US2303004A - Shoulder strap - Google Patents

Description

OUGILII nuum NOV. 24, 1942. 5 STEIN SHOULDER STRAP Filed Dec. 10, 1941 Pate ted Nov. 24, 1942 SHOULDER STRAP Sara Stein, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Bali Brassicre Co. Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 10, 1941, Serial No. 422,352

13 Claims.

This invention relates to the art of making strap devices, and has particular reference to shoulder straps such as those which are used for foundation garments and are consequently in direct contact with the skin of the wearer.

In shoulder straps for foundation garments such as brassires and the like, considerable difliculty has been encountered in the attempt to provide a shoulder strap whose outer or upper face would be free of any stitching, and whose underside would be so smooth and uniform as to avoid objectionable frictional contact with the skin of the wearer or cutting engagement therewith. The solution has been especially difficult to find because such shoulder straps have to be made of a textile fabric which is preferably like that of the foundation garment itself, and also because such shoulder straps have to be relatively narrow in order to be inconspicuous, and because they must often support a rather considerable tension, especially in the case of women who are fleshy or have large busts. Although the art has tried many different expedients and has constantly endeavored to find a satisfactory shoulder strap, no shoulder strap has to my knowledge been heretofore produced whose outer face would be free of stitching and whose underside would avoid excessive frictional contact with the skin or cutting thereof as by reason of the hardness imparted by a row of stitches, and which would also be free of objectionable wrinkling, and wherein unraveling of the seam would be prevented in the event of breakage of a stitch.

One object of the invention is therefore to provide a strap device such as a shoulder strap which avoids the difficulties herein mentioned and possesses the several advantages desired, such shoulder strap being relatively narrow, thin, neat in appearance, free of stitching on its outer face, non-wrinkling, and adapted for soft contact with the skin of the wearer; it will not unravel in the event of breakage of a stitch, and is durable, strong and eflicient in use.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such a shoulder strap which is adapted for high speed quantity production in a very simple and inexpensive manner.

Another object of the invention is to furnish an improved process for the manufacture of such a shoulder strap.

Other objects and. advantages of the invention will become apparent as the specification proceeds.

With the aforesaid objects in view, the invention consists in the novel Lil combinations and 55 arrangements of parts hereinafter described in their preferred embodiments, pointed out in the subjoined claims, and illustrated in the annexed drawing, wherein like parts are designated by the same reference characters throughout the everal views.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation showing a. foundation garment having a shoulder strap embcdying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top view of the improved shoulder strap.

Fig. 3 is a similar bottom view thereof with a part in section.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view with a part in section illustrating the process for producing the improved shoulder strap.

The advantages of the invention as here outlined are best outlined when all of its features and instrumentalities are combined in one and the same structure, but, useful devices may be produced embodying less than the whole.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, that the same may be incorporated in several different constructions. The accompanying drawing, there fore, is submitted merely as showing the preferred exemplification of the invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing, Ill denotes a foundation garment such as a brassiere having shoulder straps ll embodying the invention. It will be noted that the shoulder strap at the right is partially turned over to show the underside thereof. Accordingly it is seen that the top or outer face of the shoulder strap is free of any sign of stitching, thereby producing a very neat and attractive effect, especially as its outside fa ce is provided by fabric of the same texture and color as the main body portions of the brassire. Whatever stitching is employed, it appears wholly on the underside of the shoulder strap as indicated at l2 adjoining the seam line [3. At certain intervals, and as hereinafter explained, the stitching catches through into the outer face portion of the shoulder strap producing minute indentations as indicated at M due to the tension of the thread, but this effect is so inconspicuous as to be hardly visible.

More particularly, the shoulder strap II comprises a strip member l5 consisting of natural or artificial silk or other suitable textile material, and being folded along opposite lines at If; to thus provide a front or outer wall 11 and a rear or bottom wall that includes the sections l8. The latter are marginally infolded at l9 to produce the inturned portions 20. Within the generally tubular structure thus provided is positioned a strip element 2| that may consist of felt or other suitable soft material and which extends substantially from edge to edge of the shoulder strap.

An important feature of the invention is that the fold portions at I9 form a piping or small tubes which are in direct abutment with each other along the seam line l3. Thereby a cushioning effect is produced at the seam supplemental to that afforded by the felt strip 2|, and any hardness or friction which may be caused by exposed stitching is avoided.

