US2588606A - Shirt and method of making same - Google Patents

Description

March 11, 1952 Filed Dec. 26, 1950 w. W ARTZT SHIRT AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME 2 SHEETSSHEET l V INVENTOR.

March 11, 1952 Filed Dec. 26, 1950 W. W. ARTZT SHIRT AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR. ML L/H/V-h/ 19197-27 Patented Mar. 11, 1952 ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHIRT'AND' METHODOF M AKIN William W.- Artzt, New Rochelle, N. Y. Application fiecemlier 26, 1950,Serial No. 202,752

15 Claims.

The present invention relates to wearing anparel, and is particularly directedto improved garments such as polo-shirts, nnder'shirts, pajama tops, garments of the T-shirt type, and the like, and to improved methods of producing such garments.

One of the objects of the present invention isto provide garments of the character indicated which are of one piece construction and are so formed that the sleeves thereof are integral with the body portions whereby to eliminate seams in the shoulder areas to thereby increase the conifort to the wearers and also the useful life of the garments, and wherein the sleeves of the garment are so formed as to further increase the comfort to the wearers.

Another object is to provide a garment of the character indicated which is more yieldable laterally than longitudinally so that maximum comfort is afiorded to the wearer, and so that the garment, including the sleeves thereof, continues to comfortably fit the wearer even after lateral shrinkage has been caused by laundering thereof.

Another object is to provide a garment of the character indicated, a single size of which will conform to and properly fit torsos and arms of diiferent size wearers.

Another object resides in the provision of a method of forming garments of the characte'r'iri dicated which effects substantial savings in the labor required and reduces the waste of material to a minimum. I

A further object is to provide a methodof forming garments of the character indicated with a one-piece construction so that the sleeves are integral with the body portion of each garment and the labor and concomitant expense of ,set-' ting-in the sleeves are thereby eliminated;

A further object is to provide a method of form'- ing garments of the character indicated cut from the flattened walls of a continuous tube of mate rial in accordance with a pattern laid thereon; wherein the neck opening of each garment is cut through the flattened walls along arcuate lines each intersecting the adjacent fold edge at spaced points and displaced relative to the transverse center line of the pattern, whereby to-provide' a neck opening deeper in the front than in the back of the garment.

A further-object is to provide a method of forniing garments of the character indicated cut from a continuous tube of'material, wherein the gar ment is completed by a single stitching operation forming a continuous seam along" each side of the body portion, about an arcuate-iineat the arm pit,

2 and thence longitndi'nally along the bottom of the a jacent sleeve.

A further object is to provide a method of forming garments of the character indicated 5 wherein the sleeves are uniformly of the same length and automatically conform in such length to established specifications} and wherein the relative lengths and widths of the sleeves and of body of the garments are automatically con- I Q) trolled during the cutting" of the garment.

A further object resides in the provision of garments of the character indicated which are formed at the lower end so that the garment when worn does not creep up the'tors'o of the wearer.

A still further object is to provide a method of forming garments of the character indicated from a continuous time of material which is more yieldable laterally than longitudinally, wherein the complete garments, including the sleeves, are

cut from said tube so that the body portions of properly fit torsos' of different size wearers.

Other and further objects of the invention will he" manifest from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

In accordance with one emb'odiment'of the invention, the foregoing objects are accomplished by" cutting a series" of alternately arranged, T-shaped, garment forming blanks from a continuous flattened tube of material, the T- shaped blanks being disposed with the caps or 40 heads thereof extending longitudinally at alternately oppositesides of the medial line of the flattened tube and dimensioned so that the opposite end portions of said caps provide the backs and fronts of the bodies of completed garments,

which the dollble' thicknesses stems of the T- shaped blanks are dimensioned to provide the pairs of sleevescf' the respective garments. The blanks are proportioned so that the width of each cap is the same as the length of the related stem and, therefore, thecaps of the alternately arranged T'-'shape'd blanks may conveniently be overlapped to thus eifectively utilize substantially all of theniaterialiof theTtube. The neck opening formed by cutting a suitablyarcuate as opening the" folded ease portion ofthe' tube at which the related body forming cap of the T-shaped blank is located, and thus only the material cut out for the various neck openings and a single rectangular square bounded by the stem and one end portion of the cap of the blank at each end of the tube need be wasted. A completed garment is formed from each of the blanks, after they are cut from the tube and out along the fold edge joining the double thicknesses of the stem, by opening the blank, then refolding the same along the medial line of the sleeve forming portions, and finally by continuous sea-ms extending along each side of the overlying back and front forming portions and alon the lower edges of the contiguous sleeve forming portions.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, elongated inserts of a laterally stretchable material is utilized in joining the adjacent side edges of the back and front forming portions as well as the lower edges of the sleeve forming portions so that a single size of the resulting garment will fit and conform to wearers of different sizes.

