US3125815A

US3125815A - Dressler

Info

Publication number: US3125815A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1964-03-24
Anticipated expiration: 1981-03-24

Description

March 24, 1964 ss 3,125,815

FABRIC DISPLAY Filed Dec. 21, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet, 1

, l W INVENTOR. Henry Brawler- March'24, 1964 H. DRESSLER 3,125,815

FABRIC DISPLAY Filed Dec. 21, 1961 i 2 Sheets$heet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Henry Dreasler 6% BY amwalbgw United States Patent 3,125,815 FABRIC DISPLAY Henry Dressler, Hialeah, Fla. J. Jerome Olitt, 32 Broadway, New York, N.Y.) Filed Dec. 21, 1961, Ser. No. 160,993 Claims. (Cl. 3556) The present invention relates to displaying fabrics for making garments, and more particularly to a fabric display made from a length of fabric folded to simulate the garment to be made therefrom.

A large volume of fabric is sold today to persons desiring to make their own garments, such as dresses, for example. Despite the increasing volume of this business, there has been, prior to the present invention, no improvement in the display of these fabrics for merchandising purposes. The purchaser must view the fabric itself, usually in bolt form, and visualize what the finished garment to be made from this fabric will look like. Once the purchaser has decided on a certain fabric for making a dress, for example, and determined how much material is needed for that particular dress, the seller must then measure and cut off this amount of material from a bolt of the fabric. Consequently, under this merchandising system, the seller must devote considerable time and attention to each sale and is confronted with the inventory problem presented by having to stock each type of fabric in complete bolts, even though a bolt is often more material than need be stocked for that particular fabric. In addition, there is the Waste problem presented by the leftover fabric on the end of the bolt which is insuflicient to make a complete dress.

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages, and more importantly, overcomes the disadvantage inherent in the purchasers inability to visualize the garment to be made from the fabric, by providing a fabric of sufficient length to make a particular garment, for example the dress mentioned above, which is folded to simulate the dress. A hanger is attached to the folded fabric to retain it in the shape of the garment and hang it for display purposes. With this display, the purchaser sees the fabric in the form of the particular garment to be made from the fabric, and when a sale is made the seller need only package the folded fabric since it-already has the required length to make the garment it has been folded to simulate. Thus, in effect, the seller need only stock simulated dresses. The measuring and cutting problems involved in each sale under the previous system are also eliminated, as is the problem of leftover material on each bolt of fabric.

Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to improve the display of fabrics for making garments.

It is another object of the invention to provide a length of fabric folded to simulate a garment for display purposes to enable the purchaser to visualize the appearance of the garment to be made from the fabric.

It is a further object of the invention to display fabrics as simulated garments having sufficient material to make the simulated garment to eliminate the need for stocking the fabrics in bolts from which the fabric has to be measured and cut to length.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a fastening element and hanger which can be secured to fabrics folded to simulate garments as described above to retain the fabric in folded relation and to hang the folded fabric for display purposes.

Other objects and features of novelty of the present invention will be specifically pointed out or will otherwise become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of the invention, to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front of a simulated dress folded from a single length of fabric in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the back of the simulated dress illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the fabric and other components of the invention prior to the folding of the fabric to simulate a dress;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 1 with the formed sheet-like element for lending shape to the dress shown in elevation, the front and back of the dress being spaced further apart than normal for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG. 5 with the formed sheet-like element shown in section;

FIG. 7 is a view of the back of the formed sheet-like element;

FIG. 8 is a view of the front of the formed sheet-like element;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective View of the left shoulder of the simulated dress before the corner of the fabric has been tucked in to form the shoulder. 1 Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a simulated dress 30 is illustrated which embodies features of the present invention. The dress is folded from a single length of fabric having sufficient material to enable a dressmaker to cut up the fabric and make the dress as simulated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The single length of fabric is folded in half to form a halflength fabric 34 with the

cut ends

31 and 33 of the single length of fabric aligned at the upper end thereof, as illustrated in FIG. 3. A sheet-like element 32 preferably made of a stiff sheet of cardboard formed to simulate the upper portion of a womans figure, as will be described, is positioned on the upper portion of the half-length fabric 34, and the

longitudinal side edges

36 and 38 of the halflength fabric are folded inwardly over the sheet-like element 32 to bring the

edges

36 and 38 together as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, the initial folding of the side edge 36 being illustrated in phantom in FIG. 3. A belt 40 is positioned about the waist 42 of the sheet-like element and tightened to gather the fabric in about the waist as most clearly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. It will be observed that the sheet-like element 32 also has a depending skirt portion 44 and upper portion 46 formed to simulate a womans bust, both of which lend further shape to the simulated dress 30 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

