Shapewear

Abstract

A shapewear garment made from a double face fabric having an inner face that comprises a cotton layer that does not have a gusset in the crotch portion of the garment. A shapewear garment having adjustable bodice cups having draw strings that gather the bodice cups along a vertically-extending seam in the garment. The fabric of the bodice cups has a folded upper edge defining a neckline without a seam. A shaperwear garment or other garment made using a high tension, flexible thin seam for seaming two adjacent stretchable fabrics along abutting edges, and having an adhesive film bonded across the abutting edges and a pattern of stitching through the adhesive film and the adjacent, abutted stretchable fabrics.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A garment including a panty or full body garment that covers the crotch area of the wearer, the garment comprising a double face fabric, the double face fabric comprising an inner cotton layer, wherein the crotch portion of the double face fabric does not include a gusset or additional absorbent material. 
     
     
         2 . The garment according to  claim 1  wherein the garment has opposed leg portion having an inner thigh area, and the crotch portion is a U-shaped panel that extends along the inner thigh areas and across the crotch area, transversely to the body's center axis, thereby avoiding forming an axial seam in the crotch portion. 
     
     
         3 . The garment according to  claim 1  wherein double face fabric is stretchable. 
     
     
         4 . A shapewear garment covering the torso or both the torso and the waist of the wearer, and including adjustable bodice cups including an adjustment means for adjusting the height of the bodice cups. 
     
     
         5 . The shapewear garment according to  claim 4  wherein adjustment means comprises draw strings that gather a panel material of the bodice cups along a vertically-extending seam in the garment. 
     
     
         6 . The shapewear garment according to  claim 4 , wherein the garment includes a base garment that covers the torso or both the torso and the waist, the adjustable bodice cups including a pair of opposed panels made of a light, stretchable material. 
     
     
         7 . The shapewear garment according to  claim 6 , wherein each of the opposed panels is formed from a single patterned piece of fabric that has a folded-under side edge that attaches to at least a portion of the corresponding folded-under side edge of the other panel to define a middle seam, and an upper edge defining a neckline, formed with a portion of the panel folded under itself. 
     
     
         8 . The shapewear garment according to  claim 7 , wherein each panel includes a vertical tunnel formed in the folded-under side edge by a second seam line that extends parallel with and laterally outboard from the middle seam, wherein the draw strings extend up through each tunnel and out through an upper opening in the tunnel. 
     
     
         9 . The shapewear garment according to  claim 8 , wherein each draw string is secured at a lower end of the tunnel. 
     
     
         10 . A high tension, flexible thin seam including two adjacent stretchable fabrics, each fabric having an abutting edge and an attachment surface adjacent the abutting edge, an adhesive film bonded to the attachment surfaces across the abutting edges, and a pattern of stitching formed through the adhesive film and the attachment surfaces of the adjacent stretchable fabrics. 
     
     
         11 . The seam according to  claim 10 , wherein the adhesive film has a thickness of at least about 2 mil, and up to about 10 mil. 
     
     
         12 . The seam according to  claim 10 , wherein the adhesive film is heat and pressure bonded to the attachment surfaces. 
     
     
         13 . The seam according to  claim 10 , wherein the adhesive film extends from the abutting edge and over the attachment surface by width of at least about 2 mm, and up to about 12 mm, including up to about 10 mm, or up to about 8 mm, or up to about 6 mm. 
     
     
         14 . The seam according to  claim 10 , wherein the adhesive film has stretch properties only in its length direction 
     
     
         15 . The seam according to  claim 10 , wherein the pattern of stitching is a stitching technique that permits stretching and flexing of the stitched fabrics. 
     
     
         16 . A garment made from two or fabric pieces that are joined using a high tension, flexible thin seam of  claim 10 .