JP7815064B2 - Manufacturing method for lower body clothing - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to clothing such as underwear, such as shirts and pants, as well as socks and stockings, made from knitted fabrics, that have openings such as the bottom of a shirt, the leg openings of pants, the waist of stockings, and leg sections that cover the legs but do not have foot sections to cover the feet, but have a bottom opening for the feet to come through. In particular, it relates to lower-body clothing, such as leggings, that have a panty section that covers the abdomen and buttocks, and leg sections that extend from below the knee to the ankles, and have a bottom opening for the feet to come through. Note that leggings, as mentioned above, are similar to pantyhose in shape but do not have a foot section that covers the feet from the ankles to the toes. The lower-body clothing of the present invention is not limited to leggings, as long as they do not have a foot section and therefore have a bottom opening for the feet to come through.

For example, there are methods for knitting hem openings using circular knitting milling machines that are suitable for producing knitted fabrics such as underwear. Generally, when producing knitted fabrics such as underwear with a cylinder-dial type circular knitting milling machine, all of the multiple yarn feeders arranged around the circumference are used for knitting the body, and cotton yarn is supplied to the needles from these yarn feeders. The needles are driven by cylinder cams and dial cams arranged corresponding to each yarn feeder, to continuously knit the knitted fabric.

This method allows for efficient knitting of fabrics, but when manufacturing camisoles, shorts, etc., it is necessary to cut the knitted fabric, fold the bottom hem into a bag-like shape, and then sew to form a so-called double hem (bag-knitted portion).

The hem of such underwear tends to be thick, creating a gap between the body and hem, which can feel uncomfortable against the skin when worn and can be visible through outerwear.

For example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4139880 (Patent Document 1), the hem of a girdle or other foundation, which is the opening through which the legs are exposed, is elastic knitted and double welted (hollow knit) using makeup knitting. Furthermore, the waist area, which is the opening of the panty part that covers the abdomen and buttocks, is made of a tightening fabric with elastic thread inserted, and is doubled and sewn with a double welt (hollow knit) (paragraph 0012 of Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 4139880

However, as disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Document 1, when openings such as the hem are made with the conventional double welt (hollow knit), the fabric becomes thicker than the body, making the seam more noticeable and difficult to coordinate with other garments. In particular, for high-gauge leggings (which are knitted so tightly that the stitches are not visible, giving a clean impression and making them easy to coordinate), the use of a neat single welt (single hem) at the hem prevents the hem from rolling up. This makes leggings an example of extremely delicate and comfortable lower-body clothing that could not be achieved with conventional knit fabrics.

The present invention was developed in light of the above-mentioned problems with the prior art, and its purpose is to provide lower-body clothing (e.g., leggings) that is extremely delicate and extremely comfortable to wear, with a panty portion that covers the abdomen and buttocks and a leg portion that covers the legs, but does not have a foot portion that covers the feet, the leg portion is long enough to extend from below the knee to the ankle, and the legs are exposed from the leg cuffs, with the leg cuffs being single welted to prevent the cuffs from rolling up.

To achieve the above objectives, the lower-body garment of the present invention incorporates the following technical measures:

That is, the lower-body garment of the present invention comprises a panty portion that covers the abdomen and buttocks and a leg portion that covers the legs, but does not comprise a foot portion that covers the feet, the leg portions are between below the knee and the ankles, and the legs are extended from the hem at the lower end of the leg portions, the hem portions of the leg portions are not tubular knitted, the lower-body garment is knitted from the hem portion, at least a portion of the hem is knitted using a plain knit in which single covering yarn and nylon yarn are plated at two of the four knitting machine feed holes, and double covering yarn is supplied and laid in at two of the four knitting machine feed holes, and the leg portions are knitted by modifying the double covering yarn that was laid in at two of the four knitting machine feed holes so that it is knit in a plain knit.

Preferably, the hem section comprises a first hem section closer to the hem and a second hem section closer to the leg section. The first hem section is knitted by supplying a plain knit, in which a single-covered yarn and a nylon yarn are plated, at two of the four knitting machine passes, and a double-covered yarn is supplied and laid in at two of the four knitting machine passes. The second hem section is constructed such that the double-covered yarn at one of the two four knitting machine passes is changed from lay-in to plain knit, and one of the double-covered yarns that was laid in at the first hem section closer to the hem is changed to plain knit at the second hem section closer to the leg section.

