US2898601A - Reversible, knife-pleated skirt of the wrap-around type - Google Patents

Description

1959 D. PRESSON 2,898,601

REVERSIBLE, KNIFE-PLEATED SKIRT OF THE WRAP-AROUND TYPE Filed May 10, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 11, 1959 PRESSQN I 2,898,601

REVERSIBLE, KNIFE-PLEATED SKIRT OF THE WRAP-AROUND TYPE Filed May 10, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f PJ United States PatentO REVERSIBLE, KNIFE-PLEATED SKIRT OF THE WRAP-AROUND TYPE David Presson, Newton, Mass., assignor to Century Sportswear Co., Inc., Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 10, 1957, Serial No. 658,351

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-411) This invention pertains to wearing apparel and, more particularly, to a reversible, knife-pleated skirt of the kind which opens from top to bottom and which, for convenience in distinguishing it from a circular skirt such as is disclosed in Patent No. 2,791,779, dated May 14, 1957, which issued to David Presson on his copending application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial No. 582,017, filed May 1, 1956 (of which the present application is a continuation-in-part), is here termed a wrap around skirt. However, although the skirt of the present invention is thus termed a wrap-around skirt, it is herein illustrated and described as provided with buttons, as one example of means for closing the opening. 7

i The skirt disclosed in the above-mentioned application is of circular type, having a placket opening in the hip portion to facilitate donning it. However, by reason of the novel construction disclosed in the aforesaid application, the skirt is reversible. Because the pleats have the appearance of being open from waistband to the lower edge of the skirt at one side, while, at the other side, they are closed at the hip portion, the skirt is distinctively different with respect to the appearance of the pleating at opposite sides. Thus, a single pleated skirt affords the wearer what is, in efiect, a change of apparel heretofore obtainable only by the use of two separate skirts.

The present invention has for an object the provision of a reversible, knife-pleated skirt of the wrap-around type (as above defined) as contrasted with the circular skirt of the aforesaid application which not only has the distinctive appearance at its opposite sides resultant from a difference in the pleating construction but which, in addition, embodies a structure which results in a further difference in appearance at its opposite sides. A further object is to provide a reversible, knife-pleated skirt of the wrap-around type, that is to say, a skirt which has an opening which extends from its upper to its lower edge and located, for example, at its front, with fastener venience, been termed the front or outer side of the skirt of the present invention, and showing one pleat opened out from the lower edge of the skirt upwardly so far as is permitted by the closure seam at the hip portion;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the inner or rear side of the skirt, with one pleat opened out from the waistband to the lower edge of the skirt;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section, to larger scale than Fig. 1, substantially on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section, to larger scale than Fig. 2, substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic transverse section in substantially the same plane as that of Fig. 3, but showing one side of the front opening, the thickness of the material being indicated by -a single line, and

I Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic transverse section, showing the overlapping panels which form the closure for the front opening, the material being indicated by a single line.

A pleat or plait is broadly defined in the New Century Dictionary as A fold of definite even width made by doubling cloth or the like upon itself, and pressing, stitching or otherwise fastening it in place.

While it is true that the skirt herein disclosed is designed so that it may be worn with either side out, the terms outer or front and inner or rear" are employed to avoid unnecessary verbiage, but without limiting intent, in describing the structure as shown in the drawings and, in particular, Figs. 1 and 2, respectively. Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral 10 designates the waistband of the skirt and the numeral 11 designates the body portion of the skirt, the skirt having pleats. At the inner or rear side, illustrated in Fig. 2,

means, if desired, for closing said opening, and having 1;

means providing finished edges at opposite sides of the opening, for example, a panel member at one side of said opening designed to overlap an edge-most pleat at the opposite side of said opening and which is of a character such as to prevent gapping or wrinkling of the skirt at 51% the neighborhood of the opening. A further object is to provide a reversible, knife-pleated skirt of the wraparound type, having a front opening and having stiifening means extending along one edge of said opening to aiford a proper anchorage for fastener elements. A further ob- 5.1,.

ject is to provide a reversible, knife-pleated skirt of the wrap-around type having at one side a panel extending from the waistband to the lower edge and whose exposed surface may be of a diiferent material and/ or of a different color from the remainder of the skirt. Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be pointed out in the following more detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

a. Fig. 1 is an elevation showing what has here, for conby a single line.

