US3123833A

US3123833A - Bowl shaped hoop skirt

Info

Publication number: US3123833A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1964-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 1981-03-10

Description

March 10, 1964 G. w. H. STEVENS 3,123,833

BOWL SHAPED HOOP SKIRT Filed Feb. 20, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet l M M A J a m 1 March 10, 1964 e. w. H. STEVENS 3,123,833

BOWL SHAPED HOOP SKIRT Filed Feb. 20. 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5. 26

March 10, 1964 G. w. H- STEVENS 3,123,833

BOWL SHAPED HOOP SKIRT Filed Feb. 20, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 590 779 Wilma: Hai a: izFI FZZE United States Patent 3,123,833 BUWL SHAPED H001 SKIRT Geoffrey William Hedges Stevens, Merryway, 159 Mytchett Road, Mytchett, Aldershot, England Filed Feb. 20, 1961, Ser. No. 90,264 3 Claims. (Cl. 2216) This invention relates to skirts and more particularly to skirts having maximum fullness at a level between the waist and hem thereof.

In a skirt in which maximum fullness occurs at the hem, the form which the skirt takes can be controlled simply by the provision of a stiffened or hooped petticoat. However, where the fullness of the hem is reduced to a value below that of the maximum fullness of the skirt, further means for controlling the shape of the skirt beyond a stiffened or hooped petticoat are required.

According to the present invention a skirt having its maximum fullness at a level between the waist and the hem thereof comprises an outer skirt and inner skirt means adapted to impart the fullness to the outer skirt and to support the hem of the outer skirt at a predetermined level in relation to the waist thereof.

In one form of the invention, appropriate to skirts which are comparatively light in weight and in which the difference in fullness between the hem and the level of maximum fullness is comparatively small, the inner skirt means comprise a petticoat which is adapted closely to fit to the hips of the wearer and to impart fullness to the outer skirt and is attached to the outer skirt at or near the hem thereof and, further, is of such length as to be, when in use, held in tension by the weight of the outer skirt acting thereon.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates the components of a fitted hip yoke of the outer skirt;

FIGURE 2 illustrates the assembled position of the components shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows a detail of the mode of assembling the hip yoke;

FIGURES 4 and 5 show alternative panels from which a lower portion of the outer skirt is formed;

FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrate the manner of attaching the lower outer skirt portion to the hip yoke;

FIGURE 8 illustrates a petticoat of the skirt;

FIGURES 8a, 8b and 8c are details of the petticoat of FIGURE 8;

FIGURES 9 and 10 show alternative ways of attaching the petticoat to the outer skirt.

In the drawings, like parts are given the same reference numerals.

A skirt in accordance with the invention comprises an outer skirt 1 and a petticoat 30.

The outer skirt 1 is formed with an upper or hip yoke portion 2 and a lower portion 3. The hip yoke portion 2 is formed from five panels, namely front panel 4, rear panels 5 and side panels 6 which are seamed together to form a generally frusto-conically shaped yoke (see FIGURE 2) having a longitudinal opening 7 at the rear thereof in which is fitted a sliding clasp fastener. For fitting of the yoke to the hips of the wearer there are formed in the side panels 6 darts 8 opposite edges of which are seamed together as shown in FIGURE 2. The darts 8 extend to about half the depth of the side panels.

When the panels of the hip yoke have been assembled a band It) for the inside waist portion of the yoke is added by placing the right sides of the yoke and band Ice.

together and forming a seam 11 about one half of an inch from the upper edge of the yoke. A lining 12 is provided which, suitably, is assembled from panels similar to those shown in FIGURE 1 and is sewn to the band It by a seam 13.

At this stage the lower portion of the outer skirt is attached to the yoke as hereinafter described.

The lower portion 3 is formed from a rectangular panel 14 of fabric provided along a lower edge 15 thereof with ten equally spaced alternately long and short darts 16 each of which when sewn closes the lower edge of the panel by about one inch. Side edges 17 of the panel 14 are brought together to form a centre back seam of the lower skirt portion 3 which is then attached near its upper edge 18 to the yoke 2 at about 1 /2 inches from the lower edge of the yoke by a seam 19. During attachment of the portion 3 to the yoke the edge 13 is evenly gathered on a slack stitch made about A inch from the upper or selvedge edge 18 of the panel 14. The effect of this is to impart maximum fullness to the skirt at a level somewhat below the hip yoke.

After attachment of the portion 3 to the yoke, the latter is finished by securing thereof to the lining 12 by a seam it).

As an alternative to the panel 14 the lower skirt portion 3 can be formed from six panels 25 one of which is illustrated in FIGURE 5. The panels 25 each having an upper edge 26, a lower edge 27 and curved side edges 28, the latter edges being seamed to corresponding side edges of similar adjacent panels. The panels 25 when assembled provide the skirt portion 3 with maximum fullness somewhat below the upper edges 26 of the panels. The skirt portion 3 is then attached to the hip yoke in the manner described for the panel 14 save that no gathering of the edges 26 is required.

The petticoat 34 comprises an upper hip yoke portion 31 formed from six panels 31a shaped as shown in FIGURE 80. Provided at the upper edge of the portion 31 is an elasticated waist band 32 which imparts resilience in a direction circumferentially of the wearer.

A lower portion 33 of the petticoat is formed in either of the ways described in connection with the lower portion 3 of the outer skirt. In FIGURE 8 the portion 33 is shown as formed from a panel similar to panel 14.

