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.

1 . A machine-knitted garment for the upper body having at least a chest portion, an upper back portion and sleeves, comprising a seamless tubular construction made of hosiery-type material, having a beginning tubular portion forming one sleeve, an ending tubular portion forming another sleeve, and a middle tubular portion which has a neck opening and a chest or bodice opening.  
     
     
         2 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 1 , wherein the beginning and the ending tubular portions have a tighter knit than the middle tubular portion.  
     
     
         3 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 1 , wherein the garment is generally sheer.  
     
     
         4 . A garment of  claim 1 , wherein the garment is generally of a skin-tone color.  
     
     
         5 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 1 , wherein the openings are made from incisions made in the middle tubular portion.  
     
     
         6 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 1 , wherein the beginning and ending tubular portions have a smaller diameter than the middle tubular portion.  
     
     
         7 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 1 , wherein the garment has a direction of circular knitting spanning its length from the beginning tubular portion to the ending tubular portion.  
     
     
         8 . A method of making a machine-knitted garment, comprising: 
 knitting a beginning tube having a lesser diameter;    continue knitting from an end of the beginning tube a middle tube having a greater diameter;    continue knitting from an end of the middle tube an ending tube with the lesser diameter;    forming a first opening the middle tube to form a neck opening; and    forming a second opening in the middle tube generally opposing the neck opening to form a chest or bodice opening.    
     
     
         9 . A method of  claim 8 , wherein the middle tube is configured to form a bodice of the garment and the beginning and the ending tubes are configured to form sleeves of the garment.  
     
     
         10 . A method of  claim 9 , wherein the beginning tube and the ending tube have a tighter knit than the middle tube.  
     
     
         11 . A machine-knitted garment for the upper body having an upper bodice, a lower bodice and sleeves, comprising: 
 a first tubular portion configured to form the upper bodice and the sleeves of the garment;    a second tubular portion whose one end is position at a generally central location of the first tubular portion, the second tubular portion extending generally perpendicularly from the first tubular portion in forming the lower bodice of the garment;    a seam joining the first and second tubular portion, the seam extending circumferentially around the upper bodice; and    wherein the first and second tubular portions are made from a hosiery-type material.    
     
     
         12 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 11 , wherein the first tubular portion has a lesser diameter and the second tubular portion has a greater diameter.  
     
     
         13 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 11 , wherein a seam between the first and second tubular portions generally extends laterally in a circumferential relationship with a user's chest.  
     
     
         14 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 11  wherein a neck opening is formed in the first tubular portion and a chest opening is formed in first tubular portion opposing the neck opening.  
     
     
         15 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 14 , wherein the chest opening of the first tubular portion has a diameter generally equal to a diameter of the second tubular portion.  
     
     
         16 . A machine-knitted method of making a garment having an upper bodice, a lower bodice and sleeves, comprising: 
 knitting a first tubular portion configured to form the upper bodice and the sleeves of the garment;    knitting a second tubular portion configured to form the lower bodice;    forming a neck opening and a chest opening in the first tubular portion; and    joining an open end of the second tubular portion to the chest opening of the first tubular portion such that the second tubular portion extends generally centrally and perpendicularly from the first tubular portion.    
     
     
         17 . A method of making of  claim 16 , wherein the first and second tubular portions are knitted from hosiery-type material using circular or warp knitting.  
     
     
         18 . A machine-knitted garment for the upper body having at least an upper bodice and sleeves, comprising: 
 a continuous circular knit tubular construction of hosiery-type material, having a beginning tubular sleeve portion extending in a first direction, a middle tubular upper bodice portion extending in a second direction angularly offset from the one direction and an ending tubular sleeve portion extending generally parallel with the first direction, wherein adjacent portions are joined seamlessly along merge lines defined by a predetermined change of knitting angle ranging between about 60 to 120 degrees.    
     
     
         19 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 18 , wherein the merge lines are nonlinear.  
     
     
         20 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 18 , wherein the merge lines are concave.  
     
     
         21 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 18 , wherein the angle of change has a rate of change.  
     
     
         22 . A machine-knitted garment having a bodice and sleeves comprising: 
 a first tube and a second tube of generally similar circular knit or warp knit construction of hosiery-type material that are arranged in a generally parallel configuration and joined along a portion of their longitudinal axis, wherein joined portions of the tubes form the bodice of the garment, unjoined portions of the tubes define the sleeves and the joined portions define a first generally vertical seam on a front portion of the bodice and a second generally vertical seam on a back portion of the bodice.    
     
     
         23 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 22 , wherein each first and second tubes has a band at an open end to form a bottom band of the garment.  
     
     
         24 . A machine-knitted garment of  claim 22 , wherein a neck opening is defined between the joined and unjoined portions of the first and second tubes.  
     
     
         25 . A method of making a machine-knitted garment having a bodice and sleeves, comprising: 
 knitting a first tube and a second tube of generally similar dimensions using hosiery-type material; and    joining the tubes along a portion of their longitudinal axis to provide a first generally vertical seam on a front portion of the garment and a second generally vertical seam on a back portion of the garment, wherein joined portions of the tubes form the bodice of the garment and unjoined portions of the tubes define the sleeves.    
     
     
         26 . A machine-knitted garment having a bodice and two sleeves, comprising: 
 a bodice tube section defining a longitudinal axis of the garment and two sleeve tube sections branching from the bodice tube section along the longitudinal axis, thereby defining a junction between the bodice tube section and the sleeve tube sections, each of the sleeve tube sections having a lesser diameter and the bodice tube section having a greater diameter;    a neck opening formed at or near the junction; and    wherein the garment has a circular knit or warp knit construction of hosiery-type material.    
     
     
         27 . A method of making a machine-knitted garment having a bodice and two sleeves, comprising: 
 knitting a bodice tube along a longitudinal axis of the garment;    after reaching a predetermined length in the bodice tube branching the bodice tube into two sleeve tube;    forming a neck opening in a region of the bodice tube and between the two sleeve tubes; and    wherein the bodice tube and the sleeve tubes are knitted from hosiery-type material.    
     
     
         28 . A machine-knitted garment comprising: 
 a unitary piece of hosiery-type material having two opposing bodice portions and two opposing sleeve portions adapted to be folded in half to form a bodice and two sleeves extending generally perpendicularly from the bodice;    a first seam joining edges of one sleeve portion, extending from a first end of a first sleeve of the garment to a bottom edge of the bodice of the garment;    a second seam generally opposing the first seam joining edges of another sleeve portion, extending from a second end of a second sleeve of the garment to the bottom edge of the bodice of the garment; and    a neck opening formed along a folded edge of the bodice.    
     
     
         29 . A method of making a machine-knitted garment comprising: 
 knitting a unitary piece of hosiery-type material having two opposing bodice portions and two opposing sleeve portions;    folding in half the unitary piece to form a bodice and two sleeves extending generally perpendicularly from the bodice;    joining edges of one sleeve portion to form a first seam extending from a first end of a first sleeve of the garment to a bottom edge of the bodice of the garment;    joining edges of another sleeve portion to form a second seam generally opposing the first seam, extending from a second end of a second sleeve of the garment to the bottom edge of the bodice of the garment; and    forming a neck opening formed along a folded edge of the bodice.