. inFig.2.

these pleats are open from waistband to the hem. One of these pleats is shown as having been turned back at B to show that its edge fold is free to separate from the underlying material throughout the length of the pleat.

, Referring to Fig. l which shows the other or outer side of the skirt, the knife pleats are closed at the upper or hip portion of the skirt, that is to say, from immediately below the Waistband 10 downwardly, for example for a distance of six inches, by seams S which extend along the fold lines of the pleats and unite the edges of the pleats to the underlying material. One of the pleats has been shown turned back at P to show that below the lower ends of the seams S (that is to say, below the hip region) the pleats are open and free to be opened out in the same way as the pleats at the inner side of the skirt. The waistband is provided with button holes and with buttons 14, 14 and 15, 15 at opposite sides of the skirt so that the waistband may be closed with the same fasteners whether the skirt be arranged as shown in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2.

' In Fig. 5 of the drawings, the arrangement of the pleats and the seams. for closing some of the pleats is shown diagrammatically, the material of the skirt being shown Thus, in this diagram, the character P1 designates a pleat at the front or outer side of the skirt,

that is to say, that side of the skirt which is illustrated in Fig. 1, while the character B designates a pleat] atth,

rear or inner side of the skirt, that is the side illustrated? Herein, for ease in description and referring to the diagrammatic section of Fig. 5, a single outer or front pleat P for example, is considered to comprise that portion of the fabric which extends from the fold F to the fold F and from the fold F to the fold F, the

will be noted that the exposed portion 16 of the front pleat P and the exposed portion 17 of the rear pleat B are parts of an uninterrupted single ply web W of the material, and that this single ply of the material intervenes between the edge fold F of front pleat P and the edge fold F of the rear pleat B (which is next to the right of rear pleat B), and that the exposed portion 17 of said inner or rear pleat B merges uninterruptedly with the exposed portion 16 of the next front pleat P to the right of front pleat P, forming the single ply web W. The exposed front or outer portion 16 of the pleat P is joined at the fold F with the concealed portion C of the rear pleat B (which is next to the right of the pleat B). The concealed portion C of the front pleat P is joined at the fold F with the exposed portion 17 of the rear pleat B. It will be noted that each pleat, whether at one or the other side of the skirt, comprises an inner portion C, C or C which is normally concealed from view and which is common to front and rear pleats at opposite sides of the skirt.

It will be noted, by inspection of Fig. 5, that the fold F of the front pleat P (where its exposed portion 18 join its concealed portion C) lies to the right of the fold F of the rear or inner pleat B (where the exposed portion 20 of the latter pleat joins its concealed portion C In other Words, the fold F of the rear pleat B is laterally offset (to the left) and overlaps the fold F of the front pleat P However, between these overlapping folds F and F there is a single thickness or ply of the material (designated by the character W) which extends from the fold F to the fold F The stitches of a longitudinally extending seam S pass through the exposed and concealed portions 18 and C of the front plea-t P, just to the left of the fold F, and also through the single thickness of material designated by the character W. However, these stitches are not caught in the material forming either the concealed or exposed portions C or 20, respectively, of the overlapping rear or inner pleat B The stitches forming the seam S are spaced slightly to the left of the fold F (the spacing being exaggerated in Fig. 5, merely for clearness in illustration). In actual practice, the seam is sufiieiently near to said fold so that the seam is normally concealed from view at the rear or inner side of the skirt by the fold F of the pleat B A similar seam S passes through the plies 16 and C of the front pleat P and through that single thickness of the material (which is designated by the character W which extends from the fold F to the fold F A seam similar to the seams S and S secures the fold of each front pleat to the single thickness of material which intervenes between said fold and the overlapping fold of a corresponding rear pleat. As respects all of these seams, while they are visible at the front side of the skirt (that is to say, the side shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings), thestitches forming these seams are not normally visible at the inner side of the skirt (if they are properly located relative to the fold lines F, F F etc.). With this arrangement ofv seams, the pleats at the inner or rear side are free to open from waistband to hem as shown in Fig.2. However, the seam S, S etc. limit the expansibility of the at the hip portion, thus providing a trim fit, whi1e' imparting to the skirt a distinctively different appearance at its opposite sides.

As diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 6, an opening G which, as indicated by the position of the closure panel N in Fig. l, is located at the front of the garment, extends from the midpoint of the waistband to the lower edge of the garment. This opening is defined by the finished edges of the inner panel N and the outer panel N. The margin of the concealed ply C of the rear pleat B is infolded rearwardly and secured to the exposed ply 21 of the pleat B by a sewed seam S which extends from the waistband 10 to the lower edge of the skirt, thus forming the closure panel N which has the same external appearance as any other of the rear pleats. The margin of the ply C of the material which would normally form the concealed ply of the front pleat P is infolded forwardly and secured to the front ply 22 of the pleat P by a sewed seam S which extends from the waistband to the lower edge of the skirt, thus forming the rear element of the front closure panel. In order that the front panel N may be stiffer than a normal pleat, thereby to prevent gapping of the opening G when the panels are united by the fastener means and also, in order that the front panel may be distinctive in appearance as compared with normal front pleats and as compared with the rear panel N a finish strip A is provided. This finish strip A is separate from the material forming the pleats and may, for example, be of different material, or of the same material, but with its pattern distinctively arranged or of a different color. Preferably; this strip A is somewhat wider than the normal front pleat. The longitudinal margins of the strip A are infolded rearwardly. The folded right-hand margin, as shown in Fig. 6, is secured to the plies 22 and C by the sewed seam The left-hand folded margin of the strip A substantially abuts the edge fold F of the front pleat P (next to the panel) and is secured to the web portion W by the sewed seam S". If desired, a strip of stiffening material M, for example, buckram, may be interposed between the finish strip A and the ply 22, to impart additional stiffness and strength to the panel.

When the front panel N is lapped over the rear panel N the opening G is thus closed. Fastener means may be provided, if desired, to keep the panels in closed relation. As here shown, by way of example, each panel is provided with a series of button holes. Buttons 25, normally exposed at the front of the front panel, and buttons 26, normally exposed at the rear of the rear panel, have shanks which pass through registering button holes in the two panels and are united by links or rings 27. Thus, whether one or the other side of the skirt is exposed during wear, a row of buttons is visible at its front; and, by unbuttoning these buttons, the panels may be separated to facilitate donning or dofiing the skirt but without danger of losing the buttons. Obviously, equivalent fastener elements may be substituted for the buttons and/or button holes, or if preferred, no fasteners need be employed, particularly when the opening G is located at the side or rear.

In the skirt illustrated, the opening G is shown at the center of the front of the skirt, but it is contemplated, as within the purview of the invention, to locate the opening otherwise, for instance at one side of the skirt; and, it is further contemplated that whereas, as illustrated, the pleats at the outside of the skirt, for example, all overlap in the same direction circumferentially of the skirt, they may be so arranged as to overlap in opposite directions at opposite sides respectively of the opening G.

While one desirable embodiment of the invention has herein been illustrated and described by way of example, it is to be understood that the invention is broadly inelusive of any and all modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reversible, wrap-around, knife-pleated skirt of the kind wherein the pleating of the skirt appears differently at its opposite sides, the skirt being so finished thatflit may be worn with either side exposed, and having a waistband provided with fastener elements: and an opening extending from its upper to its lower edge so that the skirt may be opened out to lie substantially flat, the skirt having a hem at its lower edge, the hem, when the skirt is so opened out, being of a length substantially exceeding the length of the waistband so that the skirt, when worn, flares downwardly from the waistband to the hem, the waistband being permanently united, throughout its length, to the pleated material of the body of the skirt by sewed seams, both waistband and hem extending, without interruption, from one edge to the other of said opening, the material of the skirt, from the waistband to the hem, being arranged to form knifepleats throughout the major portion of its circumference, the edge folds of the pleats at the outer or front side of the skirt facing in the same direction circumferentially of the skirt and the edge folds of all of the pleats at the inner or rear side of the skirt facing in the opposite direction circumferentially of the skirt, each pleat comprising an exposed ply and a concealed ply, the exposed ply of a front pleat merging with the exposed ply of a rear pleat to form a single-ply web portion, the edge fold of each front pleat being united to that web portion which lies directly behind it by a seam extending downwardly from the waistband but terminating in the lower part of the hip region of the skirt, said seam being located closely adjacent 16 said edge fold of the front pleat and having its stitches passing through three plies only of the material, that is to say, through both plies of the front pleat and said web portion, each such seam normally being concealed at the rear side of the skirt by an overlapping edge fold of a rear pleat, the opening which extends from the top to the bottom of the skirt normally being closed by overlapping panels, the panel atthe inside of the skirt being substantially identical in appearance with that of the normal pleat at that side of the skirt but having the margin of its concealed ply infolded rearwardly and united to its exposed ply by a sewed seam extending from the waistband to the lower edge of the skirt, and the panel at the front or outside of the skirt comprising a pleat generally similar to a normal front pleat, except that the margin of the material which would normally form its concealed ply is infolded forwardly and united to the ply which would normally be exposed by a sewed seam extending from the waistband to the lower edge of the skirt, said front panel also comprising an outer, finish ply disposed forwardly of that ply of said front pleat which would normally be exposed, said finish ply being separate from the material forming the pleats and having its margins infolded rearwardly and united by seams to that ply of said front pleat which would normally be the exposed ply, said seams extending from the waistband to the lower edge of the skirt.