The stitching I2 is of such a character as to tend to maintain the softness of the shoulder strap. Preferably it consists of a series of stitches 22 which follow the path of an arc transverse to the shoulder strap. Each of these stitches passes through the walls I8 and the inturned portions and also through the felt element 2|. At predetermined spaced intervals certain of these stitches such as 22a also engage or partially enter the front or outer wall in a blind stitch manner as shown in Fig. 4, resulting in the indentations at l4. This blind stitching at 22a anchors together the opposed walls of the shoulder strap so as to prevent any curling or wrinkling, and this action is of course supplemented by the felt strip 2|.

It is a feature of the invention that the arcuate stitches shown at 22 and 22a act angularly, so that any tension thereon is taken up at least partially along the plane of the shoulder strap. This results in a marked improvement as against stitching which passes directly through a shoulder strap at right angles to the plane thereof, this causing an area of hardness due to the compression resulting from the tension of the thread. Moreover, this arcuate or angular stitching is at least partially of a floating character, because of the flexibility of the parts with which it engages. Accordingly, the shoulder strap readily conforms to the body of the wearer and adapts itself inherently to any irregularities which may be caused by a person's body or which may result from the manner in which the shoulder strap is applied.

The arcuate stitching referred to co-operates in an improved manner to produce and maintain the tubular cushioning formations l9 along the seam. Thus each stitch may include thread portions such as 23 and 24 which overlie the wall sections IS in close proximity to the tubular formations l9, and by exerting a predetermined tension, cause the seam to slightly bulge so as to maintain an open cushioning effect, whereby the exposed thread at 23, 24 will not have objectionable frictional contact with the skin. The felt element 2| cooperates for causing the stitch thread to maintain a somewhat yielding tension on the tubular formations l9. Overlapping of the latter due to the stitches is prevented because the thread passes through the felt element 2| almost at a substantial angle. The felt element thus acts as a spacer for the marginal portions l9.

More particularly, the stitching is in the nature of a lock stitch so that it will not unravel or readily open up if one of the stitches is broken. The

side of the seam engaged by the thread 24 may be regarded as the bobbin side, whereas the side 23 is the needle side. The thread 23 is therefore quite smooth throughout, whereas at the thread 24, points of interlocking occur at the surface of the fabric as indicated at 25. However, these points of interlock are quite small so that the bulging portions l9 readily cushion against the seam.

With the present invention the seam as well as its stitching is located centrally and is wholly free and spaced from the edge portions of the shoulder strap to avoid cutting into the flesh. Also the seam portion itself is inherently soft and cushioned to avoid objectionable frictional contact with the skin of the wearer. The structur of the shoulder strap is such that curling and wrinkling are avoided. Unraveling of the seam by the breakage of a single stitch is prevented, thus overcoming one of the principal objections in certain prior art devices. And finally, the shoulder strap may be made very thin and quite narrow and is free of any stitching on its outer face. It may be readily laundered without any change in its structural or functional characteristics, and is neat in appearance, strong, durable, and efficient in use.

The process for reducing the shoulder strap H for high speed quantity production in a simple and inexpensive manner will now be described by reference to Fig. 5. The felt element 2| is centrally superposed on the strip member l5, and the latter is folded, preferably by means of a suitable folding attachment on a sewing machine. This folding produces the inturned marginal portions 20 and the wall sections IS, the operation occuring in a continuous graduated manner. In a like manner the structure is centrally folded as indicated at 26 to thus expose the central part of the felt element 2|, and to bring the marginal portions l9 into spaced relation with each other as shown. While thus positioned, a needle 21 of arcuate form reciprocates back and forth to produce the stitches 22 and 22a. In order to cause the stitches to engage the front wall part IT, a strip member 28 which may be used to aid in the production of the reverse fold at 2B, is reciprocated at predetermined intervals so that the needle may penetrate sufficiently for a blind stitch engagement with the front wall ll. As the stitching operation is completed, the shoulder strap tends to flatten out and ultimately assumes the positions engaged in Figs. 3 and 4, with the marginal portions |9 coming into the desired degree of abutment relation with each other to form the tubular portions along th seam. It will be noted that this is possible by reason of the fact that in course of sewing the shoulder strap, it is folded into substantially U-form as shown in Fig. 5 so that the marginal portions l 9 become rather widely spaced from each other.

It is important to note that the central folding at 26 is such as to produce a U cross section, and preferably the sides of the U are as close together as the thinness of the guide 28 will permit. Hence the stitch thread passes through th felt element 2| substantially at right angles, but the appearance of the thread changes when the strap is laid out fiat, and especially due to yielding of the fabrics, so that it appears to be of arcuate form. Therefore, when the shoulder strap has been completed and is flattened out, the stitching pulls mainly downward on the marginal portions l9, instead of pulling them mainly toward each other, to such a degree as to cause them to overlap on each other and form an uncomfortable protrusion. Although the stitching is effected under low tension, this action is important, and in this regard the felt element 2| has an essential function as a spacer., Without the spacing control, the marginal portions l9 may be either too far apart or if brought into abutment with each other, one would creep onto and overlap the other.

