US2239028A

US2239028A - Garment reinforcing means

Info

Publication number: US2239028A
Application number: US251100A
Authority: US
Inventors: James F Baker; Lester L Almond; Ferguson Frank; Louis P Madsen
Original assignee: Cluett Peabody and Co Inc
Current assignee: Cluett Peabody and Co Inc
Priority date: 1939-01-16
Filing date: 1939-01-16
Publication date: 1941-04-22
Anticipated expiration: 1958-04-22

Description

April 22, 1941. J. F. BAKER ETAL 2,239,028

GRMENT RENFORCING MEANS Filed Jan. 1G, 1959 @WM Mgg?? Patented Apr. 22, 1941 GARMENT `REINFQRCING MEANS James F. Baker, Troy, Lester L. Almond, North Troy, Frank Ferguson, Troy, and Louis P. Madsen, North Troy, N. Y., assignors to Cluett, Peabody & Co., Inc., Troy, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 16, 1939, Serial No. 251,100

solaims. (c1. 2 265) f This invention pertains to apparel, and relates more particula-rly to garment reinforcing means designed to resist accidental pulling off of fastener elements, for instance, buttons, during wear or in laundering.

Makers of buttoned garments such as are subject to frequent launderings (for example, mens shirts) are in constant receipt of complaints to the `effect that the buttons pull off before the garments have been Worn out. Sometimes buttons do come olf by reason of breakage of the attaching thread (although the attaching thread is usually relatively strong as compared with the yarns used in weaving the garment fabric) but it is more common for the attaching threads to out the constituent warp and weft yarns of the fabric so that the button pulls off with the loops of the attaching thread still intact and embracing portions of the garment fabric which are pulled off with the button. Y

Various expedients have been devised for strengthening those parts ofthe garment to which the buttons are secured, but since the garment manufacturer, more particularly the makers of mens shirts, is restricted to the use of devices which do not materially alter the appearance of the garment, as compared with ordinary garments of accepted style, no thoroughly satisfactory method insuring a dependable anchorage of shirt buttons has heretofore been devised.

It is true `thatit has been proposed to use a small stay button at the inside of a heavy garment, such as a mans overcoat, as an anchorage for the regular button at the outer side, but such mode of anchoring buttons is not applicable to garments such as shirts, which are frequently laundered and in which the regular button itself constitutes the maximum of rigid material permissible at any one point.

It has also been proposed to provide the button-supporting front flap of a shirt with a reinforcing strip of textile fabric extending along the edge of said flap and through which the buttonattaching stitches pass, but heretofore such stay strips have not provided adequate anchorage to prevent the stitches from pulling out or have been unduly expensive to make and apply, or have been too conspicuous, or have added so much to the thickness of the garment as to be objectionable from the standpoint of appearance or laundering operations.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel stay or reinforce strip furnishing adequate anchorage for the button-attaching thread, which is simple and cheap to make and apply, which does -to the annexed drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, elevational, perspective view of the upper part of the inner front flap of a shirt having an attached collar,and buttons by means of which the inner flap is secured to the outer flap; and

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic section, to large scale, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I designates the inner front flap of a shirt. This flap is provided with the finis-hed free edge 2 and has an attached collar 3 comprising the neckband 4. A button 5 is secured to the neckband portion of the collar, and a series of buttons 6 (of which but two are shown) is arranged below the collar button 5 and parallel to the nis'hed edge 2 of the inner flap.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the front flap I preferably is provided near its free edge 2 with a reinforce strip 9 of textile material which may, if desired, be like the material of the front flap I. The edge of the material of the front flap I is preferably folded in, as shown at Land the edge of the reinforcing strip 9 is also folded in, as shown at 8, the in-folded portions of the front flap and reinforcing strip` being registered with each other and being united by a sewed seam Il) so as to form the hemmed and finished edge 2. The opposite marginal portion of the reinforce strip 9 is first folded at II so as to form a ply'IZ which lies to the rear of the main part of the strip v9. The material is then again folded at I3 so as to overlie the ply I2 and form a pleat I4. The material is then again folded along the line I5 so as to embrace the fold II and to dispose the margin IB of the strip 9 between the front face of such strip and the rear face of the garment flap I. Thus at this point there are four plies of the reinforce strip disposed behind the material of the garment flap and spaced inwardly from the free edge I2 of the latter, and Ithese four plies are united to the material of the garment flap by a row of stitches I1. The making of this row of stitches and the folding of the material of the reinforce strip to form the plies may ne done in a single operation, by the use of an appropriate folder attachment, in an ordinary sewing machine.