After the

side edges

36 and 38 have been folded inwardly as described, a fastening element 48, preferably a heavy-weight sheet of paper, is folded over the upper end of the further folded half-length fabric and the sheet-like element 32, and the folded halves thereof are stapled together by staples 50 to prevent the fabric from unfolding and to retain the sheet-like element 32 in position. A hook 54 connected to a cross rod 56 is secured in position by the fastening element 48 with the cross rod 56 positioned in the crease thereof and the hook 54 projecting through an aperture 52 in the fastening element to enable the dress to be hung for display purposes, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 3 and 5-8, the sheetlike element 32 is made from a flat sheet 58 (preferably cardboard, as mentioned above) which is indented at the sides thereof to form the waist 42 and the depending skirt portion 44 previously mentioned. In FIG. 7 the fiat sheet 58 is illustrated before it is formed to simulate a womans bust with the exception of the upper right corner of the sheet, which is illustrated as it appears after it has been formed. To form the bust, the upper portion 46 of the flat sheet 58 is cut inwardly at the sides thereof to separate the sheet along

edges

60 and 62. The portions of the sheet adjacent the out are then overlapped as illustrated and stapled by staples 64 to retain the edge 62 below the edge 60 as illustrated in each of the FIGS. 3 and 8 to form the bust. The projecting

corners

66 and 68 may then be folded forwardly along the

fold lines

70 and 72, respectively, to give a little more shape to the shoulders of the dress 30.

When the fastening element 48 is stapled over the central portion of the upper end of the half-length fabric 34 and the upper end of the sheet-like element 32, as previously described, the

cut ends

31 and 33 of the full-length fabric 32 are exposed at the corners of the simulated dress projecting beyond the fastening element 48. These exposed ends are concealed and the simulated dress given a more finished appearance by tucking in the corners of the dress as at 84 and 86, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. If desired, long folds 87 and 88 may be formed on the front of the dress 30 and held in position by the fastening element 48 and the belt 40 to add interest to the front of the dress.

While it will be apparent that the embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects of the invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change Without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A fabric display comprising a length of fabric sufficient to make a dress, said fabric being folded to bring the ends thereof together to form a half-length fabric, the longitudinal side edges of said half-length fabric being further folded inwardly toward one another, means for gathering in the midsection of said further folded halflength fabric to simulate a waist for said dress, a formed sheet-like element positioned within the folds of said further folded half-length fabric above said waist to shape the front of said dress to simulate a womans bust, and means extending over the uper end of said further folded half-length fabric to secure said sheet-like element in position and to retain the fabric in the shape of said dress.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the original ends of said length of fabric are exposed at the upper end of said dress, and said last mentioned means comprises a sheet of material folded over said upper end and overlapping the upper portion of said formed sheet-like element, means for retaining the folded halves of said sheet of material together to retain the upper portion of the sheet-like element in position and to retain the folds of said further folded half-length fabric against unfolding, and hanger means secured to and extending upwardly from said sheet of material for hanging said dress for display purposes.

3. A fabric display package, comprising a contoured sheet having a peripheral edge shaped to simulate the outline of a human torso, an uncut and unsewn length of fabric draped around said sheet in simulation of a garment, a belt-like member extending around the draped fabric, a narrow sheet material strip folded over a neck end of the fabric, a hanger having a hooked end, a crossbar and a shank connecting the hooked end and crossbar, said strip having a hole receiving said shank so that the crossbar is enclosed in the strip, and staples securing the strip and neck end of the fabric to the sheet.

4. A fabric display comprising a length of fabric sufficient to make a dress, said fabric being folded substantially in half to reduce the length thereof, the longitudinal side edges of said folded fabric being further folded inwardly toward one another, fastening means extending over and fastened to one end of said further folded fabric to retain the fabric against unfolding, means gathering in a midsection of said further folded fabric to simulate a waist for said dress, and contoured means positioned within the folds of said further folded fabric above said waist to shape the front of said dress to simulate a womans bust.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4, wherein said contoured means comprises a formed sheet-like member secured in position by said fastening means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,504,502 Powell Aug. 12, 1924 1,678,756 Zimmerman July 31, 1928 1,824,538 Fitzpatrick Sept. 22, 1931 2,762,503 Steinthal Sept. 11, 1956 2,788,121 Ayres Apr. 9, 1957 3,037,621 Jackman June 5, 1962

Claims

1. A FABRIC DISPLAY COMPRISING A LENGTH OF FABRIC SUFFICIENT TO MAKE A DRESS, SAID FABRIC BEING FOLDED TO BRING THE ENDS THEREOF TOGETHER TO FORM A HALF-LENGTH FABRIC, THE LONGITUDINAL SIDE EDGES OF SAID HALF-LENGTH FABRIC BEING FURTHER FOLDED INWARDLY TOWARD ONE ANOTHER, MEANS FOR GATHERING IN THE MID-SECTION OF SAID FURTHER FOLDED HALFLENGTH FABRIC TO SIMULATE A WAIST FOR SAID DRESS, A FORMED SHEET-LIKE ELEMENT POSITIONED WITHIN THE FOLDS OF SAID FURTHER FOLDED HALF-LENGTH FABRIC ABOVE SAID WAIST TO SHAPE THE FRONT OF SAID DRESS TO SIMULATE A WOMAN''S BUST, AND MEANS EXTENDING OVER THE UPPER END OF SAID FURTHER FOLDED HALF-LENGTH FABRIC TO SECURE SAID SHEET-LIKE ELEMENT IN POSITION AND TO RETAIN THE FABRIC IN THE SHAPE OF SAID DRESS.