Seamless knit lower body garment and method of making same

Abstract

The garment includes a panty portion .[.formed of fashioned gussets.]. and a pair of legs integrally knit with the panty portion. The legs may be short to provide a panty, panty girdle and the like or they may be long and provided with foot portions to form tights, leotards, panty hose and the like. .[.Fashioned front.]. .Iadd.Front .Iaddend.and rear .[.gussets.]. .Iadd.portions .Iaddend.of the panty portion are provided with knit selvage edges to form a waist opening in the garment during the knitting operation and to eliminate the need for slitting the garment in a subsequent operation to form the waist opening. Elastic yarns may be incorporated in the portion of the garment surrounding the waist opening to provide an integrally knit elastic band around the waist opening.

That which is claimed is: 
     
       1. A seamless knit lower body garment including a panty portion and a pair of legs integrally knit with said panty portion, each of said legs comprising successive complete courses, said panty portion comprising fashioned extensions formed of partial courses and extending upwardly from each of said legs, and fashioned front and rear gussets formed of partial courses and being knit integral with and connecting said fashioned extensions, said partial courses of said front and rear gussets extending vertically of said panty portion with their lower ends being joined to the ends of said partial courses of said extensions, and the upper ends of said partial courses of said front and rear gussets including knit selvage edges providing a waist opening in the upper end of said panty portion and between said front and rear gussets. 
     
     
       2. A seamless knit lower body garment according to claim 1 wherein said panty portion is knit of a stretchable body yarn, and including an elastic yarn knit in plated relationship with said body yarn in a few wales adjacent the upper ends of said partial courses of said front and rear gussets to provide an integrally formed elastic waist band around the waist opening in the upper end of said panty portion. 
     
     
       3. A seamless knit lower body garment according to claim 1 wherein said panty portion is knit of a body yarn, and including an elastic yarn knit in plated relationship with said body yarn throughout said front gusset to provide an elastic panel in the front of said panty portion. 
     
     
       4. A seamless knit lower body garment according to claim 1 wherein said legs are of substantial length and include a closed lower foot portion to form a panty hose type garment. 
     
     
       5. A method of knitting a seamless lower body garment including a panty portion and a pair of legs integrally knit with said panty portion, said panty portion comprising first and second fashioned extensions extending upwardly from each of said legs, and fashioned front and rear gussets connecting said fashioned extensions, said method comprising the steps of knitting the first of said legs by forming successive complete courses, knitting said first fashioned extension by forming partial courses and gradually decreasing the length thereof, knitting said fashioned front and rear gussets by forming partial courses while first gradually increasing the length of the partial courses and then decreasing the length of the partial courses at one end thereof and while forming a knit selvage edge at the other ends of said partial courses to provide a waist opening in the upper end of said panty portion and between said front and rear gussets, knitting said second fashioned extension by forming partial courses and gradually increasing the length of said partial courses, and then knitting the second of said legs by forming successive complete courses. 
     
     
       6. A method according to claim 5 including the step of knitting an elastic yarn in a few wales adjacent the knit selvage edges of said front and rear gussets to provide an integrally formed elastic waist band around the waist opening in the upper end of said panty portion. 
     
     
       7. A method according to claim 5 including the step of knitting an elastic yarn in all the wales of said front gusset to provide an elastic panel in the front portion of said panty portion. 
     
     
       8. A method of knitting a seamless lower body garment on a circular knitting machine including a needle cylinder and means for selectively rotating and reciprocating said needle cylinder, said garment including a panty portion and a pair of legs integrally knit with said panty portion comprising a fashioned extension extending upwardly from each of said legs, and fashioned front and rear gussets knit integral with and connecting said fashioned extensions, said method comprising the steps of continuously rotating said needle cylinder and knitting successive complete courses to form one of said legs, reciprocating said needle cylinder and knitting partial courses gradually decreasing in length to form the first of said fashioned extensions, continuing to reciprocate said needle cylinder and knitting separated groups of partial courses of separate yarns to form said front and rear gussets and while first gradually increasing the length of the partial courses and then decreasing the length of the partial courses at one end thereof and while forming a knit selvage edge at the other ends of said partial courses to provide a waist opening in the upper end of said panty portion and between said front and rear gussets, continuing to reciprocate said needle cylinder and knitting partial courses gradually increasing in length to form the second of said fashioned extensions, and then rotating said needle cylinder and knitting successive complete courses to form the other of said legs. 
     
     
       9. A method according to claim 8 including the step of knitting separate elastic yarns in a few wales adjacent the knit selvage edges of said front and rear gussets to provide an integrally formed elastic waist band around the waist opening in the upper end of said panty portion. 
     
