WO2009033231A1

WO2009033231A1 - A hem tape

Info

Publication number: WO2009033231A1
Application number: PCT/AU2008/001361
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zac Liam Kelly
Original assignee: Zac Liam Kelly
Priority date: 2007-09-12
Filing date: 2008-09-10
Publication date: 2009-03-19
Also published as: AU2007216708A1

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a hem tape which allows the hemline of a trouser leg or skirt to be adjusted. The hem tape of the preferred embodiment includes complementary male and female press studs in rows and spaced apart from each other in order to adjust the hemline of the garment when the hem tape is attached to the garment.

Description

A HEM TAPE

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the area of haberdashery and tailoring. The present invention relates to a tape and has particular but not exclusive application for adjusting the hemline of garments. In the body of the specification, reference is made to trousers and the application of the invention to trousers by way of example only.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A garment such as trousers and a dress may need to be altered if a person wears shoes of different height. For example, a woman can lower the hemline of her trousers when she wears shoes with high heels and raise the hemline of the same trousers when she chooses wears flat shoes. However, there is currently no practical way for a person to re-adjust the hem line of a garment.

To address this issue an adjustable system using Velcro® has been described in US Patent No. 4200938. The adjustable system described in US Patent No. 4200938 uses a row of hook portions that can be attached to one of several rows of loop portions to adjust the trouser leg to a desired length. However the hook portions of the Velcro® fastener adhere not only to the corresponding loop portions but also adhere to other clothing such as women's stockings. The ability of the hook portions of Velcro® to adhere to other clothing is undesirable since items like women's stockings can easily ladder when caught on the hook portions of the Velcro®. Furthermore over time lint and other particulate matter adhere to the hook portions causing the Velcro® portions to lose their ability to adhere to each other.

In addition the Velcro® portions add significant weight around the hem of the trouser thereby distorting the shape of the garment. This is particularly significant when the garment is made of a fine or light fabric. The extra weight of the Velcro® portions around the hem of a trouser leg causes the end of the trouser leg to look bulky and the outline of the Velcro® portions may be visible through the fabric.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a hem tape which overcomes at least in part one or more of the above mentioned disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect the present invention broadly resides in a hem tape for adjusting a hemline of a garment including a tape member attached or attachable to the garment; a plurality of first stud members attached to the tape member, said first stud members are disposed in a row adjacent a first side edge of the tape member; a plurality of second stud members attached to the tape member, said second stud members are disposed in a row and spaced from said plurality of first stud members in an arrangement where each of said second stud members is aligned with one of said plurality of first stud members to form a column that is substantially perpendicular with the first side edge wherein the first stud member is releaseably engageable with the corresponding aligned second stud member to provide an adjustable garment hemline when the tape member is attached to the garment. In another aspect the present invention broadly resides in a hem tape for adjusting a hemline of a garment including an elongate tape member attached or attachable to the garment; a plurality of first stud members attached to the tape member, said first stud members are longitudinally disposed in a row adjacent a first side edge of the tape member; a plurality of second stud members attached to the tape member, said second stud members are longitudinally disposed in a row and spaced from said plurality of first stud members in an arrangement where each of said second stud members is aligned with one of said plurality of first stud members to form a column that is substantially perpendicular with the first side edge wherein the first stud member is releaseably engageable with the corresponding aligned second stud member to provide an adjustable garment hemline when the tape member is attached to the garment. In one embodiment of the invention there is one row of second stud members.

In another embodiment there are two or more rows of second stud members.

There is preferably only one row of first stud members. Preferably, each row of second stud members is substantially parallel to the row of first stud members.

The first and second stud members are preferably complementary male and female press studs for engagement.

In one embodiment the first stud members are the female press studs and the second stud members are the male press studs.

In an alternative embodiment the first stud members are the male press studs and the second stud members are the female press studs. Preferably each of the columns are spaced apart between 1 and 4 cm but more preferably 2.5 cm.

Preferably the rows are spaced apart between 1 and 4 cm but more preferably between 1.2 and 2.4 cm. In a preferred embodiment each of the tape members is approximately 5 to 6 cm wide and 60 to 80 cm long.

