US1999010A - Bathing garment - Google Patents

Description

April 23, 1935. s. TAIT BATHING GARMENT 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet l FiledDec. 21

INVENTOR.

u n m ///v u w April 23, 1935. 5. TNT

BATHING GARMENT I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 21, 1954 INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

April 23, 1935. s. TAlT 1,999,010

BATHING GARMENT Filed Dec. 21, 1934 A TTORNE Y.

P ten ed Apr- 2.3.1.5535

' UNITED sTArEs PATENT OFFICE BATHING GARMENT Samuel Tait, Philadelphia, Pa. Application December 21, 1934, Serial No. 758,664

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to a certain new and useful bathing garment or bathing garments and to certain improvements in bathing garments whereby a relatively thin and light-weight garment may be made of knitted silk plies or webbing of relatively sheer and translucent character, which, however, in the finished garment will not be revealing, but will be relatively opaque from the normal external view when actually in'use.

The present invention further relates to other novel features as well as certain novel details of construction in silk bathing garments, all of which will appear more fully from the following detailed description.

One of the objects of the present invention is to form a silk bathing garment and beach apparel, which may be made in relatively light weight, which will dry fast on the body of the wearer, which will give substantial ventilation and substantial exposure to sunlight when worn on the beach, and which at the same time will not be revealing or transparent to the normal view.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists of a knitted silk bathing garment formed of a plurality of plies, sheets or webs of knitted silk fabric, each sheet or ply being relatively thin and transparent, and the multiplicity of plies combined being also relatively transparent when held close to the eye with a source of light on the other side, but which when viewed at a slight distance, become non-transparent and tend to give a totally opaque efiect, due to the reflection of the light by the underneath ply or plies or by the silk under-layers.

The present invention further consists in forming the multiplicity of knitted silk plies of a relatively fine-gauge or of a relatively fine yarn or thread so as to accentuate this dual quality or characteristic of the composed layers.

The invention further consists of certain other novel features and details of construction which will appear more fully from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the accompanying drawings forms thereof which are at present preferred since the same have been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which the present invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 represents a front perspective view of a garment embodying the invention as actually worn.

Figure 2 represents a rear perspective view of the same.

Figure 3 represents a rear perspective view, also showing the combination skirt and cape element worn as a skirt.

Figure 4 represents a front elevational view on a somewhat enlarged scale, of the bathing garment more or less laid out flat, with parts broken away to expose to view the successive layers.

Figure 5 represents a fragmentary section on line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 represents a section on line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 represents a section on line 11 of Figure 4.

Figure 8 represents a section on line 88 of Figure 4.

, Figure 9 represents a front elevational view of the combination skirt and cape member with parts enlarged to show the character of the stitch.

Figure 10 represents a section on line I0--|0 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 represents a section on line H-ll of Figure 9.

Figure 12 represents a section on line l2-l2 of Figure 9.

Figure 13 represents a front perspective view of the combination skirt and cape member, shown worn as a cape.

Figure 14 represents an enlarged perspective view of the top of the front opening of the combination cape and skirt member.

Figure 15 is a perspective view of the rear of the bodice portion of the garment showing a modified form of construction of one of the details.

According to the present invention, the bathing garment designated generally by the numeral l5 may be composed of a lower bifurcated trunk portion l6 and an upper bodice portion 'll;the trunk portion l6 being preferably formed with two leg openings l8 and IS.

The trunk portion I6 as well as the bodice portion I! are formed of several layers of generally similar knitted silk webs or piles of relatively fine gauge. In the particular illustration here shown, the trunk and the bodice portions l6 and I1 are shown as formed of three layers or webs.- The layers or webs of the trunk member are designated by the numerals 20, 2| and 22, respectively.

while the layers or webs of the bodice are designated by the numerals 22, 24 and 2!, respectively.

The knitted silk layers 20, 2i and 22 of the trunk portion 14 are preferably arranged with the courses extending horizontally and with the ribs or wales extending vertically so that the direction of greatest elasticity will be horizontally or circumferentially of the trunk.

