Versatile footwear covers and methods relating to same

Abstract

A footwear cover made of an elastic material is provided. The footwear cover defines a first opening and is moveable between a first expanded or stretched position for installing the cover on footwear and a second compressed position to form fit the cover to the footwear the cover is installed on. The cover may include a plurality of biasing mechanisms for form fitting the cover to the footwear disposed within the cover including one or more of the elastic cover material itself, a flat elastic band, elastic thread used to stitch one or more pieces of the cover together and a heel securing mechanism.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A removable footwear cover comprising:
 a flexible cover configured to closely conform to the shape of an article of footwear without the use of an external fastener;   a flat elastic strip attached to an opening of the flexible cover, the flat elastic strap being positioned adjacent to an opening of the article of footwear;   a heel securing member attached to the flexible cover, the heel securing member configured to maintain a position of the flexible cover with respect to a heel portion of the article of footwear so as to reduce or hinder shifting between the flexible cover and the article of footwear.   
     
     
         2 . The removable footwear cover of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible cover comprises a two-piece construction having a first piece and a second piece, the first piece and the second piece being secured together to form an integral flexible cover, wherein the first piece of the flexible cover closely conforms to the shape of an upper portion of the article of footwear and the second piece of the flexible cover closely conforms to the shape of a lower portion of the article of footwear. 
     
     
         3 . The removable footwear cover of  claim 2 , wherein the flexible cover further comprises at least a third piece being secured to at least one of the first piece and/or the second piece, wherein the third piece of the flexible cover closely conforms to the shape of the heel portion of the article of footwear. 
     
     
         4 . The removable footwear attachment of  claim 1 , further comprising a friction-increasing element attached to the flexible cover to reduce slipping between the flexible cover and a ground surface. 
     
     
         5 . The removable footwear cover of  claim 1 , wherein the heel securing member comprises a flat elastic strap configured to stretch to accommodate the heel portion of the article of footwear. 
     
     
         6 . The removable footwear cover of  claim 5 , wherein the heel securing member includes an opening to allow the heel portion of the article of footwear to extend therethrough such that the heel portion of the article of footwear contacts a ground surface. 
     
     
         7 . The removable footwear cover of  claim 5 , wherein the heel securing member further comprises a friction-increasing element attached thereto to reduce slippage between the heel securing member and a ground surface. 
     
     
         8 . The removable footwear cover of  claim 1 , wherein the heel securing member comprises a cupped structure having a lower surface and an upwardly extending sidewall, wherein the heel portion of the article of footwear is positioned inside the heel securing member. 
     
     
         9 . A versatile footwear cover comprising:
 a stretchable cover fabric material having a first elasticity and defining an opening and recess within which a piece of footwear is disposed, the cover fabric material being opaque or non-transparent and having a hem located proximate the opening defined by the stretchable cover fabric material;   a flat elastic member disposed in the hem of the stretchable cover fabric material and having a second elasticity, the stretchable cover fabric material and flat elastic member being moveable between a first position wherein the cover material and flat elastic member are stretched to fit the piece of footwear and a second position wherein the cover material and flat elastic member are compressed to form fit over an exterior surface of the piece of footwear;   stretchable thread for stitching the stretchable cover fabric material into the versatile footwear cover and the flat elastic member into a band of flat elastic member positioned about the opening defined by the stretchable cover fabric material, the stretchable thread having a third elasticity; and   a heel securing member defined by the stretchable cover fabric material and having a fourth elasticity;   wherein the versatile footwear cover includes a plurality of biasing mechanisms for form fitting the footwear cover to the piece of footwear being covered by the versatile footwear cover, the plurality of biasing mechanisms comprising two or more of the first elasticity of the stretchable cover fabric material, the second elasticity of the flat elastic member, the third elasticity of the stretchable thread and the fourth elasticity of the heel securing member.   
     
     
         10 . The versatile footwear cover of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of biasing mechanism comprises four biasing mechanisms including the first elasticity of the stretchable cover fabric material, the second elasticity of the flat elastic member, the third elasticity of the stretchable thread and the fourth elasticity of the heel securing member, elastic or stretchable thread, flat elastic member or band, and the heel securing mechanism. 
     
     
         11 . A method of manufacturing a flexible footwear cover comprising:
 providing a stretchable cover fabric material capable of covering at least a majority of an exterior of a piece of footwear in a non-transparent manner and shaped into one or more pieces with at least one piece defining an opening through which the piece of footwear is disposed when installing the cover;   forming a hem in the at least one piece of material defining the opening through which the footwear is disposed, the hem being positioned proximate to the opening defined by the at least one piece of material; and   disposing a first flat elastic band within the hem, the at least one piece defining the opening through which the footwear is disposed and the first flat elastic band being movable between a first stretched position wherein the piece of footwear may be disposed within the opening of the at least one piece and a second compressed position wherein the at least one piece and first flat elastic band are form fitted to the exterior of the piece of footwear.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , comprising providing a heel securing member made from the stretchable cover fabric material, the heel securing member being connected to the at least one piece defining the opening through which the piece of footwear is disposed. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the heel securing member further includes a second flat elastic band and the method further comprises connecting the second flat elastic band to the stretchable cover fabric material of the heel securing member, the stretchable cover fabric material of the heel securing member and the second flat elastic band being movable between a first normally biased position and a second expanded position wherein the stretchable cover fabric material of the heel securing member and the second flat elastic band are stretched to fit a heel portion of the piece of footwear. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , comprising stitching the second flat elastic band to the stretchable cover fabric material of the heel securing member to secure the second flat elastic band to the stretchable cover fabric material of the heel securing member. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the stretchable cover fabric material is shaped into at least two pieces, with a first piece comprising the at least one piece defining the opening through which the piece of footwear is disposed and a second piece comprising the heel securing member, the method further comprising connecting the at least two pieces to one another to form the flexible footwear cover.