The first side edge of the tape member is preferably a longitudinal side edge of the tape member. Preferably, the first side edge of the tape member is a lower longitudinal side edge that is located adjacent the garment hemline when the tape member is attached to the garment.

There is preferably an upper longitudinal side edge that is distal from the garment hemline when the tape member is attached to the garment. Preferably, there is a substantially large upper sewing potion adjacent the upper longitudinal side edge. More preferably, there is a lower sewing portion adjacent the lower longitudinal side edge that is narrower relative to the upper sewing portion.

The tape member is preferably made of a lightweight material. The material preferably includes natural fibers such as cotton. The material may include synthetic fibers or plastics.

The tape member is preferably substantially transparent. Preferably, the tape member is color dyed to match the fabric of the garment.

The tape member preferably has a printed or raised line that is positioned between a row of first stud members and a row of second stud members to define a new alternative garment hemline.

Where there are two or more rows of second stud members the tape member preferably has two or more printed or raised lines. In one embodiment, the tape member is attached to the garment by stitching.

In an alternate embodiment, the tape member has an adhesive on a back face of the tape member to attach the tape member to the garment. The adhesive is preferably one or more adhesive strips. The hem tape may be made as a precut piece or be cut from a roll.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the present invention can be more readily understood reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a piece of hem tape according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of the hem tape of Figure 1 shown attached to an inner side of a trouser leg; and Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the trouser leg of Figure 2 showing the original trouser hemline (A), a raised trouser hemline (B); and a further raised trouser hemline (C).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown a hem tape 10 for adjusting the hemline 11 of a trouser leg 12. The hem tape 10 has a tape portion 14 that is attachable to the trouser leg 12 and complementary female and male press studs (also termed snap fasteners) 15, 16 respectively are attached to the tape portion 14. Each male press stud 16 has a protruding portion that can be inserted into a receiving recess of a female press stud 15 to releaseably engage the female and male press studs 15, 16.

The female press studs 15 are arranged in one row 17 adjacent a lower longitudinal side edge 18 of the tape portion 14 when the tape portion 14 is attached to the trouser leg 12. The male press studs 16 are arranged in two rows 19, 20 and are located further away from the lower longitudinal side edge 18 compared to the female press studs 15.

The male press studs 16 are spaced from the female press studs 15 in an arrangement where each of the male press studs 16 is aligned with one of the female press studs 15 to enable complementary female and male press studs 15, 16 to engage to form a new alternative hemline. Each female press stud 15 and two corresponding aligned male press studs 16 form a column 21 that is substantially perpendicular with the lower longitudinal side edge 18. Each row 19, 20 of male press studs 16 are substantially parallel to the row 17 of female press studs 15 to enable a straight trouser hemline to be formed when one row 19, 20 of male press studs 16 is engaged with the row 17 of female press studs 15.

When the tape portion 12 is attached to the trouser leg 12, the row 17 of female press studs 15 can releaseably engage with either one of the rows 19, 20 of male press studs 16 to provide an adjustable trouser leg hemline 13, 22 that can be raised or lowered to suit the requirements of the person wearing the trouser. In other embodiments of the hem tape, not shown in the figures, there may be more than two rows of male press studs to provide further adjustability to the trouser leg hemline. The hem tape 10 may be attached to the trouser leg 12 by stitching the tape portion 14 to the trouser leg 12. Stitches are placed along the upper longitudinal side edge 24 and the lower longitudinal side edge 18 of the tape portion 14. The upper longitudinal side edge 24 is the side edge that is further away from the trouser hemline 11 when the tape portion 14 is attached to the trouser leg 12.

In order to sew blind stitches (that is stitches that are hidden and therefore not visible to the wearer) with a sewing machine along the upper longitudinal side edge 24, a substantially wide upper sewing portion 23 is provided adjacent the upper longitudinal side edge 24. The wide upper sewing portion 23 provides the clearance required by the clasping mechanism of the sewing machine to sew a blind stitch.

There is a lower sewing portion 25 adjacent the lower longitudinal side edge 18 where straight stitches may be sewn to attach the lower longitudinal side edge 18 of the tape portion 14 to the trouser leg 12. The lower sewing portion 25 is narrower relative to the upper sewing portion 23 because less clearance is required to sew a straight stitch compared to a blind stitch.

