Hosiery-type garments and method of making

Abstract

A fashionable machine-knitted garment of a hosiery-type material for the upper body having at least arm portions, shoulder portions, an upper chest portion, an upper back portion, is seamless in at least the shoulder portions, if not also in the arms and / or an upper bodice including the upper chest and upper back portions. The garment is constructed in a manner to provide an inconspicuous appearance when worn while providing comfortable support to at least the arms of the user and also the shoulders and the upper bodice. As such, the garment is well suited to be worn under sleeveless clothing or even strapless clothing, to provide the appearance or perception of smooth, blemish-free and taut skin in the exposed areas of the upper body. Methods of making the garment include circular, warp and / or flat knitting forming a single open-ended tube, separate open-ended tubes having portions that are joined, a branched open-ended tube and a flat pattern configured to be folded in half and joined along selected edges.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 507,162, filed Sep. 29, 2003.FIELD OF INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to knitwear or hosiery, in particular, machine-made knitwear or hosiery garments that are nearly or completely seamless. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0003] Stockings and hosiery have long been used to improved the appearance of women's lower body, especially the legs and feet. Depending on the color, shade and sheerness of the hosiery material, the appearance of the skin and muscle tone of these body parts can be significantly improved in terms of smoothing out blemishes or discoloration and providing a tautness that may otherwise be lacking in the skin or underlying muscle. Indeed, with modern “super sheer” hosiery, using relatively fine weights or denier thread, such hosiery when donned can have a nearly invisible appearance except upon close inspection. Typically in producing sh...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] The present invention is directed to a fashionable hosiery-type machine-knitted garment for the upper body having at least arm portions, shoulder portions, an upper chest portion, an upper back portion, wherein at least the shoulder portions are seamless, if not the garment in its entirety. The garment is constructed in a manner to provide an inconspicuous appearance when worn while providing comfortable support to at least the arms of the user and also the shoulders and upper bodice, such as the upper chest and upper back. As such, the garment is well suited to be worn under sleeveless clothing or even strapless clothing, to provide the appearance or perception of smooth, blemish-free and taut skin in the exposed areas of the upper body.

[0017] In all embodiments of the invention, the garment is advantageously free from any seams in at least the shoulder and outer arm regions, these being possibly the exposed and visible areas of the upper body that most readily lose their youthful appearance and muscle tone.

Problems solved by technology

Sleeveless garments or strapless garments that expose the arms, if not also the upper chest and upper back, can leave one feeling less than comfortable or confident about her body, especially when these exposed regions lack muscle tone.

For women who have blemishes or discoloration, or anyone who desires more tautness in these areas, it is difficult to resolve these concerns while remaining fashionable.

Thus, unlike women's ice-skating suits or the more fashionable sheer tops that have become popular in recent years, an inconspicuous hosiery garment for supporting the arms, and any other exposed areas such as the shoulders, upper chest and upper back is needed.

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