Footwear for modern dance and method of manufacturing same

Abstract

Embodiments relate generally to dance footwear to be worn on a human foot and methods of making such footwear. The footwear may comprise: a fabric tube formed of a continuous elastic material to receive and partially cover the foot, the tube comprising a heel end and an opposite toe end having at least two toe openings to receive toes; and at least one floor-engaging forefoot pad disposed on the tube near the toe end to underlie a ball of the foot; wherein the tube defines first and second openings at the heel end and a heel strap to extend around the Achilles tendon of the heel between the first and second openings and thereby retain the footwear on the foot.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . Dance footwear to be worn on a human foot comprising:
 a fabric tube formed of a continuous elastic material to receive and partially cover the foot, the tube comprising a heel end and an opposite toe end having at least two toe openings to receive toes; and   at least one floor-engaging forefoot pad disposed on the tube near the toe end to underlie a ball of the foot;   wherein the tube defines first and second openings at the heel end and a heel strap to extend around the Achilles tendon of the heel between the first and second openings and thereby retain the footwear on the foot.   
     
     
         2 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic material is a medical-grade compressive sock material. 
     
     
         3 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the heel strap comprises first and second strap portions that are continuous with the tube and are joined together at a position substantially overlying the Achilles tendon. 
     
     
         4 . The footwear of  claim 3 , wherein the first and second strap portions are stitched together. 
     
     
         5 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least two toe openings are separated by stitches in the tube at the toe end. 
     
     
         6 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least two toe openings are separated by at least one flexible strip. 
     
     
         7 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic material of the tube is seamless where it overlies the midfoot. 
     
     
         8 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the tube has a single seam where it overlies the midfoot. 
     
     
         9 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one forefoot pad has an irregular shape sized to extend underneath at least some metatarsal bones of the foot but not the tarsal bones. 
     
     
         10 . The footwear of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one forefoot pad has a medial portion and a lateral portion to respectively underlie medial and lateral parts of the ball of the foot. 
     
     
         11 . The footwear of  claim 10 , wherein the lateral portion extends posteriorly to a substantially greater extent than the medial portion. 
     
     
         12 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one forefoot pad comprises a single pad. 
     
     
         13 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one forefoot pad comprises separate medial and lateral pads. 
     
     
         14 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one forefoot pad is stitched to the tube. 
     
     
         15 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one forefoot pad comprises a suede material. 
     
     
         16 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the first opening is sized to allow the calcaneus to be substantially uncovered by the elastic material. 
     
     
         17 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the second opening is sized to allow the base of the tibia and fibula to be substantially uncovered by the elastic material and is sized so that the elastic material covers less than all of the talus. 
     
     
         18 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic material extends posteriorly of the at least one forefoot pad to overlie most or all of the arches of the foot. 
     
     
         19 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the tube is mostly single-layered except for the at least one forefoot pad and optionally a portion adjacent the toe openings. 
     
     
         20 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the tube has a substantially lower coefficient of friction relative to a dance floor than the at least one forefoot pad has relative to the same dance floor. 
     
     
         21 . The footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic material is selected to readily permit sliding of the elastic material over a dance floor and to have a substantially lower coefficient of friction relative to the dance floor than that of human skin.