The layers or webs 23, 24 and 25 of the bodice portion are preferably arranged with the courses running vertically, and with the ribs or wales therefore running horizontally so that the direction of the greatest elasticity of these layers will be in a vertical direction rather than in a horizontal or circumferential direction.

Each of the knitted silk layers, sheets, or webs 20, 2| and 22 on one hand, and 22, 24 and 25 on the other hand, are preferably formed on flnegauge flat knitting machines, as for instance, the flat type or full-fashioned machines commonly used for knitting full-fashioned or fine or sheer silk hosiery. The knitted silk layers, sheets or webs 20, 2| and 22 on one hand and 22, 24 and 25 on the other hand may also be formed on a suitable fine-gauge circular knitting machine of sumciently large diameter to give the necessary width of fabric for a bathing suit, or the necessary width for the parts or sections of a bathing suit. So, too, any other type of knitting machine may be employed of sufficiently fine-gauge, to produce these knitted fabric layers or plies, as for instance warp" type knitting machines etc.

The trunk portion may be formed of four more or less equal quarterly sections dividing the circumference into four parts, or it may be formed of two parts of correspondingly greater width or correspondingly greater circumferential extent.

The drawings illustrate a form of construction in which the trunk is formed of four sections, two front sections and two rear sections;the two front sections being joined along the front vertical median line 26, while the two rear sections are joined along the rear vertical median line 21, while the front and rear sections on one side are joined along the side seam 28, and the front and rear sections on the other side are joined along the side seam 29, both extending generally vertically.

The bodice portion I1 may be formed of a single section (that is, each of the three plies is, in and of itself, an integral piece) In the formation of the four trunk sections 30, 3|, 32 and 33, it has been found preferable to reinforce portions by automatically throwing in another yarn carrier finger (by any suitable conventional pattern chain or pattern mechanism or control mechanism) over some of the needles which will knit the reinforced portions and for the number of courses to be covered by the reinforced portions.

Thus, for instance, the fine-gauge knitted silk layers or webs 20, 2| and 22 on one hand, and 23, 24, and 25 on the other hand, may be knitted of an eight-end silk yarn or with eight threads of silk to produce a weight of fabric more or less the same as the weight which is commonly known as service weigh in womens silk hosiery, which will be relatively fine and relatively transparent or translucent knitted silk webbing which will permit the passage of a substantial amount of light by direct transmission or passage through the multiplicity of small discrete openings in the knitted loops and which will thus give a substantial direct-exposure to light (and also to air).

and adjusted at will.

If desired, additional yarn carrier, carrying an additional yam of possibly six ends of silk (more or less), may be thrown into action or into operative position through the areas to be reinforced, so that the reinforced zones will be of an in-: creased weight, that is, will be of a weight corresponding to a fourteen-thread silk yarn, (more or less) while the rest of the fabric layers will be of a weight corresponding to an eight-thread silk yarn (more or less).

The reinforced zones are preferably duplicated through each of the plurality of layers in registration with each other.

Thus, at the front of the garment immediately above the crotch portion, reinforced zones 24 and 25 may be produced, while along the back seam 2'I, narrow marginal reinforcement zones 26 and 31 may be formed. If desired, this marginal reinforcement may also be provided adjacent to the front seam 26 and adjacent to the side seams, to provide more substantial anchorage for the seaming threads so as to permit the adjacent "sections of the garment to be Joined, with their adjacent edges merely in abutting relation instead of in overlapping relation to each other and yet to give substantial durability at the seams.

In the bodice of the garment. a horizontally disposed reinforced zone ll may be provided extending substantially across the bodice of the garment, and, if desired, extending substantially throughout the entire circumferential extent of the bodice of the garment from the terminal portion 39 to the terminal portion 40, and being of a vertical extent or width" sufilciently great to give adequate breast support.

The trunk portion It may terminate generally at the waist line 4| of the garment in a generally tubular channel formation 42 indicated particularly in the sectional view in Figure 8; the tubular channel or chamber being adapted to receive a draw-string, tape or cord, or an elastic waist-confining member 42 which is laced through the tubular portion 42, and may have its ends extending exteriorly as at 44, to be tied The tubular formation 42 in the waist zone may be formed by turning back the three plies, and stitching the same by suitable zig-zag or overlapped stitches 45, which will permit the lateral stretching of the tubular formation in a generally circumferential direction with respect to the wearer, without tearing the stitches. The bodice portion may be similarly stitched to the tubular formation 42 by means of the suitable zig-zag stitches 46.

