Garment blanks, brassieres formed therefrom and method of forming the same
View Patent ↗A circular knit garment blank is provided. The blank has an internal dimension defined by a series of courses, a length defined by a series of wales, and a first cut line. The length is sufficient to encircle a torso of a wearer. The first cut line is defined in the blank for severing the series of courses along the length.
1. A two-layer strapless brassiere comprising:
a weft knit fabric folded flat to form two layers;
a brassiere height defined by a series of courses terminating in a cut line;
a length defined by a series of wales, said length dimensioned to encircle a torso of a wearer; and
a seam formed along said cut line, the cut line defining a pair of breast receiving areas and a torso encircling strap extending outwardly along the length of the fabric from each of the pair of breast receiving areas.
2. The brassiere as in claim 1 , wherein said seam is selected from the group consisting of a sewn seam, an adhesive seam, and a ultrasonically fused seam.
3. The brassiere as in claim 1 , further comprising a pair of breast cups defined in said breast receiving areas.
4. The brassiere as in claim 3 , wherein said pair of breast cups have a knitted cup depth.
5. The brassiere as in claim 1 , wherein said cut line is defined along substantially the entirety of said length.
6. A method of forming a brassiere, comprising:
circularly knitting a tubular blank having a first side exterior to said tubular blank, said tubular blank having a height when then folded flat to form two layers, the height defined by a series of courses, and a length defined by a series of wales, said length dimensioned to encircle a torso of a wearer;
applying one or more brassiere components to said first side;
turning said blank inside out so that said first side and said one or more brassiere components are interior to said tubular blank;
trimming the tubular blank along a lengthwise cut line to define a pair of breast receiving areas and a torso encircling strap extending outwardly along the length of the fabric from each of the pair of breast receiving areas; and
forming a seam along the cut line.
7. The method as in claim 6 , wherein said one or more brassiere components comprises an underwire.
8. The method as in claim 6 , further comprising adhering said tubular blank along said cut line with a heat activatable adhesive.
9. The method as in claim 8 , further comprising molding a pair of breast cups in said tubular blank.
10. The method as in claim 9 , wherein trimming, adhering, and molding steps comprise simultaneously applying heat and pressure to said tubular blank.
11. A method of forming a brassiere, comprising:
circularly knitting a tubular blank, the tubular blank having a height when then folded flat to form two layers, the height defined by a series of courses, and a length defined by a series of wales, the length dimensioned to encircle a torso of a wearer;
trimming the tubular blank along a cut line to define a pair of breast receiving areas and a torso encircling strap extending outwardly along lengthwise the length of the fabric from each of the pair of breast receiving areas; and
forming a seam along the cut line to form a brassiere.