of the machine where the aesthetic items should be positioned. The skill, care attention of the operator is only required at this stage, as he must ensure that both the aesthetic item is positioned correctly, and that when the needles 28 begin to embroider the item to the workpieces, the petals are not embroidered flat over the central portion of the item. The operator may use a contact adhesive such as "ATP505" to ensure that once positioned the aesthetic item is not dislodged from said location when the motion of the table is commenced.

It is to be appreciated that the table 24 may be elongate and be provided with as many as 10 separate apertures above which 10 needles operate, and that only a fractional displacement of the table top may be required between stitches, and therefore the motion of the table must be accurately and precisely controlled. This is typically effected under the control of a computer program which additionally controls the thread selection of the needles above each workpiece. In this manner, the efficiency of production of aesthetically pleasing garments is increased notwithstanding an increase the security of the attachment of the aesthetic item to the garment. Furthermore, where a selection of threads from a large number thereof may be made, an intricate and colourful embroidery pattern may result in the central portion of the aesthetic item.

The motion of the table in the transverse and longitudonal directions is shown by arrows 34, 36, and once the cycle of motions for a particular embroidery pattern is complete, the bosses 32 may be loosened and the workpieces slid from between the two table halves and repositioned for further work at that particular machine or passed for further processing elsewhere.

Claims (9)

CLAIMS:

1. A method of attaching an aesthetic item provided with an attachment location, characterised in that the item is embroidered through or over said attachment location to attach said item to said garment and in that the embroidery pattern and/or colour is complementary to the aesthetic item such that in combination, the aesthetic effect provided by the aesthetic item and embroidery therethrough is enhanced.

2. A method according to claim 1 characterised in that the embroidery is automated.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2 characterised in that that the attachment location is located substantially centrally of the aesthetic item.

4. A method according to claim 3 characterised in that an aperture is provided at the attachment location of the aesthetic item, and the edges of said aperture are embroidered to the fabric of the garment to prevent detachment of the item from the garment.

5. A method according to any of the preceding claims characterised in that the aesthetic item is an artificial flower head with petals provided with an aperture through its centre and the embroidery pattern forms the bud in the centre of the flower head, the embroidery covering the inner periphery of the aperture.

6. A method according to any of the preceding claims characterised in that at least a portion of the aesthetic item rests naturally above the surface of the fabric of the garment to which it is attached to provide a three-dimensional effect.

7. A garment to which has been attached an aesthetic item with an attachment location, characterised in that the aesthetic item has been embroidered through or over said attachment location to attach said item to said garment and in that the embroidery pattern and/or colour is complementary to the aesthetic item such that in combination, the aesthetic effect provided by the aesthetic item and embroidery therethrough is enhanced.

8. A method of attaching an aesthetic item to a garment substantially as herein before described and with reference to the accompanying diagrams..

9. A garment substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying diagrams.