     
       10. A method according to claim 8 including the step of holding the last partial course of said first fashioned extension while knitting said front and rear gussets, joining the first partial course of said second fashioned extension to the last partial course of said first fashioned extension, and then completing the garment by severing the connection between the last partial course of said first extension and the first partial course of said second extension, bringing together opposed ends of the last partial course of said first extension and the first partial course of said scond extension, and forming seams at opposite sides of said panty portion and extending downwardly in said extensions and connecting together the partial courses of said front and rear gussets at opposite sides of said panty portion. .Iadd. 11. A seamless knit one-piece lower body garment including a panty portion and a pair of legs integrally knit with said panty portion, each of said legs comprising successive complete courses, said panty portion including a knit-in waist opening, wherein a. said panty portion includes an intermediate portion formed of reciprocatory knit partial courses,   b. the waist opening has spaced knit selvage edges, and   c. said knit selvage edges comprise the terminal ends of reciprocatory knit partial courses. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 12. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said panty portion is knit of a stretchable body yarn, and including an elastic yarn knit with said body yarn in a few wales adjacent said knit selvage edges to provide an integrally formed elastic waistband adjacent said waist opening. .Iaddend..Iadd. 13. A garment according to claim 11, wherein said panty portion is knit of a body yarn and includes a waistband knit integrally with said panty portion, said waistband including an elastic yarn knit with said body yarn in selected wales adjacent said knit selvage edges of said waist opening. .Iaddend..Iadd. 14. A garment according to claim 11, wherein   a. said waist opening is at least two wales wide and   d. said legs are of substantial length and include a closed lower foot portion to form a panty hose type garment. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 15. A garment according to claim 11, wherein   a. said selvage edges extend walewise and define a waist opening at least two wales wide,   b. said panty portion is knit of a stretchable body yarn, and   c. a waistband is knit integrally with said panty portion,   d. said waistband including an elastic yarn knit with said body yarn in selected wales adjacent said knit selvage edges. .Iaddend..Iadd. 16. A method of knitting a seamless one-piece lower body garment including a panty portion and a pair of legs integrally knit with said panty portion, said panty portion including a knit-in waist opening, said method comprising the steps of:   a. knitting the first of said legs by forming successive complete courses,   b. knitting the panty portion,   c. during knitting of the panty portion, knitting an intermediate portion of said panty portion by reciprocatory knitting to form partial courses terminating in spaced knit selvage edges defining said waist opening, and   d. then knitting the second of said legs by forming successive complete courses. .Iadd. 17. A method according to claim 16, further including the step of knitting an elastic yarn in a few wales adjacent said knit selvage edges of said waist opening to provide an integrally formed elastic waistband. .Iaddend..Iadd. 18. A method of knitting a seamless one-piece lower body garment on a circular knitting machine including a needle cylinder and means for selectively rotating and reciprocating said needle cylinder, said garment including a panty portion and a pair of legs integrally knit with said panty portion, said panty portion including a knit-in waist opening having selvage edges, said method comprising the steps of:   a. rotating said needle cylinder and knitting successive complete courses to form one of said legs,   b. reciprocating said needle cylinder and knitting successive courses to form said panty portion;   c. during reciprocation of said needle cylinder knitting an intermediate portion of partial courses terminating in spaced knit selvage edges to provide said waist opening, and   d. then rotating said needle cylinder and knitting successive complete courses to form the other of said legs. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 19. A method according to claim 18 further including the step of knitting an elastic yarn in said knit selvage edges and adjacent said waist opening to provide an integrally formed elastic waistband. .Iaddend..Iadd. 20. A method of knitting on a circular knitting machine a seamless one-piece lower body garment including a panty portion and a pair of legs integrally knit with said panty portion, said panty portion including a knit-in waist opening, said method comprising the steps of:   a. knitting a first portion of the garment by unidirectional rotary knitting to provide a first leg of the garment,   b. knitting a medial portion of the garment by reciprocatory knitting to provide said panty portion of the garment,   c. during reciprocatory knitting of the panty portion, forming an intermediate portion of fabric courses which terminate in spaced knit selvage edges, to provide a waist opening having two opposing, wale-wise extending, knit selvage edges,   d. knitting an elastic yarn in a selected number of wales adjacent said knit selvage edges to provide an integrally formed elastic waistband, and   e. then knitting the remaining portion of the garment by unidirectional rotary knitting to provide the second of said legs of the garment. .Iaddend.