Fashion and nursing scarf/shawl

Abstract

A scarf/shawl useful for general fashion wear and also useful to give a mother and baby privacy during nursing. The scarf may be a flat piece of semi-transparent or “semi-sheer” lightweight fabric, with a slit for the woman's head formed between the middle and a rear edge of the scarf. The fabric may have a non-sheer pattern on the outside surface that permits the mother to view a nursing baby through the scarf, but that obscures the details of baby and breast to nearby people. In a preferred form the scarf is an oval with the slit formed on the longitudinal axis. The scarf may also be used as apparel for the upper shoulders and breast area when not nursing, and rotated from a back fashion position to a front nursing position if it is desired to leave the scarf on for different uses.

1 . A scarf, comprising:
 a flat piece of fabric, and a substantially straight slit opening placed between a middle and a rear edge of the scarf, the slit being sized to admit a woman's head, a portion of the scarf between the middle and a front edge being sufficient in surface area to cover the woman's shoulders and at least a portion of the torso area between shoulders and breasts.   
     
     
         2 . A scarf according to  claim 1  wherein the slit is generally aligned with a longitudinal axis of the scarf. 
     
     
         3 . A scarf according to  claim 1  wherein the slit is generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the scarf. 
     
     
         4 . A scarf according to  claim 1  wherein the scarf has an oval shape when laid flat. 
     
     
         5 . A scarf according to  claim 1 , wherein the fabric comprises a semi-sheer fabric, the semi-sheer nature of the fabric allowing a mother to view a baby at her breast under the scarf, yet sufficiently obscuring the outline of the baby at the mother's breast such that people other than the mother cannot clearly view the baby at her breast 
     
     
         6 . A scarf according to  claim 5  wherein the scarf has a non-sheer pattern over at least the exterior surface, the pattern leaving sufficient semi-sheer fabric unobscured so that a mother can view a baby at her breast under the scarf through the unobscured semi-sheer fabric. 
     
     
         7 . A method of using the scarf of  claim 1 , comprising placing the scarf over the head of a woman via the slit opening, rotating the scarf around the neck of the woman to alternately cover one or the other of her breasts with a larger portion of scarf fabric, and then nursing a baby on the breast so covered. 
     
     
         8 . A method of using the scarf of  claim 1 , comprising placing the scarf over the head of a woman via the slit opening, and then configuring and wearing the scarf in one of a plurality of fashion configurations. 
     
     
         9 . A method of using the scarf of  claim 1 , comprising placing the scarf around the neck of a woman without using the slit opening, and then configuring and wearing the scarf in one of a plurality of fashion configurations. 
     
     
         10 . A scarf according to  claim 1 , wherein the portion of the scarf between the middle and front edge is sufficient to cover both breasts. 
     
     
         11 . A scarf according to  claim 1 , wherein the portion of the scarf between the middle and front edge is sufficient to cover at least the head of a nursing baby if the woman is nursing a baby.