US1917213A - Undergarment - Google Patents

Description

July 4, 1933. w. M. HASTINGS UNDERGARMENT Filed Nov. 16, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 4, 1933. w. M. HASTINGS UNDERGARMENT Filed Nov. 16, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 4, 1933. w, M. HASTINGS UNDERGARMENT 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 16

Jul 4, 1933. w. M. HASTINGS UNDERG ARME NT Filed Nov. 16, 1931 4Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented July 4, 1933 psi-ran STATES WALTER M. HASTINGS, OF LAWRENC'EQMASSACHUSETTS UNISERGARMENT Application filed November 16, 1931. Serial No. 575,183.

This invention relates to improvements in undergarments, and the principal purpose of the invention is to provide a unlon su1t or similar nether garment which may be eco- 5 nomically manufactured of knitted or woven textile material; which is easy to launder and comfortable to wear, and which retains its shape and serviceability after long use;

' Among the more specific objects of the 1nvention are the provision of a garment which may be formed of three fabric pieces including a body part having a tubular trunk por-' tion and depending skirt and leg portions, and a pair of inset members joined to the front and sides of the. respective leg portion to provide separate garment legs; the arrangement of the skirt portion over 'a'relatively broad seat opening of the garment in the manner of a flap, so that the seat openlng is normally covered thereby but is easily rendered accessible when the wearer assumes a sitting position; and the provision of a simple and eflicient form of fastener for a shoulder strap of the garment.

The improved garment is preferably made from tubular knitted material which permits economies in manufacture and allows for snug fitting of the body portion without the necessity of buttoned openings or gussets. The finished-article is characterized by the absence of buttons Which are frequently cracked or broken during laundering of the ordinary union suit, as well as by the elimination of overlapping folds or buttoned flaps which tend to become bunched and cause discomfort to the wearer; and the garment allows for free movement of the limbs without binding and without straining the mate- A recommended embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a piece of tubular 4.5 textile material from which the body portion of the garment is cut;

Figs. 2 and 3 are front and rear views respectively of the material, cut in accordance with this invention;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6, are front, rear and side views respectively of the completed garment; Figs. 7 and 8 are fragmentary viewsto larger scale showing the front and back respectively of thelower portion of the garment; e Figs. 9 and 10 are enlarged plan views of the insets used in forming the garment legs;

Fig. 11 isa View similar to Fig. 8 with a part of the skirt portion broken away; 7 Figs. 12 and 13 are sectional views taken on lines 12-12 and 1313 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged section through a leg seam of the garment, taken in line 14-14 of Fig. 18; i

'ig. 15 is a further detail of a part of 5 Fig. 13; I

Fig. 16 shows a fastening for the shoulder straps of the garment;

Fig. 17 is a composite View illustrating the1 edge and face of the fastener element; so an Fig. 18 is a similar View of a modified fastener member. p

- In the particularembodiment chosen for the purpose of illustration, the body portion '75 of the garmentis cut from a single tubular piece 20 of knitted textile fabric, as along the broken lines 21 (Fig.1) to provide a trunk part 22, front leg portions 23, a skirt portion 24 and shoulder straps 25. The skirt portion is preferably separated from the leg parts 23 by upwardlyextending slits 26; and the leg portions hang below the bottom edge of the flap 24. The front and rear parts of the respective shoulder straps may be connected by stitching 27, although at least one of the straps preferably has separable parts con-. nected by fastening means 28 of the character hereinafter described.

The legs of the garment are preferably formed by providing a pair of similar inset pieces 29 and 30 (Figs. 9 and 10) of the same material as the body or trunk part 22 these pieces being connected to the front and side 5 margins respectively of the leg parts as at the seams 31 and 32. The slits 26 are also preferably closed by the seams 32, as indi-" cated at 33 (Figs. 7 and 8) so that both of the leg parts as Well as the margin of the 100 depending skirt are joined by common lines of stitching (Fig. 14).

Each of the inset members 29 and 30 have free upper margins preferably cut on a curve, as shown at 34, to provide upwardly projecting points and 36, respectively. The rounded points 35 preferably overlap at the front of the garment and are stitched to the body 22 at the juncture of the leg portions 23, so that the front opening between the garment legs is partially closed; whereas the rearward points 36 are widely spaced to furnish a broad seat opening (Fig. 11) normally covered by the depending skirt 24 which hangs below the upper margins 34 of the open-topped legs. It is apparent, however, that the skirt part may be quickly and easily raised for the convenience of the wearer. The skirt resumes its normal position whenever the wearer stands erect and maintains this position during use without the necessity of buttons, ties or other fastenings.

It is thus apparent that the improved union suit has its trunk waist and thighportions formed of three pieces of fabric including a body member having a tubular trunk part and depending skirt and leg portions, and a pair of inset members connected to the front and side edges of the respective leg portions to form separate garment legs which are open at the top, thereby providing a broad seat opening which is normally closed by the overhanging skirt. A garment of this type is inexpensive to manufacture, particularly when made of tubular material, unusually comfortable and convenient to the wearer, durable and shape-retaining in use, and easy to launder because of theabsence of numerous buttons or clasps.

As above suggested, however, I have de vised an improved fastening element which is desirably employed to connect one or both of the shoulder straps 25 and which is unlikely to be damaged by laundering. In the form shown in Figs. 16 and 17, the fastening member comprises a terminal part 40 having an opening 41 to receive av tape 42 for attaching the fastener to one of the separable members of the shoulder strap, a thin and narrow shank 43, and an arrow-shaped tip 44 adapted to engage a buttonhole or slit 45 of the other strap member. The arrow head tip provides rearwardly inclined hooks 46 which insure a secure fastening, yet which permit easy removal when the tip is twisted to pass through the slit 45. The fastener is preferably made of flat metal stock and the shank part is offset at 47 so that the overlapped ends 48 of the strap fabric will lie substantially flat. In the modified construction of Fig. 18,. the terminal part 49 is formed like a button so that it may be sewed flatwise upon the fabric; whereas the tip 50 is substantially the same as in Figs. 16 and 17 l/Vhile a garment fashioned as herein described is recommended in carrying out my invention, it will be understood that the materials employed and the details of construction may be varied to suit particular purposes without departing from the essence of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

An undergarment comprising a tubular fabric out along longitudinally extending lines to provide right and left leg portions anda rear skirt portion integral with and depending from the trunk portion, and a pair of insets joined to the inner edges of the respective leg portions and to the opposite sides of the skirt portion to provide the legs of the garment, said insets having free concave upper edges corresponding ends of which terminate in upwardly directed portions which overlap at the front of the garment and provide a fly opening, the intermediate portions of said free edges extending downwardly toward the lower end of said skirt portion with their opposite ends extending outwardly toward said opposite sides of said skirt portion and curving upwardly toward the rear to provide a broad seat opening in the rear of the garment, said skirt portion extending across the full width of the back and having its bottom edge terminating just below the free upper edges of the insets to cover the seat opening.

Signed by me at Lawrence, Mass, fourth day of November 1931. I

WALTER M. HASTINGS.

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