More preferably, the nylon yarn used in the ground knitting can be configured to be wooly nylon yarn.

More preferably, the woolly nylon yarn can be configured as a two-ply yarn.

The lower-body garment of the present invention comprises a panty portion that covers the abdomen and buttocks and a leg portion that covers the legs, but does not comprise a foot portion that covers the feet. The leg portion is long enough to extend from below the knee to the ankle, and the legs extend out from the leg cuffs. The leg cuffs are single welted to prevent the cuffs from rolling up, making it possible to provide an extremely delicate and comfortable lower-body garment (typically leggings).

1 is a schematic front view of leggings according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A is an enlarged view of an area 2A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing knitting conditions of the knitted fabric in the leg portion and the hem portion. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a covering yarn used to knit the leggings of FIG. 1.

Leggings 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 1 to 3. These leggings 1 are described as an example of a very delicate and comfortable lower-body garment, with a single welt at the bottom of the leg section to prevent the hem from rolling up. The lower-body garment according to the present invention comprises a panty section that covers the abdomen and buttocks and a leg section that covers the legs, but does not comprise a foot section that covers the feet. The leg section extends from below the knee to the ankle, and the legs are typically leggings from which the legs emerge. It is not limited to either men's or women's clothing, nor is it limited to outerwear or innerwear. However, like these leggings 1, they are typically lower-body garments that extend from below the knee to the ankle (these leggings 1 extend to the ankle) and are often worn as outerwear for women.

With reference to Figures 1 to 3, we will explain leggings 1, an example of pants-type lower-body garments that are ankle-length and primarily worn as outerwear. Figure 1 shows a schematic front view of these leggings 1, Figure 2(A) shows an enlarged view of region 2A in Figure 1, Figure 2(B) shows the knitting conditions for the knitted fabric in leg portion 3 and hem portion 5, and Figure 3 is a diagram explaining the covering yarn used to knit these leggings 1.

The leggings 1 have a structure in which knitted fabric is sewn to form a torso portion 2 (a single tubular portion that is a panty portion that covers the abdomen and buttocks) and two leg portions 3 into which the legs are inserted, with a waistband sandwiched and sewn to the upper end of the torso portion 2 as a waist portion 4. It is also preferable to have an all-elastic (all-knit) waist portion 4 without a waistband so that the waist is not constricted. Furthermore, although not limited thereto, the leggings 1 have a high rise so that underwear, etc., is not visible even when squatting.

The leggings described as an example of lower-body clothing according to the present invention can have a variety of structures, and even though the lower-body clothing according to the present invention is leggings, it is not limited to a specific structure. As long as the leggings have a characteristic described below, such as a single welt at the hem of the leg portion where the leg is exposed to prevent the hem from rolling up, and are extremely delicate and extremely comfortable to wear, it basically does not matter what structure the leggings have, or what type of knit fabric or knitting yarn is used to make the leggings. Therefore, the structure of the leggings 1 described above is merely an example. Furthermore, even leggings that are not limited to this are, as mentioned above, merely one example of lower-body clothing according to the present invention.

The knit fabrics of the leg portion 3 and hem portion 5 that constitute the leggings 1 according to this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

As shown in Figure 2, the legs are inserted through the hem 5 at the bottom of the leg portion 3 of the leggings 1. A distinctive feature of the leggings 1 is that, as shown in Figure 2(A), which is an enlarged view of area 2A in Figure 1, the leggings 1 are equipped with a leg portion 3 and a hem 5 at the bottom of the leg portion 3 through which the foot (the foot portion from the ankle through the heel to the toes) is inserted and removed.

The hem 5 is composed of, from the leg 3 downward, a second transition portion 5E that forms the boundary between the leg 3 and the hem 5, a second hem 5D, a first transition portion 5C that forms the boundary between the second hem 5D and the first hem 5B, a first hem 5B, and a bottom edge portion 5A. It is also possible for the second hem 5D area to be composed of the first hem 5B, with the entire hem 5 being composed of the first hem 5B.