In accordance with still another embodiment 2,)

of the invention, the tube of material is originally formed with longitudinally extending zones formed to be more yieldable laterally than the remainder of the tube and located to provide laterally yieldable zones extending vertically at the front and back of the finished garment, as

well as around each of the sleeves so that such garment, when worn, will readily and automatically conform to the various parts of the body of the wearer thereof, to provide maximum comfort and to fit wearers of different sizes.

In the accompanying drawings wherein I have illustrated preferred embodiments of my invention:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a flattened tube of material having a series of alternately arranged patterns thereon to define the lines along which said tube is cut to provide garment forming blanks according to one embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a blank cut from the tubeof Fig. 1 and then spread flat;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of a garment body formed from the blank of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 i a front elevational view of a completed garment embodying the body of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a tube of material formed with longitudinal zones more yieldable laterally than the remainder of the tube from which body forming blanks may be cut in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a blank cut from the tube of Fig. 5 and then spread flat;

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of a garment body formed from the blank of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the garment body of Fig. 7 taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a front elevational view of a garment body formed according to another embodiment of the invention and including laterally yieldable inserts extending along the opposite sides and the under portions of the sleeves; and

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of the earment body of Fig. 9, with the foremost sleeve raised to expose the entire laterally yieldable insert to view.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, an elongated flattened tube I0 of material is there shown. The

tube It) is preferably formed of a circularly knitted fabric which is yieldable in a lateral direction and substantially non-yielding in a longitudinal direction, however, the invention is not limited to that specific fabric, and tubes of other materials, such as, for example, broadcloth, flexible sheet material, woven nylon or other synthetic yarns, and the like, may be utilized.

The preferred knitted tube [0, which is stretchable in the direction of the double-headed arrow of Fig. 1, may be produced on conventional circular knitting machines, such as, for example, machines made by the Supreme Knitting Machine Co. Inc., of Brooklyn, New York.

After the tube of material has been flattened to provide two layers of material joined together along the opposite side edges, a series of alternately arranged garment forming blanks, of forms hereinafter described in detail, are cut therefrom. In Fig. 1, a series of patterns l2, l4 and I6, are shown disposed on the flattened tube It] preparatory to cutting the latter along the edges of such patterns to provide such blanks. It will be noted that each of the patterns l2, l4 and I6 is substantially of T-shaped configuration with the head or cap of each pattern extending longitudinally and the stem thereof extending laterally relative to the tube [0.

In describing the specific form of the patterns, reference will be made particularly to pattern l2, but it is to be understood that all of the patterns are identical. Pattern I2 is formed with a stem l8 having a length equal to one-half the width of the flattened tube and a width, that is, the dimension extending longitudinally on the tube, equal to the desired circumference of the sleeve of the finished garment. The T- shaped blank l2 further has a cap portion, extending at right angles to the stem l8, and having end portions and 22 of widths equal to one-half the width of the flattened tube It]. The pattern 12 is provided with rounded corners 24 and 26 at the ends of portions 20 and 22, respectively, residing on the longitudinal medial line of the tube, and with rounded corners 28 and 30 connecting the stem l8 to the portions 20 and 22 of the cap. Finally, the outer edge of the cap of blank I2 is formed with a central cutout 32 of suitable curvature to define the neck opening in the garment body forming blank. Preferably, one side portion 34 of the cutout 32 is formed with a smaller radius of curvature than that of the other side 36 of such cutout so that the neck opening of the completed garment will dip lower in the front than in the back, as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

Since the length of the stem is the same as the width of the cap in each T-shaped pattern, the patterns may be conveniently arranged on the flattened tube In with the caps of successive patterns disposed alternately at opposite sides, and with the end portions of each cap occupying the substantially rectangular spaces enclosed between the caps and stems of the next adjacent patterns. Thus, as seen in Fig. 1, all of the flattened tube I0 is covered by the several patterns except for the spaces defined by the cutouts 32 and the substantially rectangular spaces 38 and enclosed by the stems and caps of the blanks at the opposite ends of the tube, and the material wasted in cutting the several garment body forming blanks from the tube I0 is limited to these spaces of relatively small area.