It will now be seen that the method of manufacture may be substantially automatic and is of a continuous nature, well adapted for high speed production in a relatively inexpensive manner.

I claim:

1. A shoulder strap having a one-piece strip member folded to provide opposed walls forming a generally flat tubular structure, comprising a front or outer wall and a rear wall having complementary wall sections meeting each other along a central longitudinal line, the wall sections having their marginal portions folded along parallel lines to lie within the tubular structure. a separate filling spacer cushioning strip element positioned in the latter to lie wholly fiat between said marginal portions and the outer wall, and lock stitching including a series of stitches each of which is of generally arcuate form so that each interconnects said wall sections and passes through the marginal portions and the filler element without passing completely through the outer wall, whereby the strip element serves as a spacer control for the marginal portions, the stitches engaging so little of the filler element as to assure that it will remain flat along its center, certain of the stitches being free of the outer wall and others of the stitches having blind stitch engagement with the outer wall, the said wall sections having integral cushioning portions along said marginal fold lines, at least one of said cushioning portions being maintained substantially tubular in cross section by abutment with each other under the tension of the stitches and according to the spacing determined by the strip element.

2. A shoulder strap having a one-piece strip member folded to provide opposed walls forming a generally flat tubular structure, comprising a front or outer wall and a rear wall having complementary wall sections meeting each other along a central longitudinal line, the wall sections having their marginal portions folded along parallel lines to lie within the tubular structure, and stitching including generally arcuate thread portions comprising a series of lock stitches, each of said arcuate thread portions passing through the wall sections and the marginal portions there of without passing completely through the outer wall, certain of said arcuate thread portions having blind stitch engagement with the outer wall within the tubular structure and others of the arcuate thread portions being wholly free of said outer wall, said wall sections being provided with longitudinal tubular cushioning portions along their fold lines integral therewith, at least one of said cushioning portions being maintained tubular by abutment with each other along said central longitudinal line under the tension of said arcuate thread portions and being otherwise free of each other.

3. A shoulder strap having a one-piece strip member folded to provide opposed walls forming a generally flat tubular structure, comprising a front or outer wall and a rear wall having complementary wall sections meeting each other along a central longitudinal line, the wall sections having their marginal portions folded along parallel lines to lie within the tubular structure, and stitching including generally arcuate thread portions comprising a series of lock stitches, each of said arcuate thread portions passing through the wall sections and the marginal portions thereof without completely passing through the outer wall, certain of said arcuate thread portions having blind stitch engagement with the outer wall within the tubular structure and others of the arcuate thread portions being wholly free of said outer wall, said wall sections being provided with longitudinal tubular cushioning portions along their fold lines integral therewith, said cushioning portions being maintained tubular by abutment with each other along said central longitudinal line under the tension of said. arcuate thread portions and being otherwise free of each other, said stitching including longitudinal thread portions lying along the outside of the respective wall sections, comprising an interrupted thread portion on one wall section and a continuous bobbin thread on the other wall section, for substantially continuous engagement with said cushioning portions.

4. A shoulder strap having a one-piece strip member folded to provide opposed walls forming a generally flat tubular structure, comprising a front or outer wall and a rear wall having complementary wall sections meeting each other along a central longitudinal line, the wall sections having their marginal portions folded along parallel lines to lie within the tubular structure, and stitching including generally arcuate thread portions comprising a series of lock stitches, each of said arcuate thread portions passing through the wall sections and the marginal portions thereof without passing completely through the outer wall, certain of said arcuate thread portions having blind stitch engagement with the outer wall within the tubular structure and others of the arcuate thread portions being wholly free of said outer wall, said wall sections being provided with longitudinal tubular cushioning portions along their fold lines integral therewith, said cushioning portions being maintained tubular by abutment with each other along said central longitudinal line under the tension of said arcuate thread portions and being otherwise free of each other, said stitching including longitudinal thread portions lying along the outside of the respective wall sections, comprising an interrupted thread portion on one wall section and a continuous bobbin thread on the other wall section, for substantially continuous engagement with said cushioning portions, and a spacer strip element of felt-like material within the tubular structure extending from edge to edge thereof, all of said arcuate thread portions passing through the element whereby the same is secured and the tension on the thread cushioned for controlling the tubular cushioning portions, and the strip element being in direct contact with the tubular portions to space the stitch thread thereat for maintaining a uniform abutting relation of the tubular portions.

