US2651043A - Shirt collar - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 8, 1953 R. w. M CREERY 2,651,043

SHIRT COLLAR Filed Jan. 18, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 3.

BY W 3 A TToRA/EYS.

ept. 8, 1953 R. w. MCCRIEERY SHIRT COLLAR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 18, 1952 FIG. 9.

' INVENTOR. ROBERT W. MLREFRY A TT RNEY$ Patented Sept. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHIRT COLLAR Robert W. McCreery, Port Washington, N. Y., as-

signor to Phillips-Jones Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 18, 1952, Serial No. 267,069

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to a new and improved foldable shirt-collar which is especially adapted for sport shirts.

The invention relates to a collar which, when folded, has a top longitudinal seamless fold-line, along which at least some of the fabric layers of the collar are bent downwardly to provide a neckband and an outer top or face-band. This type of collar is known in the trade as a one-piece collar, even though it is made of a plurality of layers of fabric, because the neck-band and the top or face-band have layers which are integral at said top seamless longitudinal fold-line.

In distinction, a collar which comprises a neckband and a top or face-band which are originally made separately, and which are subsequently sewed to each other along the top line of the collar, is designated as a two-piece collar. Such two-piece collars are illustrated in U. S. Patent No. 1,829,939, dated November 3, 1931 and No. 1,897,486, dated February 14, 1933.

The one-piece collar is used extensively on sport shirts which can be worn open at the neck.

As hitherto made, it has been difiicult to provide a proper top longitudinal fold-line in a onepiece collar. Such collars are made and ironed in the flat condition. When it is attempted to bend the collar around the neck, the collar wrinkles and forms irregular pleats at its top longitudinal fold-line, which injures the appearance of the collar and makes it uncomfortable.

There is no natural top longitudinal fold-line in prior one-piece shirt-collars, and it is necessary to guess at the proper line of longitudinal fold.

According to the preferred embodiment of my invention, to which the invention is not limited, I provide a one-piece collar which is made of five layers of fabric. These five layers include an outer facelayer and an inner face-layer, which are folded along the top, longitudinal fold-line of the collar and which have panels which are located both in the neck-band and in the top.

There is also a main inner layer which is folded along said top longitudinal fold-line. Said main inner layer is located inwardly of said face-layers, and has panels in both the neck-band and top.

There is also a rear or neck-band reinforcing layer, which is located wholly in the neck-band and which is not folded at said longitudinal foldline. This is located directly adjacent the rear or neck-band panel of the main inner layer and between the main inner layer and the outer face layer.

There is also a face-band reinforcing layer,

2 which is located wholly in the face-band, and which is not folded at said longitudinal fold-line.

This face-band reinforcing layer is located directly adjacent the front panel of said main inner layer and between the main inner layer and the outer face-layer.

The outer face-layer is folded at the top of the collar to provide 'a rear panel which is located outwardly of and directly adjacent said rear reinforcing layer; and to provide a front panel which is located outwardly of and directly adjacent said front reinforcing layer.

These front and rear reinforcing layers are sewed to the main inner layer, with the adjacent longitudinal edges of said reinforcing layers spaced transversely from each other, in order to provide a longitudinal fold-zone.

Numerous other objects and elements of my invention are disclosed in the annexed description and drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention.

Fig. l is a top plan view which shows the five layers or pieces of fabric from which the colla is made;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, which shows the front and rear reinforcing pieces or layers initially sewed to the main inner layer by curved 1ongitudinal lines of stitches at the adjacent longitudinal edges of said reinforcing pieces or layers;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4 is a plan view, which shows how the two face pieces or layers are stitched to the three pieces or layers of Fig. 2, in order to provide a turnable collar-form;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of said collar-form of Figs. 4 and 5, after said collar-form has been turned;

Fig. '7 is a section on the line 'l--! of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view which shows the turned collar-form of Figs. 6 and '7, folded along the longitudinal fold-line of the collar; and

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 99 of Fig. 8.

Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 6 are substantially to the same scale and they accurately show the shapes and proportion of the parts.

The main inner layer or piece I, which is folded as shown in Fig. 9 to provide a front panel and a rear panel, has a top longitudinal convex edge Id, a bottom longitudinal edge to which has the double curvature shown in Fig. 1, straight sideedges la and lb which are upwardly inclined towards each other, top corners I e and If, and bottom blunted corners Ia and Ih.

Said main inner layer l is made of soft and flexible material. As one example, this may be a woven cotton lawn fabric. Such lawn fabric, when just off the loom, woven in a width of 40 inches, has 6.90 yards per pound of cotton. As one practical working example, the length of the longitudinal straight line between top corners Ia and If has a length of 15.5 inches, and the height of main inner piece I is four inches at its vertical median line.

The front and rear reinforcing pieces or layers 3 and 2 are made, as one example, of woven cotton lining fabric. Such lining fabric, in a width of 38 inches, has a weight of one pound per three yards.

Front reinforcing layer 3 has'a toplongitudinal 1 concave edge 3a, top corners 3g and 3h, abottom double-curvature longitudinal .edge 31), straight upwardly convergent edges 30 and 3d, andbottom blunted corners 3e and 3].

Rear reinforcing layer 2 has top and bottom longitudinal convex edges 2b and 2a, top corners 2g and 2h, upwardly convergent side edges 20 and 2d, and bottom corners 2e and 21.

The first operation is to assemble main inner layer I with rear reinforcing layer 2 and front reinforcing layer 3, by means of four curved and longitudinal rows 'of stitches II, which have the shape shown in Fig. 2. Thetop edges Id and 2b are then coincident; bottom edges Ia and 3b are then coincident; side edges Ia, 2c and 3c are then coincident; and side edges Ib, 2d and 3d are then coincident, and the stitches 4 extend continuously between'said coincident side edges.