' While only three patterns have been illustrated as superposed on the flattened tube til, it is apparent that the length of the tube isthe only actual limitation on the number of patterns that may be arranged in the manner shown. It is to be understood, however, that a tube of any desired length may be employed, and that a single pattern may be utilized. and moved to each .of the successive positions as the cutting operation proceeds.

The next step in producing garments of the character indicated is the cuttingv of the two overlying layers of the tube H1 along the lines defined by each pattern. and the cutout 32. thereof, and the severing of the two layers at the fold line underlying the end edge of. the stem it of the related pattern. While patterns, such as thepatterns l2, l4 and 13, are useful in 'defining the lines to be followed. by a manually directed .cutter, it should be understood that in mass production or commercial practice: the entire cutting operation is preferably performed by stamping the blanks from the tube by means of suitably shaped blanking dies, and in that event, the dies would be formed to also cut simultaneously along the folded edge at the side of the flattened tube corresponding to the end edgeof the stem E8 of the illustrated patterns.

The blanks cut from the tube l0, whether they are formed by patterns and a manually directed cutter or by blanking dies, will each have the form shown in Fig. 2 when spread flat. The blank 52a of Fig. 2 includes a back forming portion 22a. provided by the double thickness of material on which the end portions 22 of. the pattern was superposed, a front forming portion a provided by the double thickness of. material on which the end portion 20 of the pattern was superposed, a neck opening 32a, corresponding to the cutout 32 of the pattern, and laterally extending sleeve forming portion Illa at the opposite sides of the back and front forming portions provided by the severed double thickness of material underlying the stem [8 of the pattern.

The blank I211 is formed into a garment body by folding such blank along the line 42 of Fig. 2, that line being the lateral medial extending through the sleeve forming portions l8a. The blank I2a, when so folded, has the appearance, from the front, shown in Fig. 3. It will be seen from this illustration that the neck opening of the garment is deeper at the front than the back. This difference is the result of the displacement of the cutout 32 to one side of the transverse center line of the blank. While I have illustrated the neck opening as out along arcuate lines 34 and 36 of different radii to provide the necessary displacement of the opening whereby the cutout 32 will result in the front of the neck opening being deeper or lower than the back thereof, it is to be understood that the cutout 32 may be semicircular, if desired, in which event the center line thereof will be displaced in the cutting operation toward the side of the cap of the T-shaped blank corresponding to the pat!- tern l2 which eventually is to form the front of the garment. However, by cutting along the arcuate lines 34 and 36 of different radii the radius of the line 34 can readily be increased whereby to enlarge the depth of the front of the neck opening without necessarily increasing the width of the neck opening. In this regard, with conventional garment of this class, should a large neck openingbe desired it would be necessary to enlarge the entire opening to such an extentas;

6' to bring the. edges of the: opening too close to the conventional setting in? stitching of the sleeves whereby greater stress would be placed on that stitching and the effective width of the shoulder would. thereby be reduced.

Whenv garments of the character herein described are worn. as undergarments, it is generally-desired to havethe front of the neck opening lower than the neck. opening of an outside garment, such as a sport shirt, worn therewith so. that the undergarment will not. be seen, hence the. provision of a. deeper front neck opening as herein describedv has a considerable advantage over conventional garments when worn as undershirts.

The garment body is finished: by stitching together theoverlyingedges at the sides of the back and front and along the bottom of the sleeves with the;. continuous seams 44 and 46. As seen in Fig. 3, the seams 44 and 46 are continued downwardly along the curved lower corners of the back and front forming portions corresponding to the curved corners 24 and 26 of the pattern l2, so that the opening at the bottom of the garment body will have a smaller circumference than the remainder of the body portion. Thus, while the lower edge portion of the earment body can be slid down over the buttocks. itwill fit tightly over the buttocks of the wearer whereby to resist creeping-up of the garment when worn. Further, the curved portions of the seams at the. locations where the lower edges of the sleeves join to the body portion, corresponding to the curved corners 28 and 30 of the pattern, increase the comfort to the wearer, as will be referred to more fully hereinafter.

The garment is completed, as in Fig. 4, by the addition of a preferably knitted collarette 48 which is attached, as by a seam, around the neck ,opening 32a, and the edges of the sleeves may be suitably hemmed, as shown.

The completed garment, thus provided, is free of any seams inthe shoulder area. The absence of seams in the shoulder areas not only increases the comfort to the wearer, but also increases the useful life of the garment since seams in those areas are subjected to severe strain and tend to break open. In conventional garments having shoulder seams and sleeve setting in seams there necessarily is anzintersecting of the overlook stitching of those seams, and the point of intersection is generally a weakened point. Moreover, shoulder seams are uncomfortable when the wearer of the garment carries any Weight on the shoulder, such as a strap supporting a bag, or a rifle or pack as carried by men in the armed forces. The advantages accruing from the elimination of the shoulder seams and the setting in", seams ofgarments made in accordance with the present invention will, therefore, be readily appreciated.