Here, an example of knitting yarn and knitting will be described. Knitting starts from the bottom edge.
・First hem opening 5B (hem opening side)
1st: Lay in double covering thread TD3311/5
2nd: Plain knit with TS2211/5 covering yarn and 21T/2-20 wooly nylon double yarn. 3rd: Lay in TD3311/5 double covering yarn.
4th hem: Plain knit covering yarn TS2211/5 with wooly nylon two-ply yarn 21T/2-20 plated (as a plating yarn). Second hem 5D (leg 3 side)
1st: Plain knit with double covered yarn TD3311/5. 2nd: Plating (plaiting) wooly nylon two-ply yarn 21T/2-20 onto covered yarn TS2211/5 and knitting plain. 3rd: Lay-in (pour) double covered yarn TD3311/5.
4th section: Plain knit covering yarn TS2211/5 with wooly nylon two-ply yarn 21T/2-20 as plating (plaiting yarn). Leg section 3 (body).
1st: Plain knit with double covered yarn TD3311/5. 2nd: Plain knit with woolly nylon two-ply yarn 21T/2-20 plated (plated) onto covered yarn TS2011/5. 3rd: Plain knit with double covered yarn TD3311/5. 4th: Plain knit with woolly nylon two-ply yarn 21T/2-20 plated (plated) onto covered yarn TS2211/5.

where:
・The covering thread TS2211/5 is a single covering thread with a core thread of 22 decitex (20 denier) urethane thread and a five-ply, 11 decitex (10 denier) nylon thread.
・Woolly nylon two-ply yarn 21T/2-20 is a two-ply yarn (40 filaments in total) of 21 decitex woolly nylon yarn (20 filaments),
- Double covering thread TD3311/5 is a 33 decitex (30 denier) urethane core thread and a 5-ply 11 decitex (10 denier) nylon wrap thread.
are shown respectively.

Now, with reference to Figure 3, we will explain single-covered yarn and double-covered yarn.

As shown in Figure 3(A), single covered yarn (SCY: Single Covered Yarn) 50S is a covered yarn in which a core yarn of urethane-based elastic yarn (such as the above-mentioned 22 decitex urethane yarn 60) is wrapped with a wound yarn of non-elastic yarn (such as the above-mentioned 11 decitex nylon yarn 70). Also, as shown in Figure 3(B), double covered yarn (DCY: Double Covered Yarn) 50D is a covered yarn in which a core yarn of urethane-based elastic yarn (such as the above-mentioned 33 decitex urethane yarn 60) is wrapped with a wound yarn of non-elastic yarn (such as the above-mentioned 11 decitex nylon yarn 70) twice. As shown in Figure 3(B), double-covered yarn 50D is formed by wrapping nylon yarn 70A and nylon yarn 70B, which are examples of inelastic yarns, twice around a core yarn of urethane yarn 60 in opposite winding directions (S twist and Z twist). The nylon yarn used as the wrapping yarn is composed of nylon yarn 70A, which is a first twisted wrapping yarn, and nylon yarn 70B, which is a top twisted wrapping yarn. Double-covered yarns wrapped in this way in opposite winding directions (S twist and Z twist) are advantageous because they have no twist (directionality) and therefore do not produce diagonal rows when knitting a lower-body garment.

As explained above with reference to Figures 1 to 3, these leggings 1 comprise a torso portion (panty portion) 2 that covers the abdomen and buttocks, and leg portions 3 that cover the legs, but do not comprise a foot portion that covers the feet. The leg portions 3 are lengthened from below the knee to the ankles, and are an example of a lower-body garment in which the feet emerge from hem portions 5 at the bottom of the leg portions 3. Furthermore, hem portions 5 of the leg portions 3 are not tubular knitted. Furthermore, knitting begins from the hem portions.

First, in the first hem section 5B, which is closest to the hem, a plain knit is created by plating single-covered yarn and nylon yarn at two of the four knitting machine ends, and double-covered yarn is fed and laid in at two of the four knitting machine ends.

Next, at the second hem section 5D near the leg section 3, the double covering yarn that was laid in at one of two of the four passes on the knitting machine is changed from lay-in to plain knitting and knitted.

Next, in leg section 3, the double covering yarn that was laid in one of two of the four passes on the knitting machine is changed from lay-in to plain knitting and knitted.

That is, one of the two double covering yarn lay-ins at the first hem section 5B near the hem is changed to plain knit at the second hem section 5D near the leg 3, and further, the double covering yarn lay-in at one end at the second hem section 5D is changed to plain knit at the second hem section 5D near the leg 3. That is, of the double covering yarn supplied to two of the four ends, both are knitted as lay-ins at the first hem section 5B near the hem, one end is changed from lay-in to plain knit at the second hem section 5D near the leg 3, and another end is changed from lay-in to plain knit at the leg 3.