At vertically spaced intervals the petticoat incorporates five horizontally disposed hoops 34 of diameter determined by the diameter of the petticoat at the relevant locations.

The uppermost hoop 34 is disposed at the base of the yoke portion 31 by folding over the lower edge of the yoke portion and forming a seam 35 to provide a tunnel 36 in which the hoop 34 is disposed. The three upper hoops below the uppermost hoop 34 are each disposed in a tunnel 37 formed by a seam 38. The lowermost hoop is either incorporated in the petticoat in the same manner as the hoops thereabove or is attached to the skirt during the joining of the petticoat to the outer skirt.

To attach the petticoat 36 to the outer skirt 1, the petticoat is placed inside the skirt with the hoop tunnels facing the outer skirt. The petticoat is of such length that it hangs some two inches shorter than the outer skirt when the elastic waist band of the petticoat is level with the top edge of the outer skirt yoke. The bottom edges of the petticoat and outer skirt are then brought together and turned back (see FIGURE 9) to form a hem into which the lowermost hoop is inserted and retained by seams 4t) and 41.

As an alternative to that illustrated in FIGURE 9, the outer skirt and petticoat may be detachably secured together as shown in FIGURE 10 according to which

lacing strips

42 and 43 are sewn to the bottom edges respectively of the outer skirt and petticoat. The lacing strips are formed each with a row of apertures 44 and secured together by a lacing member 45. It will be appreciated that when this expedient is employed, the lowermost hoop 34 is first secured near the bottom edge of the petticoat.

The hoops 34 of the petticoat, preferably, comprise nylon or poly propylene wires of diameters of the order of one to one and a half millimeters, the diameters of the uppermost hoops being greater than the lower ones. However in the case of heavy skirts the upper hoops may be covered with steel wire or strip.

Instead of having hoops in the petticoat the latter may be formed in the manner described with suitably stiffened fabric.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that instead of hip yokes for the outer skirt and petticoat there may be used plain Waist hands.

When in use the petticoat is held in tension by the Weight of the outer skirt acting thereon and in this Way the lower edge of the outer skirt is held at a desirable level, that is to say a level above that which it would assume in the absence of the petticoat. The petticoat thus serves both to impart fullness to the outer skirt and to locate the lower edge thereof.

This form of skirt is particularly useful where the fullness range of the skirt is not excessive and where the outer skirt material is comparatively light in weight.

It will, of course be understood that the outer skirt of a skirt in accordance with this invention may be attached to or formed in one with a bodice portion.

What I claim is:

1. A bowl-shaped skirt comprising an outer skirt member having a waist portion, a hem portion and a body portion which extends between the waist portion and the hem portion and which has its maximum circumferential measurement above the hem portion, an inner skirt member having a waist section, a hem section and a body section which extends between the waist section and the hem sec tion and is of the same general shape as the body portion of the outer skirt member, means for stiffening the body section of the inner skirt member in Zones transverse to the axis of the skirt, and fastening means securing the hem portion of the outer skirt member to the hem section of the inner skirt member, the length of the inner skirt member being so related to that of the outer skirt member that, in use of the skirt, the inner skirt member is held in tension by the weight of the outer skirt member acting upon it thereby enabling the body section of the inner skirt memher to displace outwardly the body portion of the outer skirt member to impart thereto the desired bowl shape.

2. A skirt as claimed in claim 1, in which the inner skirt member is formed from unstiffened fabric and wherein said means for stiffening the body section of the inner skirt member comprise hoops which when the skirt is in use are disposed substantially horizontally at vertically spaced locations.

3. A skirt as set forth in claim 1, further characterized by cooperating detachable securement means on the hem section of the inner skirt member and the hem portion of the outer skirt member for releasably fastening said hem section to said hem portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 999,132 Suddick July 25, 1911 2,438,804 Hardie Mar. 30, 1948 2,798,224 Jennings July 9, 1957 2,843,851 Tate July 22, 1958 2,996,725 Williams Aug. 22, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 695,446 Great Britain Aug. 12, 1953

Claims

1. A BOWL-SHAPED SKIRT COMPRISING AN OUTER SKIRT MEMBER HAVING A WAIST PORTION, A HEM PORTION AND A BODY PORTION WHICH EXTENDS BETWEEN THE WAIST PORTION AND THE HEM PORTION AND WHICH HAS ITS MAXIMUM CIRCUMFERENTIAL MEASUREMENT ABOVE THE HEM PORTION, AN INNER SKIRT MEMBER HAVING A WAIST SECTION, A HEM SECTION AND A BODY SECTION WHICH EXTENDS BETWEEN THE WAIST SECTION AND THE HEM SECTION AND IS OF THE SAME GENERAL SHAPE AS THE BODY PORTION OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBER, MEANS FOR STIFFENING THE BODY SECTION OF THE INNER SKIRT MEMBER IN ZONES TRANSVERSE TO THE AXIS OF THE SKIRT, AND FASTENING MEANS SECURING THE HEM PORTION OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBER TO THE HEM SECTION OF THE INNER SKIRT MEMBER, THE LENGTH OF THE INNER SKIRT MEMBER BEING SO RELATED TO THAT OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBER THAT, IN USE OF THE SKIRT, THE INNER SKIRT MEMBER IS HELD IN TENSION BY THE WEIGHT OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBER ACTING UPON IT THEREBY ENABLING THE BODY SECTION OF THE INNER SKIRT MEMBER TO DISPLACE OUTWARDLY THE BODY PORTION OF THE OUTER SKIRT MEMBER TO IMPART THERETO THE DESIRED BOWL SHAPE.