It will also be noted that the. body portion of the. completed garment is laterally yieldable in the direction of the two-headed arrow of Fig. 4 by reason of the lateral yieldability of the tube 10 fromwhich it is formed, and this feature insuresthat garments constructed according to this invention, when fashioned from a tube of knitted material, will readily conform to the :contours of the wearer's torso to provide freedom of movement and to afford maximum comfort. .In addition,,the method of producing the garments according to this invention reduces to. a minimumjthe, waste. of material in cutting the blanks from theflattepsdtube, andalso reduces the labor involved in completing the body portion in that the seams 44 and 46 can be formed in one stitching operation and the sleeves, being integral with the body portion, need not be set-in.

The great saving in labor and material resulting from the present. invention will be appreciated when it is considered that the tube of material from which the garment blanks are cut may be as long as 150 feet and in the entire length of the tube the only wasted material is the short piece at the beginning and at the end of the tube and the small sections removed to provide the neck opening; there being no waste of material whatever between the blanks. Looking at the savings in material from another viewpoint, ina lot of about twenty dozen garments cut from a single tube the only loss is V in the said small pieces. From a comparison viewpoint, if the garment blanks, such as shown in Fig. 2 were to be cut from a fiat sheet of fabric, it will be appreciated thatthere would be a comparatively large loss of material. In fact each blank would result in the loss of four sections equivalent in size to the single section lost at the beginning and the end of the entire length of the tube as in the method of the present invention. This would means, in lots of twenty dozen, 01' 240 garments, there would be 960 such sections lost as compared with two such sections lost by the method of the present invention.

It will also be appreciated that, since the sleeves of the finished garment are formed from the portions lBa of the blank which are cut with a single pattern, the sleeves will be uniformly of the same length, and since the length of stem l8 of the pattern, defining the lengths of the sleeves, is equal to the width of the pattern portions defining one-half of the width of the back and front of the garment, the sleeves uniformly have lengths equal to one-half the width of the body portion of the garment to thereby conform-to established specifications relating to garments of the indicated character. It will be understood that if a longer or shorter garment is desired it is merely necessary to increase or decrease, respectively, the length of the cap of the T-shaped pattern; and likewise if it is desired to provide a garment with wider or narrower sleeves it is merely necessary to increase or decrease, respectively, the width of the stem of the T-shaped pattern. It also will be understood that, regardless of any increase or decrease in the length of the cap or the width of the stem, the sleeve length will remain uniform in length, due to the cutting of the blanks along the longitudinal center line of the flattened tube.

It will also be seen that by cutting the blanks from the flattened tube with arcuate cuts which provide an arcuate or rounded portion at the arm pit portions under the sleeves adjacent the body, the stitching of the side edges of the blank, including the stitching under the sleeves is great- 1y facilitated as compared with a sharp or squared cut, in that the operator in performing the stitching operation can continue with a single stitching operation along the side edges of the body of the garment, around the said arcuate portion, and longitudinally along the bottom of the sleeve. Moreover, by providing the said rounded portions the wearer has greater comfort in that he can raise his arms readily without binding at the said portions and when the arms are lowered the excess material at the said rounded portions will fold under the sleeve into the arm pits, the advantage of which will be apparent.

Referring now to Figs. 58, inclusive of the drawings, a garment of the character indicated constructed according to another embodiment of the invention is there shown in various stages of production. In Fig. 5 an elongated, flattened tube 50 is illustrated, partly broken away at its lower end, to uncover the underlying layer thereof. Patterns I2, l4 and it are positioned on the tube and have the same shape and relationship as the similarly numbered patterns heretofore described in connection with Figs. 1-4. The tube 50 is provided with longitudinally extending zones 52 and 54, and 56 and 58, positioned circumferentially on the tube so that, when the tube is flattened, the zones 52 and 54 of the upper layer overlie the zones 56 and 58, respectively, of the lower layer (Fig. 5). The zones 52, 54, 56 and 58 are further preferably spaced apart substantially equidistantly so that, with the tube flattened as shown, the zones extend under the mid-width of the body portion defining caps and the mid-length of the sleeve defining stems of the T-shaped patterns superposed thereon. Each zone is formed of a material that is more yieldable laterally than the remainder of the tube and in the preferred embodiment is formed integral with the less yieldable remainder of the latter. Such integral, laterally yieldable zones may be provided in a circularly knitted tube by forming the latter with suitably spaced sections of an accordion knit such as is illustrated and described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,201,980, wherein a self-pleating machine knitted, double rib fabric has fewer wales on the inner surface at the fold lines than at the outer surface of the fold lines. For example, the knitted fabric, at the accordion knitted zones, may have one or more wales missing on one surface at every sixth, eighth or tenth Wale position and leave two adjacent wales missing in the other surface at every fifth and sixth, seventh and eighth, or ninth and tenth position, respectively, with the missing wales on one surface being generally equi-distantly staggered in relation to the missing wales of the other surface. The thread forming each course of the fabric is sufficiently tensioned in relation to the gauge and thickness of the thread to cause the fabric to fold itself in accordion fashion along the lines of the missing wales.

