Panty-type garment and process of making such garment

Claim 2

A process for making one-piece panty-type garments, the steps of which comprise a. supplying a length of warp knit fabric having spaced, parallel elastic selvedge bands formed with lengthwise-only stretch and an integral intermediate fabric section, the width of the fabric corresponding to the height of the garment, b. severing a section of the warp knit fabric to form a generally rectangular fabric blank, c. forming said section into a tubular garment pre-form having said elastic selvedges along its upper and lower edges, d. forming a first seam by securing together the severed opposite end edges of said preform to define a closed-loop garment pre-form having a single vertical seam and having continuous closed elastic selvedges at the upper and lower edges thereof, and e. thereafter forming a second seam by joining diametrically opposed portions of said garment pre-form adjacent the lower elastic selvedge to form a crotch portion dividing said lower selvedge into a pair of elastic leg bands of combined total circumference less than the original cut length of the lower elastic selvedge.

Claim 3

The process of claim 1, further characterized by a. said joining step being carried out along a substantially inverted U-shaped seam with the apex thereof intersecting said first seam and with the legs of said U-shaped seam intersecting the lower selvedge, and b. severing and removing the fabric section defined by said U-shaped seam.

Claim 4

A one-piece panty-type garment which comprises a. a single section of warp knit fabric severed from a web of such fabric, b. the width of the severed section constituting the desired height of said garment, c. said fabric section having parallel elastic one-way stretch selvedges along its upper and lower edges, d. said fabric section being substantially rectangular in shape, e. said section being severed to have a length corresponding to the desired waist size of said garment, f. the severed end edges of said section being joined by a single vertical seam to form a substantially tubular-shAped garment having said parallel upper and lower edge elastic selvedges, g. a substantially inverted U-shaped crotch seam disposed adjacent the lower edge elastic selvedge with the apex thereof intersecting said vertical seam and with the legs thereof intersecting the lower edge elastic selvedge at a large angle, h. said U-shaped seam forming a pair of leg openings encircled by portions of said lower edge elastic selvedge, and i. the fabric portions embraced by said seam being severed from said garment.

Claim 5

A one-piece panty-type garment which comprises a. a single section of warp knit fabric severed from a web of such fabric, b. the width of the severed section constituting the desired height of said garment, c. said fabric section having parallel elastic one-way stretch selvedges along its upper and lower edges, d. said fabric section being substantially rectangular in shape, e. said section being severed to have a length corresponding to the desired waist size of said garment, f. the severed end edges of said section being joined by a single vertical seam to form a substantially tubular-shAped garment having said parallel upper and lower edge elastic selvedges, g. a substantially inverted U-shaped crotch seam disposed adjacent the lower edge elastic selvedge with the apex thereof intersecting said vertical seam and with the legs thereof intersecting the lower edge elastic selvedge at a large angle, h. said U-shaped seam forming a pair of leg openings encircled by portions of said lower edge elastic selvedge, and i. the fabric portions embraced by said seam being severed from said garment.