2. A reversible, wrap-around pleated skirt of the kind wherein the pleating of the skirt appears differently at its opposite sides, the skirt being so finished that it may be worn with either side exposed, and having a waistband provided with fastener elements and having an opening extending from its upper to the lower edge so that the skirt may be opened out to lie substantially flat, the skirt having a hem at its lower edge, the hem, when the skirt is so opened out, being of a length substantially exceeding the length of the waistband so that the skirt, when worn, flares downwardly from the waistband to the hem, the waistband being permanently united, throughout its length, to the pleated material of the body of the skirt by sewed seams, both waistband and hem extending, without interruption, from one edge to the other of said opening, the material of the skirt, from the waistband to the hem being arranged to form knife pleats throughout the major portion of its circumference, the edge folds of the pleats at the outer or front side of the skirt facing oppositely, circumferentially of the skirt, from the edge folds of the pleats at the inner or rear side of the skirt, each pleat comprising a concealed portion and an exposed portion, said portions of each pleat joining at a corresponding longitudinally extending edge fold, the edge fold of an outer or front pleat being offset laterally from the edge fold of an inner or rear pleat so that the edge folds of said pleats overlap, there being a single ply of the skirt material intervening between the overlapping edge folds of said pleats, each front pleat being closed by a single longitudinal seam extending downwardly from the waistband but terminating in the lower part of the hip region of the skirt, the stitches forming said seam passing through the material of the exposed and concealed plies of said :front pleat and through the aforesaid single ply of material which intervenes between the edge folds of said overlapping pleats, said seam being so located that its stitches are normally concealed by the edge fold of the overlapping rear pleat, the edge folds of all of the inner pleats being free to be opened at the inner side of the skirt, thus imparting to the inner side of the skirt the appearance of having open pleats from the waistband to the hem although at the hip portion of the skirt, the expansion of the skirt girthwise is limited by the aforesaid seams, the front and rear pleats which are located at opposite sides, respectively of said opening, being so constructed andarranged as to form normally overlapping panels, each having a finished free edge, the panel, at one side at least of the skirt, comprising a pleat generally similar to a normal pleat at the same side, except that the margin of the material which would normally form' its concealed ply is infolded and united to that ply, which would normally be exposed at said side of the skirt, by a sewed seam extending from the waistband to the lower edge of the skirt, the other panel comprising an outer finish ply disposed outwardly of that ply of said pleat which would normally be exposed, said finish ply being separate from the material which forms the pleats, and having its margins infolded and united by seams to that ply of the pleat which would normally be the exposed ply, said seams extending from the waistband to the lower edge of the skirt, the opening which extends from the upper to the lower edges of the skirt being located at the front of the skirt with the panels extending from the mid-point of the waistband down to the mid-point of the hem, said panels having registering button holes and connecting elements, passing through those button holes of the respective panels which register with each other, for joining buttons which are normally exposed at the outsides of the two respective panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 325,525 Frankel a- Sept. 1, 1885 2,090,724 Drumm Aug. 24, 1937 2,646,571 Terry July 28, 1953 2,791,779 Presson May 14, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 33,501 Austria Feb. 15, 1908 480,975 Canada Feb. 12, 1952 729,664 Great Britain May 11, 1955

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