US1791554A - Flexible straw hat - Google Patents

Description

Feb 10, 1931- B. E YBR'oNs-roN 1,791,554

FLEXI BLE STRAW HAT .Filed Feb. 5, 1929 l NVENTOR Benda/71m 55m/wm ATTORNEY f Patented Feb. 10, 1931 narran FLEXIBLE STRAW HAT Application led February 5, 1929. Serial No. 337,563;

My present invention relates to stiff straw hats and especially to those having a flexible head conforming portion intermediate the crown and the brim.

A defect of this type of straw hat lies in the weakness of the joint between the straw of the stiff portions and that of the flexible portion. It is usual to make the crown and brim of the hat out of what is known in the trade as sennit or rustic braid, which presents a saw-toothed edge at the finished side or sides. Now, obviously, the stitch connecting the sti braid to the flexible braid has therefore, at numerous points, insufficient backing, and in view of the considerable flex ure at the joint, the thread has a tendency to work through to the edge of the stiff braid at points and the sewing becomes undone.

It is therefore the main object of my invention to provide a simple structure to remedy this defect and to provide a sturdy straw hat with a flexible head-conforming portion.

This and other objects which will become f' apparent hereinafter,I achieve by introducing between the crown and the flexible portion, a section of stiff straw having a double straight smooth edge which can be sewed to the flexible portion strongly enough to resist M the strain and can be sewed to the crown in the ordinary fashion.

Furthermore, instead of -sewing together the edges of the brim and the flexible portions, I extend the flexible portion in between the plies of the brim clear to the outer edge of the latter, thus having a considerable area of engagement which can be sewed together in the ordinary manner.

I have shown in the drawings, and will now describe, an embodiment of my invention, but it is to be understood that various changes and alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of my claims.

ln the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of a hat constructed according toI my invention.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the hat of Figure l, only so much being shown as is necessary to illustrate the invention.

Figure 3 is a plan viewof the portion shown in Figure 2.

" Figure 4 is-a section along the line 4--4 of Figure `2.

rllhe straw hat of my invention comprises a stiened crown 1, a stid brim 2, a flexible head conforming portion 8, intermediate the brim and the crown, and a stiff straw insert 4, connecting the crown l, and the flexible portion 3. My hat may also be provided with the usual inner lining 5, sweat band 6, and outer band 7.

As usual the brim is made of several plies to give additional stiness and strength. l have shown two plies 2', 2 of rustic straw.

The flexible portion 3, may be made of braid known in the trade as rumilage, has an upstanding crown portion 3a and a horizontal brim portion 3b extending the full width of the brim and running in between the stiff plies 2, 2". An additional ply 30 of rumilage may be used to parallel the ply 3b. The plies 2', 3?), 3c, 2 are then sewed together in the usual manner.

The crown, which is only conventionally represented, is made of rustic straw braid, sewed together by the usual invisible stitch (not shown) similar to the stitch 8. lnter` mediate the flexible portion 3a, and the crown l, l have provided a stift' insert 4, made of a braid which is known to the trade as fiat foot rustic. This braid has at its finished side a smooth, sturdy edge shown at 9, in Figures 2 and 4. The insert 4, is secured to the flexible section 3a by means of a continuous chain stitch l0, parallel to the edge 9, and to the crown l, by the ordinary invisible stitch 5.

Inherently the braid out of which the insert 4, is made, is stronger than the braid of the crown. The straight edge of section 4, is substantially a doubled edge all along its length, and the fibre of the straw runs at an angle to the edge. This straw therefore offers considerably more resistance to tearing out of the stitch than does the rustic or sennit of the crown. Since the insert is stiif and is stitched to the crown, the stresses and strains due to flexure at the stitch l0, are distributed over the entire crown and produce no excepfrv tional strain at the stitch 8. In use, the band 7 covers and conceals the portions 3a and 4:, thus retainingY the conventional appearance.

I claim as iny invention: Y.

l. A straw hat comprising a stiff Crown, a brim, an intermediate flexible head-conforming member having a straight edge, and a stili insert connecting the crown and the fiexible portion, said insert being braided t0 present a straight edge, the meeting edges of said insert and iexible member being straight. l Y

2. In a straw hat having a. stiffY crown and a. flexible head-conforming portion having a straight edge, a stiif insertrintermediate and connecting the crown and the flexible portion, said insert being braided to present a straight edge, Vthe meeting edges of said insert and flexible portion being straight. e

Signed at New York, New York, in the countyV of NewY York and State of New York, this 31st day of January, A. D. 1929.

'Y BENJAMIN E. BRONSTON.

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