US2905947A - Maternity panty - Google Patents

Description

sept- 29, 1959 D. L. RosENBERG 2,905,947

' MATERNITY PANTY Filed Oct. 2.1, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3g mma/W d'oadaaqys sePt- 29, 1959 D. L. RosENBERG 2,905,947

MATERNITY PANTY Zzamseaauiv az'oZL. Raseneag,

ulowrzey United States Patent O MA'I'ERNITY" David L. Rosenberg, Newton, Mass., assignor to Boston Royal Petticoat Co., Bost, Mass.,- a

Application october 21, 195s, serial No. 542,004

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-224) This invention relates to maternity wear, and more particularly to undergarments, the present application being a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 316,610, filed October 24, 1952, now abandoned.

One of the most commonly used type of womens underpants is that supported by a band of elastic running around the upper edge. While this type is satisfactory for ordinary wear, it is not usually suitable for Wear during pregnancy, because the elastic waist band, if tight enough to support the garment securely at the normal waist level, is likely to cause discomfort. Maternity underpants, having front panels with enough extra material in front to provide for expansion of the abdomen and raising of the waist band during later stages of preg- `nancy, tend to hang in loose folds in the front and present a bulky appearance if worn during the earlier stages.

The general object of this invention is to provide a maternity panty which provides for expansion in the vertical direction over the abdomen so that the front part of the waist band can be raised to a comfortable and secure position above the largest portion of the abdomen, which produces no uncomfortable pressure on the abdomen during later stages of pregnancy, and which yet lits smoothly in the front, without any bulky folds or wrinkles, when worn during early stages of pregnancy when the ligure is almost normal.

In the drawing illustrating the invention;

Fig. l is a front view of a pantry constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the panty at a junction of the front and back panels of the panty;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the panty as it would appear on a wearer whose figure is normal;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the panty as it would appear on a wearer in an advanced stage of pregnancy.

As shown in the drawings, the garment consists of a generally conventional back panel 11 and crotch panel 12, attached to an elasticized front panel 13. An elastic waist band 14 runs entirely around the upper edge. The usual leg openings 15 and 16 are provided, and may be made with or without elastic, as preferred.

The front panel 13 is made of a piece of material which has a very substantial degree of elasticity in the vertical direction, and, in its extreme stretched condition is considerably longer up and down than the back panel 11, for example, once and half to twice as long. Furthermore, the vertical elasticity of the front panel is substantially uniform over its entire area. An example of a suitable material is a knit material to which are sewn vertically disposed elastic threads 17, evenly spaced, and fairly close together, for example, about one half inch apart, and disposed all over the panel. These threads are applied to the panel under tension so that, when relaxed they form uniform line shirrings 20 all over the panel. These shirrings impart a certain amount of horizontal elasticity to the front panel as well as vertical 2,905,947 Patented Sept. 29, 1959 "ice 2 elasticity. Another suitable material is one which is loosely Yof a yarn which has a high degree of elasticity, suchv as that known in ythe trade as Helanca yarn.

The back panel 11 may be made of inelastic material, or material s u'ch as ordinary knit rayon of the type commonly used for undergarrnents disposed so that its direction of greatest elasticity lies liofiz'orltal. The back panel, when made of such material, may stretch to a slight degree in the vertical direction, but its vertical elasticity may be considered negligible as compared to that of the front panel.

The elasticity of the front panel is such that, in its relaxed state, its margins 13a and 13b adjoining the seams 8 and 9, respectively, are shorter, up and down, than the adjoining margins 11a and 11b of the back panel.

The upper edges near the front corners of the back panel are cut to curve upward so as to provide extra length along the margins 11a and 11b, as exemplified in Fig. 2. While the seams 8 and 9 are being stitched, margins 13a and 13b are stretched to the length of margins 11a and 11b, as exemplified in Fig. 2. When the margins of the front panel return to their relaxed condition, small gathers 21 and 22 are formed in margins 11a Iand 11b all along seams 8 and 9 respectively.

As seen in Fig. 3, when the wearers figure is normal, the front panel, due to its substantial vertical elasticity, lies smooth, with the waist band 14 disposed at ordinary height in front, and the margins 11a and 11b of the back panel are formed into small gathers. As the wearers abdomen enlarges, the Waist band 14 may be raised in front and the front panel stretches in the vertical direction to allow both for the raising of the Waist band and the enlargement of the abdomen.

The margins 11a `and 11b can stretch to a limited extent so that there is no binding in the region of the side seams. It will be noted that the front panel material is not stretched to its fullest extent when it is being stitched to the back panel. The central part of the panel can be stretched considerably further than the margins 13a and 13b. The assembled garment is thus provided with a graduated vertical extensibility which is at a maximum at the central portion and gradually diminishes toward the side portions of the garment, becoming negligible at a point somewhat to the rear of the seams 8 and 9.

The uniform distribution of elasticity over the front panel not only ensures a smooth fit for various degrees of enlargement of the abdomen, but minimizes pressure on the abdomen, as the individual elastic threads 17, or the corresponding vertical threads of a material knit of elastic thread, stretch uniformly over their entire length and produce only a light, uniformly distributed tension.

What is claimed is:

l. A maternity panty having a front and a rear, a top opening, and leg openings, and comprising a rear panel extending continuously across the back and part way across the front on each side of the garment, and having front margins, a crotch portion, and a front panel joined to said crotch portion and extending sidewardly thereffrom along said leg openings and having side margins, the panty having front seams joining said side margins to the adjacent ones of said front margins, said seams extending from said top opening to said leg openings at points sidewardly spaced from said crotch portion, whereby the seams are adapted to be disposed substantially vertically along the sides of the Wearers abdomen when the panty is worn, said front panel being made of material having a considerable degree of vertical elasticity substantially uniformly distributed over the panel, the entire rear panel being relatively and uniformly inelastic in the vertical direction, and said front margins being 3 longer prior to joining of the panels than said side margins in their unstressed condition and being gathered along said seams, and said seams being vertically extensible. l

2. A panty as described in claim 1, the entire front panel being shirred in the up and down direction by a plurality of evenly spaced, vertically disposed elastic threads attached thereto.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,645,369 Bieberman Oct. 11, 1927 White Oct. 25, 1938 OHern 2 Dec. 25, 1945 Jacobson Feb. 22, 1949 Miller June 27, 1950 Rutledge June 9, 1953 Walters i. Dec. 21, 1954 Garrou et al Apr. 19, 1955 Blatt Oct. 11, 1955 Blatt Sept. 18, 1956 Hampp May 21, 1957

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