In utilizing circular, double needles row machines of the type heretofore indicated for producing the circularly knitted tube 50, the selfpleating, double rib zones 52, 54, 56 and 58 are produced by removing, or rendering ineffective and inoperative, one or two needles at regular intervals in each of the cylinder and dial rows or sets of needles in the corresponding zones of the machine, but with the spaces of the removed needles of one row being staggered in relation to the spaces of the removed needles of the other row, and then knitting each course of the thread over all of the remaining needles with sufiicient tension so as to cause the fabric to fold by itself around the points where the one or two needles are missing. A circularly knitted tube produced in this manner will be formed of a self-pleating or double-rib fabric in the zones 52, 54, 56 and 58, and a plain or jersey knit in the remainder thereof. While the zones 52, 54, 56 and 58 are preferably formed to each include three pleats or folds, it is apparent that a greater or lesser number of pleats or folds may be easily provided.

The cutting of garment forming blanks from the tube 50 proceeds in the manner previously described, that is, either through the use of the illustrated patterns and manually directed or guided cutters, or through the use of suitably shaped blanking dies in commercial practice. In any event, the blank 60 (Fig. 6), when out from the tube and spread fiat, will have the same plan form as the blank 12a of the first embodiment, and will, in addition, have parallel, longitudinally extending zones 54a and 58a on the body forming portions and zones 52a and 56a on the sleeve forming portions thereof, such zones on the blank corresponding to the similarly numbered zones of the tube 50.

When the blank 6|] is folded along the line 62 (Fig. 6) extending laterally along the medial of the sleeve forming portions thereof, and the body of the garment is finished in the same manner as the first described embodiment by stitching together the side edges and lower sleeve edges along the continuous seams 64 and 66 (Fig. '7), the laterally yieldable zones 54a and-58a will extend vertically on the front and back of the garment and over the seamless shoulders thereof (Figs. 7 and 8), while the zones 52a and 56a will extend circumferentially around the sleeves thereof. The garment thus formed may be com pleted by the addition of a collarette and the hemming of the sleeve edges, as in Fig. 4 of the first described embodiment, and will, by reason of the laterally yieldable, self-pleated zones 5 1a and 58a at the back and front permit a single size of the garment to comfortably fit and conform to the torsos of wearers of different sizes.

Further, the portions of zones 54a and 58a extending over the seamless shoulder areas of the garment afford freedom of movement to the wearers arms, while the various laterally yieldable zones permit expansion of the garment in the event that laundering thereof effects substan tial shrinkage.

Referring now to Figs. 9 and 10 of the drawing, still another form or modification of the invention is there illustrated. The garment '68 of Figs. 9 and 10 is formed of a body forming blank l2b which is produced in a manner similar to that described in connection with the blank [2a of the first described embodiment. In order to provide the lateral expansion achieved with the-construction of Figs. 5-8, inclusive, the garment 68 includes elongated inserts Hi and I2 joining the side edges of the torso covering portion as Well as the lower edges of the sleeve forming portions along the continuous pairs of seams 14 and it, respectively. The inserts Ill and 12 are formed of a material that is laterally yieldable, such as, for example, the self-pleating, double-rib fabric described above in connectionwith the zones 52, 54, 56 and 58 or a permanently pleated woven fabric of nylon and the like wherein the permanent pleats are produced by pressing the pleats therein at a temperature above the setting temperature of the synthetic fibers in a well known manner. The remainder of the garment may be inextensible or extensible material, as .desired. Where relatively inextensible material, such as woven or sheet fabric, is employed the inserts will provide the necessary yieldability for the garment. A single size of the garment 68 having the yieldable inserts l0 and 12 at the sides thereof may accommodate and fit wearers of different sizes, and will continue usable even after the portions thereof formed by the blankjlZb have been substantially shrunk by repeated laundering.