The row of stitches I 'I extends substantially sides respectively of the row of stitches IAI.` YThese stitches of strong sewing thread closely bind ltogether the constituent yarns of the several plies of material so that immediately behind each button is an area of great firmness,` substantially symmetrical with the button and which provides a very secure anchorage for the button-attaching stitches, making it very difficult for thebuttonattaching stitches to pull out by cutting ror breaking the constituent yarns of the fabric.

This type Yof reinforce is particularly useful .when a series of buttons is to be attached,since the reinforcing strip 9, in accordance withthis mode of procedure, not only provides reinforcing means for each of the several buttonsof the series, but also cooperates with the'material of the garment flap to provide the finished ledge 2.

While certain desirable embodiments-of the invention have been described by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention. is not necessarily limited to these precise embodiments but is to be regarded as broadly inclusive of any and all equivalents thereof such as fall within the terms of the appended claims. Y

We claim:

1. In combination in a shirt comprising overlapping front flaps of which the inner 'is pro- `vided with buttons'for engagement with buttonholes in the outer flap, reinforcing means for the buttonsupporting: fiap to prevent the buttons from being pulled out, said reinforcing means `comprising atleast four plies of textile fabric disposed at the rear side of the inner flap of the shirt and united thereto by a row of stitches extending substantially parallel to the free'edge of said flap and underlying the centers of the several buttons, and button-attaching means disposed at each side respectively of'said row of stitches and uniting each button to the material of the inner flap and to the several plies of reinforcing fabric.

2. The combination withva garment having a hem along one edge thereof, of a facing strip having a similar hem along one edge thereof, the

hemmed edges of the garment and strip being in registry and a row of stitches uniting the strip to the garment and completing said hems, the opposit-e marginal portion of the facing strip comprising four superposed plies, the material of the strip being turned rearwardly to form a fold line spaced. from but parallel to said line of stitches thereby to provide a ply of the strip disposed adjacent to the rear surface of the strip, the material of the strip then turning rearwardly again to overlie lsaidply and therewith forming a pleat, and then being turned forwardly to embrace the `first fold line vand having its free margin interposed between the front face of the strip and the vmaterial- Tof" the garment, stitches uniting the the garment 'disposed at the outer side of the latterA and substantially symmetrically across said last-named row of stitches, and attaching means passing through said fastener element, the materialiof 'the garment, and the several plies of the reinforce strip,` such fastening means being disposed ateach side respectively of the last-named row of stitches.

' 3. In combination with a garment including an edgeportion provided with buttons for engagement with buttonholes in a complemental part of the garment, said edge portion including a foldedin marginof the material of the garment proper and a folded-in margin of ya reinforce strip, said folded-'in margins registering with each other and a`row of stitches `:uniting them, said reinforce stripextending inwardly from saidrow" of stitches to a rstlongitudinal fold thereby forming a first reinforce ply, said reinforce strip extendingout- War'dly from said first longitudinal fold to` a second' longitudinal fold thereby forming aseco'nd reinforce ply, lsaid reinforce strip extending'in- .Wardly from said second longitudinalfold to a iJAMEsF.-BAKER.H '1., L."rir.1\roND.l FRANK FERGUSON.

Loors P. MADsEN.