In other words, one of the double covered yarns laid in the first hem section 5B, which is closer to the hem, is changed to plain knit in the second hem section 5D, which is closer to the leg section 3, and the other double covered yarn laid in the second hem section 5D is changed to plain knit in the leg section 3.

With this construction, two DCY strands are laid in the first hem section 5B, which is closer to the hem, making it possible to achieve a thin, single-knit hem without double-welting the first hem section 5B, and the two laid-in DCY strands prevent fraying at the hem. Furthermore, one of the double-covering yarns laid in the first hem section 5B, which is closer to the hem, is changed to plain knit in the second hem section 5D, which is closer to the leg section 3, making the transition between the leg section 3 and the second hem section 5D less noticeable.

As mentioned above, the second hem 5D may be made up of the first hem 5B, with the entire hem 5 being made up of the first hem 5B. In this case, the hem is knitted starting from the hem, and the entire hem 5 is knitted using a plain knit in which single-covered yarn and nylon yarn are plated at two of the four knitting machine ends, and double-covered yarn is laid-in at two of the four knitting machine ends. The leg section 3 is knitted using a plain knit in which the double-covered yarn is knitted at two of the four knitting machine ends. In other words, the entire hem 5 is made up of the first hem 5B. Even with this type of hem 5, the hem 5 is not tubular knitted, and two DCY strands are laid-in, which means that the fabric is not thicker than the body and the hem does not easily get rolled up.

Here, the nylon yarn used for the ground knitting of the leg portion 3 (which may include the torso portion 2) is preferably wooly nylon yarn, and moreover, the wooly nylon yarn is preferably a two-ply yarn.

As described above, the leggings (a representative example of lower-body clothing) according to this embodiment comprise a panty portion that covers the abdomen and buttocks and a leg portion that covers the legs, but do not comprise a foot portion that covers the feet. The leg portion is long enough to extend from below the knee to the ankle, and the legs extend from the leg cuffs, with the leg cuffs being single welted to prevent the cuffs from rolling up. This makes it possible to provide lower-body clothing that is extremely delicate and extremely comfortable to wear.

The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications equivalent to and within the scope of the claims.

The present invention is particularly advantageous in that it provides lower-body clothing (typically leggings) that is extremely delicate and extremely comfortable to wear, with a panty portion that covers the abdomen and buttocks and a leg portion that covers the legs, but does not have a foot portion that covers the feet, and the leg portion is long enough to extend from below the knee to the ankle, with the legs coming out from the leg cuffs.

1. Leggings 2. Body part (panties)
3 Leg section 4 Waist section 5 Cuff section 5A Edge section 5B First cuff section 5C First switching section 5D Second cuff section 5E Second switching section

Claims (4)

A method for manufacturing lower-body garments comprising panty parts for covering the abdomen and buttocks and leg parts for covering the legs, but not foot parts, the leg parts having a length between below the knee and the ankles, and the legs coming out from bottom hem parts at the lower ends of the leg parts,
The hem of the leg portion is not knitted in a hollow knit.
The lower-body garment is knitted from the hem portion,
At least a portion of the hem portion is knitted by supplying a plain knitting method in which a single covering yarn and a nylon yarn are plated at two of the four knitting stops of the knitting machine, and by supplying a lay-in double covering yarn at two of the four knitting stops of the knitting machine,
The method for manufacturing lower body garments is characterized in that the leg portion is knitted by changing the double covering yarn that was laid in two of the four passes of the knitting machine so that it is knitted in plain knitting . The hem portion is composed of a first hem portion close to the hem and a second hem portion close to the leg portion,
The first hem portion is knitted by supplying a plain knitting in which a single covering yarn and a nylon yarn are plated at two of the four knitting machine ends, and by supplying a lay-in double covering yarn at two of the four knitting machine ends,
In the second hem portion, one double covering yarn in two of the four knitting nozzles of the knitting machine is changed from lay-in to plain knitting,
2. The method for manufacturing a lower-body garment according to claim 1, wherein one of the double-covered yarns laid in the first hem portion closer to the hem is changed to a plain knit yarn in the second hem portion closer to the leg portion. 2. The method for manufacturing lower body garments according to claim 1, wherein the nylon yarn used for the ground knitting of the leg portion is wooly nylon yarn. 4. The method for manufacturing lower body garments according to claim 3 , wherein the woolly nylon yarn is a two-ply yarn.