It will be seen that in cutting the garment blanks in the manner described, the. wales of the material extend in the same direction in the sleeves as in the body, and shrinkage of the fabric, if any, will be greater in the transverse direction of the body portion and in the transverse direction of the sleeves. With the garments of the modification of Figs. 9 and 10, the yieldable zones will readily yield to compensate for any such shrinkage in the body as well as in the sleeves.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides improved methods of forming polo-shirts, undershirts, pajama tops, garments of the T-shirt type and the like, wherein the garments are formed of blanks cut from circular tubes of material in a manner to reduce to a minimum the waste of material as well as the labor involved in completing the garments, and wherein the resulting garments have seamless shoulders and integral sleeves and are formed at the lower ends of the body covering portions so that such portions do not creep-up the torso of the wearers. Further, it is apparent that in the forms of the invention illustrated in Figs. 5-8 and Figs. 9 and 10 garments of theferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to those precise embodiments, as obviously various modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. The method of making garments of the class described comprising superposing two layers of fabric material joined together along at least one edge to provide a fold line extending along said one edge; cutting both layers of the material. into a blank substantially T-shaped with the cap of the T-shaped blank extending along the fold line; cutting an arcuate section out of the superimposed layers at a pointy along the fold line substantially midway of the ends of the T-shaped blank but displaced toward one end of the blank whereby the major portion of the cutout lies to oneside of the transverse centerline of the blank; opening the superimposed layers of the folded blank; folding the opened blank along the said transverse line, whereby the said major portion of the cutout becomes the front of the neck opening and the minor portion thereof becomes the back of the neck opening, and securing the side 3 edges of the blank to each other.

2. The method of making garments of the class described comprising superposing two layers of fabric material joined together along at least one edge to provide a fold line extending along said one edge; cutting both layers of the material into a blank substantially T-shaped with the cap of the T-shaped blank extending along the fold line and the stem thereof extending at right angles to the cap; cutting a substantially semicircular section out of the superimposed layers at a point whereby the said major portion of the cutout becomes the front of the neck opening and the minor portion thereof becomes the back of the neck opening, and securing the side edges of the blank to each other.

3. The method of making garments of the class described comprising flattening an elongated tube of fabric material to provide two superimposed layers of flexible material joined at the side edges thereof defining longitudinal fold edges; cutting both layers of the flattened tube along longitudinally spaced lines each having laterally extending end portions intersecting the folded edges and a longitudinal central portion and arranged to define alternately disposed, contiguous and interfitting T-shaped folded blanks therebetween with the stem sections of said T-shaped folded blanks extendin laterally; cutting both of said layers along arcuate lines each intersecting the adjacent fold edge at spaced points in the central portion of the cap section of the related T-shaped folded blank; severing said layers at the portions of the folded edges thereof defining the ends of said stem sections to provide unfolded blanks which, when spread flat, have front and back forming portions defined by the opposite ends of said cap sections with a neck opening therebetween and sleeve formin portions defined by said stem sections; refolding each of said unfolded blanks along the medial line of said sleeve forming portions thereof; and joining the adjacent free edges of each refolded blank along the sides of the front and back forming portions and along the lower sides of the sleeve forming portions.

4. The method of making garments of the class described comprising flattening an elongated tube of circularly knitted fabric which is laterally yieldable to provide two superposed layers of fabric joined at the folded side edges thereof; cutting both layers of the flattened tube alon longitudinally spaced lines each having laterally extending end portions intersecting the folded edges and a longitudinally extending central portion and arranged to define alternately disposed contiguous and interfittin T-shaped folded blanks therebetween with the stem sections of said T-shaped folded blanks extending laterally; cutting both layers along arcuate lines each intersecting the adjacent fold edge at spaced points in the central portion of the cap section of the related T-shaped folded blank; severing said layers at the portions of the folded edges thereof defining the ends of said stem sections to provide blanks, which when unfolded and spread flat, have front and back forming portions defined by the opposite ends of said cap sections with a neck opening therebetween and sleeve formin portions defined by said stem sections; refolding each of said unfolded blanks along the medial line of said sleeve forming portions thereof; and joining the adjacent free edges of each refolded blank by continuous seams along the sides of the front and back forming portions and along the contiguous lower sides of the sleeve forming portions to provide a garment having a laterally yieldable body covering portion and integral sleeves with seamless shoulders.