Fig. 2 shows some of stitches'II omitted, and parts of layers 2 and 3 bent, in order to show the underneath layer I.

An intermediate longitudinal fold-zone 5, of single thickness, is thus provided between edges 2a and 3a.

The facing layers 6 and I are made of any suitable facing fabric or material.

The facing layer 6 has a top longitudinal convex edge 6d, a bottom longitudinaldouble-curvature edge 60, and upwardly convergent side'edges 6a and 6b.

The facing layer I has a top longitudinal convex edge Id, a bottom double-curvature longitudinal edge Ia and straight and upwardly convergent side edges Ia and Ib.

The facing layers are originally assembled in abutting relation "with the three layers of the initial assembly of Fig.2, by means of side stitches along the two side lines 8, and by bottom stitches along the single line 9. The representation of the stitches at the right side line 8 is omitted in Fig. 4, and the representation of some of the stitches along line 9 is also omitted, in order to show the relation between the five layers of Fig. 4.

These fivelayers are not stitched or otherwise connected to each other in Fig. 4 along their four coincident-top convex edges E.

The collar-form of Fig. 4 is then turned, so that the inner layers I, 2 and 3 are located between the facing layers 6 and I. The convex top'edges of the flat turned form of Fig. 7 are coincident.

The flat turned form of Figs. 6 and 7 is now folded along the median longitudinal line ofthe longitudinal folding-zone 5. In the folded collar of Figs. 8 and 9, the top edge of rear reinforcing layer 2 is its convex edge 2a and the top edge of front reinforcing layer 3 is its concave edge 3a.

The folded collar is thus provided with a top longitudinal fold which is .made of only three layers of fabric, namely,the layers I,-.6 and :I.

The flat turned form is thus folded naturally to provide a neck-band N and a face-band or top F without any substantial puckers at the foldzone, when the folded collar is bent to conform to the neck.

As shown in Fig. 9, the face layer 6 has a front panel which has an upwardly bent flap 670, which abuts and is directly adjacent the body of the front panel'of face layer '6.

The face layer I has a front panel which has an upwardly bent flap Ilc, which abuts flap 6k.

.an upwardly bent flap Ila, which abuts the body of'said'fr'ont panel and flap 3k.

Hence .the front bottom edge-portion of the face-band F of the folded collar has eight layers of fabric I-3-I-IIc-3k-I7c-6k-6, from the front face of the neck-band F to its rear face. These eight layers are fixed to each other by the stitches 9 and the inwardly bent flaps Ik-3Ic- IIo-6Ic, have coincident inner or upper edges.

The bottom edge E of the neck-band N is sewed to the neck-opening of the shirt. The neck-band has four layers of fabric, and the collar has eight layers at and adjacent the top longitudinal fold-line.

I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, but numerous changes and omissions and additions and substitutions can be made without departing from its'scope.

Thus, I can omit either of the reinforcing layers 2 and 3, although the use of both said layers is highly preferred.

The tops of reinforcing layers 2 and 3 extend substantially to the fold of the face layer I and below the fold of the collar, as shown in Fig. 9. If only one reinforcing layer 2 or 3 is used, .the top of said single reinforcing layer has the respective position which is above mentioned.

Whenever I refer to stitches, I can use equivalent fastening or fixing means.

The folded collar shown in Fig. 9 comprises an outer folded layer I, an intermediate folded layer I, and an inner folded layer 6. Each said foldable layer is continuous at the seamless top longitudinal fold of the collar and each said folded layer has a neck-band panel and a face-band panel. The neck-band N also includes a neckband reinforcing layer 2, which is located intermediate the neck-band panels of the outer folded layer I and of the intermediate folded layer I. The face-band F also includes a face-band reinforcing layer 3 which is located intermediate the face-band panels of the outer folded layer I and the intermediate folded layer I. The neck-band N is of equal thickness and it consists of the neckband panels of the folded layers I, I and 6 and the neck-band reinforcing layer 2, which abut each other in the neck-band N.

I claim:

A collar comprising an integral inner foldable layer having a neck-band panel portion and a face-band panel portion, an integral intermediate foldable layerhaving aneck-band panel portion and a face-band panel portion, an integral outer foldable laye having a neck-band panel portion and a face-band panel portion constituting the visible portion of the collar when the collar is folded, a face-band reinforcing layer disposed between the face-bandpanel portion'of said intermediate and outer foldable layers, a neck-band reinforcing layer disposed between theneck-bandpaneLportions of said intermediate and outer foldable layers, each of said reinforcing layers being substantially stifier than said intermediate foldable layer and the adjacent edges of said reinforcing layers being spaced apart to form a fold zone, all said face-band panel portions and said face-band reinforcing layer having upwardly bent bottom flaps which are fixed to each other and which are located between the lower part of the face-band panel of said inner layer and the lower part of the faceband panel of said outer layer, the upwardly bent flap of said face-band reinforcing layer being disposed between the upwardly bent flap of said intermediate layer and the upwardly bent flap of said outer layer.

ROBERT W. McCREERY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,443,932 Sonnenfeld et al. Jan. 30, 1923 2,152,093 Rubenstein Mar. 28, 1939 2,152,094 Rubenstein Mar. 28, 1939 2,408,570 Michael Oct. 1, 1946 2,418,058 Touloumis Mar. 25, 1947 2,433,522 Lowe Dec. 30, 1947

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