Claims
- 1. In a shirt having a shirt body, an elongate neckband, and a collar, wherein the neckband is adapted to encircle the neck of a wearer and has upper and lower edges connected to the collar and to the shirt body, respectively, and a fastening means is on the ends of the neckband for securing the neckband and thus the collar circumferentially about the neck of a wearer, the improvement comprising:
a stretchable neckband made of a material other than an elastomeric material and which yields in at least a circumferential direction when a tensile force is applied thereto in a circumferential direction, and wherein the circumferential size of the neckband is only negligibly affected in the event of shrinkage of the material comprising the neckband.
- 2. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
the material that forms the collar comprises a woven fabric arranged so that the weave thereof is on a bias relative to the circumferential direction of the neckband.
- 3. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 2, wherein:
the woven fabric is formed of warp and weft threads that extend at an angle between about 10° and about 80° relative to the circumferential direction of the neckband.
- 4. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 3, wherein:
the threads forming the weft and warp of the material of the neckband extend at an angle of about 45° relative to the circumferential direction of the neckband.
- 5. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 3, wherein:
the collar is also formed of warp and weft threads, and the threads forming the warp and weft of the material of both the collar and the neckband extend at an angle of about 45° relative to the longitudinal axis of the neckband.
- 6. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 3, wherein:
the neckband and collar are attached at adjacent edges by stitching that forms a seam, said stitching enabling said seam to stretch or elongate when a tensile force is applied thereto.
- 7. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 6, wherein:
the neckband and body of the shirt are attached at adjacent edges by stitching that forms a seam, said stitching enabling said seam to stretch or elongate when a tensile force is applied thereto.
- 8. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 7, wherein:
the neckband and collar are attached at adjacent edges by stitching that forms a seam, said stitching enabling said seam to stretch or elongate when a tensile force is applied thereto.
- 9. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 8, wherein:
the stitching comprises skip stitching, wherein the threads forming the stitch are interrupted at predetermined locations.
- 10. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 8, wherein:
the stitching comprises zig-zag stitching.
- 11. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 10, wherein:
the zig-zag stitching is interrupted at predetermined locations.
- 12. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 8, wherein:
the neckband and body of the shirt are attached at adjacent edges by stitching that forms a seam, said stitching enabling said seam to stretch or elongate when a tensile force is applied thereto.
- 13. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 12, wherein:
the stitching comprises skip stitching, wherein the threads forming the stitch are interrupted at predetermined locations.
- 14. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 12, wherein:
the stitching comprises zig-zag stitching.
- 15. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 14, wherein:
the zig-zag stitching is interrupted at predetermined locations.
- 16. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 4, wherein:
the neckband is formed of inner and outer panels of material that stretches in a circumferential direction and which shrinks only negligibly or not at all in at least a circumferential direction.
- 17. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 16, wherein:
a layer of interfacing material is interposed between the inner and outer panels of the neckband.
- 18. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 17, wherein:
the neckband and collar are stitched together along a seam; and an edge of the interfacing material is stitched into the seam between the collar and neckband, said edge being cut in a zig-zag pattern forming peaks on the edge, and said stitching extends across said peaks, whereby the edge of the interfacing is secured in said seam only at spaced locations.
- 19. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
the material of the neckband has a plurality of holes therein, said holes elongating when a tensile force is applied longitudinally to the neckband to enable the neckband to stretch or yield in a circumferential direction.
- 20. A shirt collar as claimed in claim 19, wherein:
the material comprises a woven fabric having warp and weft threads; and the holes have reinforcing stitching around their perimeter to prevent unraveling of the threads.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/783,853, filed Feb. 15, 2001, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/366,681, filed Aug. 4, 1999, now Pat. No. 6,212,686, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/172,358, filed Oct. 14, 1998, and now Pat. No. 6,081,926.
Continuation in Parts (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09783853 |
Feb 2001 |
US |
Child |
10071927 |
Feb 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09366681 |
Aug 1999 |
US |
Child |
09783853 |
Feb 2001 |
US |
Parent |
09172358 |
Oct 1998 |
US |
Child |
09366681 |
Aug 1999 |
US |