5. The method of making garments of the class described comprising flattening an elongated tube of flexible material to provide two superimposed layers of material joined at the folded side edges thereof; cutting both layers of the flattened tube along longitudinally spaced lines each having laterally extending end portions intersecting the folded edges and a longitudinally extending central portion joined to said end portions with arcuate connecting portions and arranged to define alternately disposed contiguous and interfitting substantially T-shaped folded blanks therebetween with the stem sections of said T-shaped folded blanks extending laterally and with rounded corners at the junctions of the stem and cap sections as well as at the base corners of the cap sections of said T-shaped folded blanks; cutting both layers along arcuate lines each intersecting the adjacent fold edge at spaced points in the central portion of the cap section of the related T-shaped folded blank; severing said layers at the portions of the folded edges thereof defining the ends of said stem sections to provide blanks which, when unfolded and spread flat, have front and back forming portions defined by the opposite end parts of said cap sections with a neck opening therebetween and sleeve forming portions defined by said stem sections; refolding each of said unfolded blanks along the medial line of the sleeve forming portions thereof; and joining the adjacent free edges of each refolded blank along the sides of the front and back forming portions from the curved lower ends thereof and along the lower sides of the sleeve forming portions so that the opening at the lower end of the torso covering portion of the resulting garment is restricted.

6. The method of making garments of the class described comprising flattening an elongated tube of flexible material to provide two superimposed layers of material joined at the folded side edges thereof; cutting both layers of the flattened tube along longitudinally spaced lines each having laterally extending end portions intersecting the folded edges and a longitudinally extending central portion and arranged to define alternately disposed contiguous and interfitting T-shaped folded blanks therebetween with the stem sections of said T-shaped folded blanks extending laterally, cutting both layers along arcuate lines defining cutouts at the folded edges in the central portions of the cap sections of said folded blanks, said arcuate lines each havin a greater radius of curvature on one side of the medial line of the stem section of the related T-shaped folded blankthan at the other side thereof; severing said layers at the portions of the folded edges thereof defining the ends of said stem sections to provide blanks which, when unfolded and spread flat, have front and back forming portions defined by the opposite end parts of said cap sections, sleeve forming portions defined by said stem sections and neck openings defined by said cutouts and eccentric relative to the medial line of the sleeve forming portions of said blanks; refolding each of said unfolded blanks along said medial line of said sleeve forming portions; and joining the adjacent free edges of each refolded blank along the sides of said front and back forming portions and along the lower sides of the said sleeve forming portions to thereby provide a garment having a neck opening dipping lower in the front than in the back.

'7. The method of making garments of the class described comprising flattening an elongated tube of flexible material to provide two superposed layers of material joined at the folded side edges thereof; cutting both layers of the flattened tube along longitudinally spaced lines each havin laterally extending end portions intersecting the folded edges and a longitudinally extending central .portion and arranged to define contiguous and interfitting T-shaped folded blanks therebetween with the stem sections of said T-shaped folded blanks extendin laterally and having lengths equal to the widths of the cap sections of said folded blanks; cutting both layers along arcuate lines each intersecting the adjacent folded edge at spaced points in the central part of the related cap section; severing said layers at the portions of the folded edges thereof defining the ends of said stem sections to provide blanks which, when unfolded and spread fiat, have front and back forming portions defined by the opposite end parts of said cap sections with a neck opening therebetween and sleeve forming portions defined by said stem sections and of lengths equal to one-half the width of the related front and back forming portions; refolding each unfolded blank along the medial line of the sleeve forming portions of said blanks; and joining the adjacent free edges of each refolded blank along the sides of the front and back formin portions and along the lower sides of the sleeve forming portions.

8. The method of making garments of the class described comprising flattening an elongated tube of flexible material to provide two superimposed layers of flexible material joined at the folded side edges thereof; cutting both layers of the flattened tube along longitudinally spaced lines each having laterally extending end portions intersecting the folded edges and a longitudlnally extending central portion and arranged to define alternately disposed and interfitting T-shaped folded blanks therebetween with the stem sections of said T-shaped folded blanks extending laterally; cutting both layers along arcuate lines each intersecting the adjacent fold edge at spaced points in the central portion of the cap section of the related T- shaped folded blank; severing said layers at the portions of the folded edges thereof defining the ends of said stem sections to provide blanks which, when unfolded and spread flat, have oppositely extending front and back forming portions defined by the opposite end parts of said cap sections with a neck openin therebetween and sleeve forming portions extending laterally from opposite sides of said blanks and defined by said stem sections; refolding each unfolded blank along the medial line of said sleeve forming portions thereof; and interposing and securing elongated, continuous strips of material between the free edges of each refolded blank extending along the opposite sides of the front and back forming portions and along the contiguous lower sides of the sleeve forming portions thereof, said elongated strips being formed of a material that is more yieldable laterally than the material forming said tube.