The bodice member I! is seamed or closed in along its free edges 41, 48 and 49 by any suitable seam such as the seam indicated particularly in Figures 5 and 6, while the upper edges 50 and 5| may be similarly seamed in as indicated particularly in Figure '7 by any suitable overlock stitch or similar stitch 52, which may be formed on any conventional machine suitable for this purpose.

The straps 53 and 54 are preferably inserted between the plies and sewed in place as indicated in Figures 1 and 4 and are adapted to extend over the shoulders and then to cross each other and to be fixedly or adjustably or detachably fastened to any suitable loops or other equivalent means 55 and 56 connected with the terminal portions 39 and 40 of the bodice portion of the garment (as indicated in Figure 3), or the straps 53 and 54 may be merely extended or laced through the loops 55 and 56, and then detachably and adjustably fastened to the waist zone at oppositepoints at the rear, as for instance, at 51 and 58 by means of suitable loops connected to the waist zone (as indicated in Figure 15) and these loops may be either rings or merely fabric loops fastened in place. The straps 53 and 54 are preferably formed of the same material as that of which the garment is formed, and also formed of a plurality of plies with the ribs or wales running longitudinally of the strap, and the courses running transversely of the straps.

If the straps 53 and 54 are fastened at 39 and 40, then an elastic connector member 59 may also be interposed between the loops 55 and 56 with any suitable adjustment, as for instance, theadjustable buckle 60.

A combination skirt and cape member designated generally by the numeral 6| may be similarly formed and may be formed of three sections 62, 63 and 64, each section being formed of two or more plies 65 and 66;the sections being joined along the vertical seams 6'! and 68.

.The courses are preferably arranged horizontally and the ribs or wales vertically. The lower edge may be folded in as at 69, and stitched as at 10, while the upper edge may also be turned in as at H, and stitched as at 12 to provide a tubular channel or chamber 13 through which the tie string 14 may be extended.

The sections 62, 63 and 64 may be either cut to shape or may also be fashioned or narrowed (to greater or lesser extent) directly on the knitting machine. Similarly, the several sections of the trunk may also be shaped or fashioned by the usual narrowing operations of the knitting machine, or they may be cut to shape, or may be both narrowed or fashioned on the knitting machine as well as cut to shape along some lines. In Figure 9, the narrowing marks 15 have been indicated, although it is to be understood that these narrowing marks may be completely sealed within the seams 61 and 68 by placing the narrowing points closer to the selvage of the fabric as it is knitted, so that the narrowing marks will be completely encompassed within or embraced within the seams, and thus rendered invisible.

To the free upright edges 16 and I1, fastener tapes I8 and 19 are sewn by stitches and 8|, said tapes carrying any conventional interlocking scoop type fastener members 82, adapted to be connected or disconnected from each other at will by the operating slide 83, of any suitable or conventional construction. The fasteners are arranged for complete separation with the guides 84 and 85 arranged for initiating the connection between the fasteners. The member 6| may either be worn as a skirt, that is, auxiliary to the bathing garment, as indicated particularly in Figures 1 and 3, or it may be worn as a cape as indicated in Figure 13.

One or two crotch members or crotch sections generally V-shaped or diamond shaped, as for instance the crotch section 86 may be inserted in the crotch zone, seamed and fastened in place by the seams 81. These crotch members or sections are also preferably of reinforced weight of multi-ply, and with the ribs extending generally horizontally and the courses vertically, as indicated particularly in Figure 4.

By the fine-gauge multi-ply bathing garment or garments of the present invention, the weight and thickness of the garment may be much reduced, the garment rendered more free to the movements of the body and rendered more free to the penetration of air and to the directpassage or direct-transmission of sunlight, is rendered quick-drying and is at the same time rendered non-revealing insofar as normal observation or normal point of view is concerned.