5. A shoulder strap having a one-piece strip member folded to provide opposed walls forming a generally fiat tubular structure, comprising a front or outer wall and a rear wall having complementary wall sections having their marginal portions folded along parallel lines to lie within the tubular structure, a filling spacer strip element positioned in the latter to lie between said marginal portions and the outer wall, and stitching including a series of stitches each of which is of generally arcuate form and each interconnecting said wall sections and passing through the filler element and the said marginal portions in spaced relation to said parallel lines, certain of the stitches engaging said outer wall, the complementary wall section having longitudinal flap-like portions along said parallel lines abutting each other to conceal said element and to lie in a plane, the element being in contact with said abutting portions and cooperating with the stitch thread and serving as a spacer for parts thereof to prevent the stitch thread from so pulling on the abutting portions as to cause them to overlap on each other.

6. The method of making shoulder straps, including centrally superimposing a narrow longitudinal strip element on a relatively wide strip member, then folding the member about the element in a constant gradual manner to form a front wall and an opposite rear wall, including infolding themarginal portions of the member along parallel lines and folding the sides of the member toward each other at the edges of the element to provide said rear wall on the member, centrally longitudinally reversely folding the member and the element into U-shape in cross section and so that the central fold in the element lies slightly inward of a plane passing a plane with the parallel line folds being in abutment with each other to form cushioning tubes along the parallel line folds.

'l. The method of making shoulder straps. including centrally superimposing a narrow longitudinal strip element on a relatively wide strip member, then folding the member about the element in a constant gradual manner to form a flat tube having opposed front and rear walls, including infolding the marginal portions of the member along parallel lines and folding the sides of the member toward other at the edges of the element to provide said rear wall on the member, centrally longitudinally reversely folding the member and the element into U-shape in cross section and so that the central fold in the element lies slightly inward of a plane passing through the said parallel line folds in the member, then stitching through the central fold and the parallel line folds in spaced relation to the fold lines thereof, at a relatively low tension.

the stitching being effected along a path such that the thread does not pass through the outer wall of the member, at intervals elevating the central fold in the member and element 50 that the stitch thread is caused to have blind stitch engagement with said outer wall of the member, then unfolding the central fold so that the shoulder strap lies in a plane with the parallel line folds in abutment with each other.

8. A shoulder strap having a one-piece strip member folded to provide a front wall and a rear wall that is centrally split to provide a plurality of wall sections, the latter having inwardly folded marginal portions abutting each other in a plane to form a seam, and stitching interconnecting the wall sections including stitches following curved paths passing through the wall sections and the marginal infolded portions thereof and being free of said front wall, said stitching including relatively widely spaced stitches passing in curved paths through the wall sections and the marginal portions and engaging said front wall.

9. A shoulder strap having a one-piece strip member folded to provide front and rear walls forming a generally flat tubular structure and cross stitching interconnecting the meeting edge portions of the member to form a seam in the rear wall closing the tubular structure, said stitching crossing the seam only within the shoulder strap so that the outside surface of the strap is free of cross stitching, and the latter including stitches following curved paths transverse to the member to thus draw the edge portions into abutment with each other, with said edge portions lying in a common plane, the stitches being free of the front wall except that certain of the stitches have blind stitch engagement with the front wall at widely spaced points.

10. A shoulder strap having a one-piece strip member folded to provide a front wall and a rear wall that is centrally split to provide a plu rality of wall sections abutting each other in a plane to form a seam; the wall sections having inwardly folded marginal portions, a filler element in said member, and stitching interconnecting the wall sections including stitches following curved paths passing through the wall sections and the marginal portions and the filler element, certain of said stitches engaging the front wall and others of said stitches being free of said front wall, whereby the front wall is secured at relatively widely spaced points.

11. A shoulder strap having a one-piece strip member folded to provide a front wall and a rear wall that is centrally split to provide a plurality of wall sections abutting each other in a plane to form a scam; the wall sections having inwardly folded marginal portions, a filler element in said member, and stitching interconnecting the wall sections including stitches following curved paths passing through the wall sections and the marginal portions and the filler element, certain of said stitches engaging the front wall and others of said stitches being free of said front wall, whereby the front wall is secured at relatively widely spaced points, the abutting portions of the wall sections being otherwise free of the stitching so that the folded edges are adapted to form smooth portions of the shoulder strap.

12. A shoulder strap according to claim 11 wherein at least one of said abutting portions is maintained tubular by the said abutment, to afford a cushioning action adjacent to the stitchmg.

13. A shoulder strap according to claim 10 wherein the filler element is of a cushioning material, and the curved stitches pass through so small a portion of the filler element as not to cause the same to buckle toward the seam.

SARA STEIN.

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