Instead of stitching the tape portion 14 to the trouser leg 12, an adhesive may be used to attach the tape portion 14 to the trouser leg 12. For example, one or more adhesive strips located on the back face of the tape portion 14 can be used to attach the tape portion 14 to the trouser leg 12. A hem tape that can be adhered to the trouser leg 12 enables a person with limited sewing skills to conveniently attach the hem tape 10 to the trouser leg 12 without sewing.

The tape portion 14 is made of a lighter material compared to the fabric of the trouser leg 12 to reduce the weight and bulkiness about the hem of the trouser leg 12. The reduced weight and bulkiness about the hem assists in maintaining an immaculate appearance of the trouser. Examples of lightweight materials are cotton and polyester.

The tape portion 14 is substantially transparent to prevent the tape portion 14 from showing through trousers made of finer or thinner fabrics. The tape portion 14 can be color dyed to match the fabric of the trouser and the press studs 15, 16 can be made in similarly clear colored plastic to improve the finished look of the trouser.

There are two printed lines 27, 28 on the tape portion 14. Each printed line 27, 28 is positioned between the row 17 of female press studs 15 and one of the rows 19, 20 of male press studs 16. Each of the printed lines 27, 28 defines a new alternative trouser hemline 13, 22 when the row 17 of female press studs 15 are engaged with one of the rows 19, 20 of male press studs 16.

The hem tape 10 of the preferred embodiment is made as an elongate precut piece. In other embodiments, not illustrated in the figures, the hem tape can be made as precut pieces with different dimensions or made on a roll.

ADVANTAGES

An advantage of the preferred embodiment of the hem tape includes providing an adjustable trouser leg hemline that can be raised or lowered to suit the personal taste of the wearer. For example, a lady can lower the hemline of her trouser when she wears shoes with high heels and raise the hemline of the same trouser when she chooses to wear shoes without heels.

Another advantage of the preferred embodiment of the hem tape includes providing an adjustable hemline on fabrics or garments to which the hem tape is attached. For example, a child's garment can be fitted with the hem tape at the time of manufacture to allow the hemline of the child's garment to be adjusted according to growth of the child.

A further advantage of the preferred embodiment of the hem tape includes having complementary female and male press studs that do not snare the surrounding fabric of the trouser or other clothing of the wearer and therefore reduces the damage to the trouser or other clothing.

Another advantage of the preferred embodiment of the hem tape is having a tape portion that is light weight relative to the fabric of the trouser and substantially transparent to improve the concealment of the hem tape within the hem.

VARIATIONS

It will of course be realized that while the foregoing has been given by way of illustrative example of this invention, all such and other modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is herein set forth.

Throughout the description and claims this specification the word "comprise" and variations of that word such as "comprises" and "comprising", are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Claims

1. A hem tape for adjusting a hemline of a garment including a tape member attached or attachable to the garment; a plurality of first stud members attached to the tape member, said first stud members are disposed in a row adjacent a first side edge of the tape member; a plurality of second stud members attached to the tape member, said second stud members are disposed in a row and spaced from said plurality of first stud members in an arrangement where each of said second stud members is aligned with one of said plurality of first stud members to form a column that is substantially perpendicular with the first side edge wherein the first stud member is releaseably engageable with the corresponding aligned second stud member to provide an adjustable garment hemline when the tape member is attached to the garment.

2. A hem tape for adjusting a hemline of a garment including an elongate tape member attached or attachable to the garment; a plurality of first stud members attached to the tape member, said first stud members are longitudinally disposed in a row adjacent a first side edge of the tape member; a plurality of second stud members attached to the tape member, said second stud members are longitudinally disposed in a row and spaced from said plurality of first stud members in an arrangement where each of said second stud members is aligned with one of said plurality of first stud members to form a column that is substantially perpendicular with the first side edge wherein the first stud member is releaseably engageable with the corresponding aligned second stud member to provide an adjustable garment hemline when the tape member is attached to the garment.

3. A hem tape as claimed in claims 1 or 2 wherein there are two or more rows of second stud members.

4. A hem tape as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first stud members are the female press studs and the second stud members are the male press studs, the tape member is made of light weight material and has a printed or raised line that is positioned between a row of first stud members and a row of second stud members to define a new alternative garment hemline.

5. A hem tape as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.