9. The method of making garments of the class described comprising circularly knitting an elongated tube of fabric with four longitudinal zones of a knit more yieldable laterally than the remainder of the tube; flattening the tube to provide two superposed layers of fabric joined at the folded side edges thereof with the zones of laterally yieldable knit disposed in paired, overlying relation; cutting both layers of the flattened tube along spaced apart lines each having laterally extending end portions intersecting the folded edges and a longitudinally extending central portion and defining alternately arranged and interfitting T-shaped cut fabric sections therebetween with the stem sections of said out fabric sections extending laterally and with the paired zones extendin through the stem and cap sections of said stem sections; folding each blank along the medial line of said sleeve forming portions thereof; and joining the free edges of each refolded blank along the opposite sides of the front and back portions thereof and along the contiguous lower sides of the sleeve forming portions thereof to provide a garment-having zones extending vertically at the back and front thereof and circumferentially around the sleeves thereof which are more yieldable laterally than the remainder of the garment.

10. The method of producing blanks for garments of one-piece construction comprising circularly knitting an elongated tube of fabric having four equally spaced, longitudinally extending zones of a knit more yieldable laterally than the remainder of said tube; flattening the tube to provide two superposed layers joined at the folded side edges thereof with the zones in paired, overlying relation; cutting both layers of the flattened tube along longitudinally spaced apart lines each having laterally extending end portions intersecting the folded edges and a longitudinally extending central portion and defining alternately arranged contiguous and interfitting T-shaped folded blanks therebetween with the stem sections of such folded blanks extending laterally and with the paired zones extending through the stem and cap sections of such folded blanks; cutting both layers along arcuate lines disposed outwardly of said paired zones and each intersecting the adjacent folded edge at spaced points in the central part of the related cap section; and severing said layers of the flattened tube at the portions of the folded edges thereof defining the ends of said stem sections to provide garment forming blanks each of which, when unfolded and spread flat, includes front and back forming portions and a shoulder forming portion therebetween having a neck opening, and sleeve forming portions extending laterally from the opposite sides of said shoulder forming portion, said front, back, shoulder and sleeve forming portions having parallel zones of the knit more yieldable laterally than the remainder of the blank.

11. A garment of the class described formed of flexible material comprising back and front portions integral at the top sections thereof, a neck opening formed centrally in said top sections, oppositely directed sleeve portions extending laterally from the sides of said top sections and integral therewith, and a contiguous elongated insert at each side of the garment joining together the adjacent side edges of said back and front portions and the contiguous lower edges of said sleeve portions, said elongated inserts being formed of a material more yieldable laterally than the remainder of the garment.

12. A garment of the class described formed of flexible material comprising back and front portions integral at the top sections thereof and formed with spaced apart substantially vertical zones of a material more yieldable laterally than the remainder of said portions, a neck opening formed in said top sections between said zones, oppositely directed sleeve portions extending laterally from the sides of said top sections and integral with the latter, and means joining the adjacent side edges of said back and front portions and the contiguous lower edges of said sleeve portions.

13. A garment of the class described formed of a flexible material according to claim 12, wherein each of said sleeve portions is formed with a circumferentially extending zone of a material more yieldable laterally than the remainder thereof.

14. A blank for forming a garment of the class described comprising a substantially rectangular portion providing back and front forming sections of equal dimensions at the opposite end parts thereof, said blank having a neck opening formed therein centrally of the longitudinal center line of said rectangular portion but disposed eccentrically relative to the transverse center line thereof, said back and front forming sections having longitudinally extending zones of a material more yieldable laterally than the remainder thereof and disposed at either side of said neck opening, and substantially rectangular projections extending laterally from the central parts of the opposite side edges of said rectangular portion in symmetrical relation to said transverse center line to provide sleeve forming portions.

15. A blank for forming a garment of the class described comprising a substantially rectangular portion providing back and front forming sections of equal dimensions at the opposite end parts thereof, said blank having a neck opening formed therein centrally of the longitudinal center line of said rectangular portion but disposed eccentrically relative to the transverse center line thereof, and substantially rectangular projections extending laterally from the central parts of the opposite side edges of said rectangular portion in symmetrical relation to said transverse center line to provide sleeve forming portions, each of said laterally extending projections having a transversely extending zone of a material more yieldable laterally than the remainder thereof.

WILLIAM W. ARTZT.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,126,186 Friedland Aug. 9, 1938

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