Thus, as stated above, while each of the layers of fine-gauge light-weight knitted silk fabric is more or less transparent or translucent, and while the combination of the plurality of layers of such fabric is likewise transparent or translucent when held close to the eye and permits the direct passage of light in substantial amount, it (the combination of the plurality of layers) becomes nevertheless non-revealing and gives an opaque appearance when in actual use against the body of the wearer, and in fact tends to give a moir effect or appearance by virtue of the successive reflections of the different plies of silk. Thus, as

the interstices of the successive layers are generally equally spaced but generally do not register with each other exactly, there is a sufficient lack of registration to create not only an opaque effect, but also to create a moire appearance.

The garment of the present invention has been found much superior to both woolen as well as cotton bathing garments of any of the conventional or heretofore known or used constructions when viewed from any viewpoint of the swimmer or bather. Thus, by the present invention, a bathing garment may be provided which can be of minimum weight, and give maximum freedom of body movements as is desirable foractual swimming, and which will also give air and sunlight substantial access to the portions of the body generally covered by the bathing garment, without however being revealing from the normal viewpoint of an observer so that the same bathing garment may also be highly desirable for beach wear by virtue of its characteristics above mentioned.

The foregoing novel results of the construction of the present invention may be attributed, in a measure, or in part, to the combination of the multiplicity of more or less discreet openings formed by or within the knitted loops or stitches and the relatively smooth and relatively lustrous or light-reflective filaments constituting the thread or yarn of which these loops are formed, whereby the light from without may penetrate through the multiplicity of small apertures or loops in the plurality of knitted fabric layers, to the body;-and whereby any light which may tend to be reflected from the body outwardly is either intercepted by the threads or is so reflected by the threads of the successive fabric layers as to destroy or substantially to obliterate all vision of the body from any normal external viewpoint.

The reinforced zones 34 and 35 of the trunk part and the reinforced zone 38 of the bodice also serves to increase the non-revealing qualities of the garment in these zones.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I hereby claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is:

1. A bathing garment including a trunk member, formed substantially in its entirety 01' a plurality of relatively fine-gauge, light-weight and more or less light-transmissive knitted plies or relatively smooth nad more or less light-reflective filaments, which (bathing garment) is generally non-revealing when generally against the body or the wearer as in actual use.

2. A bathing garment including a trunk member, formed substantially in its entirety of a plurality oi relatively fine-gauge, light-weight and more or less light-transmissive knitted silk plies, which (bathing garment) is generally non-revealing when against the body of the wearer.

3. A bathing garment comprising a trunk memher and a waist member each formed of a plurality or relatively fine-gauge, light-weight and more or less light-transmissive knitted plies or relatively smooth and more or less light-reflective filaments, which (bathing garment) is generally non-revealing when against the body of the wearer ;the knitted courses of the trunk layers and the knitted courses of the waist layers running in directions generally transversely of each other.

4. A bathing garment comprising a waist member formed of a plurality of relatively fine-gauge, light-weight and more or less light-transmissive knitted plies of relatively smooth and more or less light-reflective filaments, which (bathing garment) is generally non-revealing when against the body of the wearer;-said plies having generally horizontally disposed reinforced breast zones in registration with each other formed of an increased number 01 filaments.

5. A bathing garment including a trunk member, formed substantially in its entirety of a plurality or relatively. fine-gauge light-weight and more or less light trive knitted plies or relatively smooth and more or less light-reflective filaments, which (bathing garment) is generally non-revealing when against the body of the wearer;said garment being formed sections and the sections being united by sewn means, and said plies having reinforced marginal zones formed of an increased number of filaments, said reinforced zones 0! the several plies being generally in registration with each other adjacent the seam.

6. A bathing garment including a bodice member, formed substantially in its entirety of a plurality of relatively fine-gauge, light-weight and more or less light-transmissive knitted plies of relatively smooth and more or less light-reflective filaments, which (bathing garment) is generally non-revealing when generally against the body of the wearer as in actual use.

'7. A bathing garment including a bodice member, formed substantially in its entirety of a plurality of relatively fine-gauge, light-weight and more or less light-transmissive knitted silk plies, which (bathing garment) is generally non-revealing when generally against the body of the wearer as in actual use.

SAMUEL TAIT.

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