초록 ▼

A fabric and method to support garments comprising opaque heat-moldable circular knit fabrics having relatively high amounts of spandex material as well as sufficient amounts of other fibers to simultaneously provide maximum support and maximum comfort to a wearer and which can be easily molded to t

A fabric and method to support garments comprising opaque heat-moldable circular knit fabrics having relatively high amounts of spandex material as well as sufficient amounts of other fibers to simultaneously provide maximum support and maximum comfort to a wearer and which can be easily molded to the specifications of a wearer's body dimensions. Such high-spandex content, moldable garment fabrics are novel to the industry since the permissible added amount of spandex within such fabrics has been limited due to the power, modulus strength, and elongation of such fibers. Furthermore, the ability to provide moldable, high-spandex circular knit fabrics has been limited, if not impossible, due to the above-noted characteristics of the spandex fibers themselves. The inventive moldable fabrics and garments provide such desirable spandex properties while also increasing the comfortability to the wearer. The method of producing such fabrics is also contemplated within this invention. Both the fabric and the method state that the amount of spandex in the fabric is at least 24% of the total fiber weight in the fabric.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What I claim is:] [1.]1. A method of forming an opaque heat-moldable, circular knit fabric comprising spandex in an amount of at least 24% by weight of the fabric, said method comprising the steps of:(a) providing at least one thread of spandex fiber and at least one non-spandexcontaining thread;(

[ What I claim is:] [1.]1. A method of forming an opaque heat-moldable, circular knit fabric comprising spandex in an amount of at least 24% by weight of the fabric, said method comprising the steps of:(a) providing at least one thread of spandex fiber and at least one non-spandexcontaining thread;(b) delivering said threads to a needle bed under constant tension;(c) feeding said threads into a needle bed while simultaneously elongating said spandex thread to 100% of its total stretch capability;(d) introducing said elongated spandex thread and said non-spandex-containing thread within a carrier fabric comprising at least one fiber selected from the group consisting of polyamide, polyester, cotton, wool, ramie, acetate, polyurethane, and any blends thereof;(e) pulling said threads into the loop construction of the resultant circular knit fabric; and(f) knitting at least one non-spandex-containing float per repeated knit pattern into the fabric structure; and, as an optional step,(g) incorporating the circular knit fabric into a garment.