US2568421A - Apron - Google Patents

Description

p 1951' IEQR. VAN STAAGEN 2,568,421

APRON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 12, 1949 INVENTOR.

Eleanor R. Van Staagen, BY

ATTOR NEY5.

p 1951 E. R. VAN STAAGEN 2,568,421

APRON I Filed May 12, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I WY INVENTOR. Eleanor R. vansfaagen ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 18, 1951 I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 2,568,421 Eleanor taagen, Vernon, N, Y. Q l k pplicationMa y m,19i9,SerialNo.92, f7i5 Thepresent invention relates to apparel in the general class of aprons, more particularly apron and towel combinations.

The'novel garment of the invention, being' not onl utilitarian but ornamental as well, is intended for use by housewives, domesticated husbands, bachelors of both sexes interested inthe culinary arts, bartending and similar pursuits, and is suitable for waiters, waitresses and others. I Experience has taught that in the course of such pursuits one is constantly in need of a towel to dry the hands, and frequently in need of it in a hurry to meet such emergencies, for example,

as answering the doorbell or the telephone when in the midst of dishwashing.

The general object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an article of apparel which serves to provide, in addition to an. apron, a towel which is readily availableat al-l times and which is so combined with the apron as to be capable of being an attractive adjjunctgthereto, lending an air of smartness while providing a great convenience.

Another object is to detachably secure the towel to the apron, permitting ready replacement of soiled towels with clean ones.

'A further object is to so. arrange the. attach- ;ing means that it will be concealed, at the same time serving to form pleats inthe towel and to hold the pleats in place.

on the sash;

Fig. 4 is a detailed elevation of a section of waistband and skirt showing the opening between them which may be provided and the relation of fastening elements thereto;

Fig. 5 is a plan showing how the main parts of one style of the apron may be cut from piece goods;

Fig. 6 shows the top end of a towel with the arrangement of fastening elements thereon;

Fig. '7 is a similar view showing a different arrangement of fastening elements;

jjcutflinto strips ,1 for use as the rufiie l3. "semicircular skirt is formed by cutting on the Fig. 8- is a detailed plan: similar to Fig.4 show- 'ing the towel of Fig. 6fastened in place,

" Fig.- 9 is a similar view showing the arrangement of fastening elements with the towel of Fig. 7 in place; and 7 r v Fig-'10 a detailed view showing an arrangement offastening elements on the top portion of the skirt with the sash partially secured thereto and turned back to disclose the fasteners.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the apron comprises a skirt l5 and a waistband or sash It and may have a ruffle- [8. It is worn by tying a bow l9 in the sash. Hanging from behind the sash, in

"the illustrated embodiment, is thepleated towel 20 which overlies the front of the skirt, preferably somewhat to one side of center.

The combination of apron and towel maybe rendered very attractive by using goods of contrasting colors, by using flowered or striped towelin'g against the background of a plain colored apron and vice versa. The towel hangs in grace waste and so as to save labor by full utilization of the selvage. A piece a yard wideand two yards long is folded over on itself lengthwise about 27 inches from one end along the line J, the remaining 18 inches beyond the doubled portion being The lines a. and b. The remaining piece is modified by cutting ofi the long pointed ends along the line c and forms the sash l6. As shown in Fig. 3, the edge a of the skirt I5 is straightened out enough to conform to the edge 0 of sash I 6 and is attached thereto along the middle. The long edges of the goods shown in Fig. 5 are selvage, designated 5 and thus the top edge of the sash and the rear edges of the skirt need not be hemmed. The wide pointed ends of the sash tie into an attractive butterfly bow as shown in Fig. 2.

Referring now to Figs. 6, 8 and 10, one of the preferred means for removably securing a towel 20 to the apron is by a plurality of separable fasteners of the type known as snap fasteners or grippers, arranged in a certain manner with reference to the parts of the apron and the towel as will now be described. On a towel about 18 inches wide fastener halves or elements 2| are arranged as shown in Fig. 6 about 4% inches apart with the end elements adjacent the edges of the towel. A convenient method of applying them is to sew to the towel a tape 22 carrying the elements at the proper intervals. The complementary fastener halves or elements 24, which coact with elements 2|, are secured to the top of skirt i5 and may be mounted on a tape 25 which is stitched to the skirt. Elements 24 are spaced more closely than are the elements 2| on the towel, say about 1 inch apart. The waistband i6 is sewed to the top of skirt l5 so as to overlie fastener elements 24. In the embodiment being described, the waistband'is sewed to the top of skirt I5 on either side of the tape 25 but is lift free in the portion overlying the tape so that there is an opening or slot between waistband and skirt through which the end of the towel may extend. In Fig. 10 skirt andwaistband are shown as sewed together beyond one end of tape at 2B and it will'be understood that they will be similarly sewed together beyond the other end of the tape. As shown in Fig. 8, after the fastener elements 2| and 24 have been joined, the towel is arranged in pleats between skirt and waistband. When the garment is worn the tightening of the waistband l6 flattens the pleats, keeping them in place, and the fasteners are entirely concealed.

In Figs. 7 and 9 a modified arrangement of fasteners is illustrated in which four elements are placed on one side of towel 29a and one element Zla on the other side, spaced as shown. Four complementary elements are placed on skirt 15a and one on waistband 16a in the positions shown and towel 20a. is attached to both the skirt and waistband of the apron as shown in Fig. 9.

It will be seen in Figs. 6 and '7 that the fastener elements on the towel are spaced from its top end so as to assure that an inch or two of towel extends above the bottom edge of and behind the waistband so as to prevent the looped ends of the pleats from sagging out from under it, thus assuring the holding of the pleats in place and the preservation of a neat appearance as in Fig. 1, where the top end of the towel isshown in dotted lines. I I

In the constructions just described it is to be understood that the location of the fastening elements, described as on the skirt and underlying the waistband, can be reversed by placing them on the waistband facing toward and overlying the top of the skirt, the towel being turned around. This reversed arrangement is more specifically illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, fasteners elements 28, spaced as shown in Fig. 10, being 4 applied to the underside of waistband l6 adjacent its lower edge, where an opening 29 is left between it and skirt l5 when they are sewed together.

Variations of these specific structures contemplated by the invention include the sewing of the waistband to the top of the skirt throughout the length of the latter, the waistband overlying the skirt top by a greater distance so that a pocket is formed over the fasteners, instead of an opening, of a depth adequate to receive the end of the towel; the use of separable fasteners of types other than those shown; and different arrangements of fasteners.

Since still further modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon disclosure of the embodiments specifically described herein it is to be understood that they are to be construed as merely illustrative of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An apron comprising a skirt, a Waistband permanently secured to said skirt along their ad.- joining portions except for a short distance intermediate the ends of the top of the skirt thereby providing an opening between the skirt and waistband accessible from the front of the apron, a plurality of separable fastening elements affixed to the apron at closely spaced intervals between the ends of said opening, an accessory such as a towel having fastening elements near one of it ends corresponding in number to but being more widely spaced than the elements on said apron whereby joining of the two sets of elements will cause the accessory to be folded into pleats, the fastening of the waistband about the body of the wearer acting to bind and flatten the thus pleated end of the accessory extending into said opening.

ELEANOR R. VAN STAAGEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

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