United States Patent [191
`Stern
`
`[11] Patent Number:
`[45] Date of Patent:
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`4,506,390
`Mar. 26, 1985
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`[54] MATERNITY‘ GARMENT
`[75] Inventor: Marilyn M. Stern, Washington, DC.
`[73] Assignee: Ninth Moon, Washington, DC.
`[21] Appl. No.: 584,874
`[22] Filed:
`Feb. 29, 1984
`
`[51] Int. Cl.3 ............................................. .. A41D 1/14
`[52] US. Cl. ......................................... .. 2/221
`[58] Field of Search ................. .. 2/220, 221, 105, 237,
`2/211, 74; 128/519, 534, 579
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`[56]
`
`D. 122,856 10/1940 Rosen .................................... .. 2/223
`
`D. 127,123 5/1941 Bayor . . . . .
`D. 139,359 11/1944 Levitt ....... ..
`1,026,559 5/1912 Brundidge ..
`
`1,380,605 6/ 1921 Swantees . . . . . . .
`2,470,678 5/ 1949 Auslender ..
`3,013,227 12/1961 Satin ......... ..
`3,089,149 5/ 1963 Kelleam ..
`
`3,093,138 6/1963 Herman . . . . . .
`
`3,143,740 8/1964 Spiegelberg
`4,280,229 7/1981 Stein ......... ..
`
`. . . . .. 2/224
`D2/223
`.... .. 2/105
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`. . . . .. 2/ 105
`.. 2/ 105
`2/76
`2/76 X
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`. . . . .. 2/105
`
`.. 2/105
`
`.. 2/221
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`Primary Examiner—Doris L. Troutman
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Stevens, Davis, Miller &
`Mosher
`ABSTRACT
`[57]
`A maternity garment is disclosed, which comprises an
`expandable waistband portion of elastically shirred ma
`terial which completely encircles the garment and a
`body portion depending from the expandable portion.
`The expandable portion has a narrower vertical extent
`at the rear portion of the garment, and a wider vertical
`extent which swoops down at the front portion of the
`garment to form a pouch which supports the lower
`portion of a woman’s stomach. The expandable portion
`is constructed to be width-wise expandable and con
`tractable, but not vertically expandable. The degree of
`width-wise expansion is controlled by the type of stitch
`ing and elastic shirring employed so as not to be too
`tight or too loose, at any stage of pregnancy. The stitch
`ing of the elastically shirred waistband portion is ar
`ranged to prevent fold-over or ruf?ing of the upper
`edge of the garment.
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`6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures
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`US. Patent Mar.'26, 1985 _
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`U.S. Patient M31326, 1985 I
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`MATERNITY GARMENT
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`el’s unattractiveness, once a pregnancy is over the gar
`ment is no longer used.
`At least one attempt has been made to provide a more
`comfortable and attractive maternity garment by dis
`carding the expandable front panel in favor of an ex
`pandable waistband which is wider than a conventional
`waistband and which completely encircles the garment,
`as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,229. However, the
`ribbed knitted waistband does not provide any support
`for the lower portion of a woman’s stomach, so that the
`garment tends to be less comfortable to wear. Also, the
`drape of the garment changes as the pregnancy pro
`gresses, since the ribbed knitted waistband pulls away
`from the body at the bottom of the stomach, resulting in
`an unflattering greater fullness in the body of the gar
`ment. The ribbed knitted waistband used in the garment
`described in this patent is formed of a material which is
`different from that of the remainder of the garment,
`which tends to make the garment unattractive so that it
`will not be used once a pregnancy is over. In addition,
`the rectangular shape of the waistband restricts the
`styling of corresponding maternity tops.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`An object of the present invention is the provision of
`a maternity garment which is comfortable to wear
`throughout a pregnancy, which is attractive, and which
`is usable even after a pregnancy is over.
`Another object of the invention is the provision of a
`maternity garment which has a waistband portion
`which securely supports the garment and which never
`abrades or cuts a wearer, even in the last stages of preg
`nancy.
`Another object of the invention is the provision of a
`maternity garment which ?ts well and provides com
`fortable stomach support to a wearer throughout all
`stages of a pregnancy.
`Another object of the invention is the provision of a
`maternity garment which has a waistband portion
`which permits the drape of the body of the garment to
`remain unchanged throughout a pregnancy.
`Another object of the invention is the provision of a
`waistband portion which permits greater latitude in the
`styling of complimentary garments.
`These and other objects, advantages and features of
`the invention are provided by a maternity garment
`which comprises an expandable and contractable waist
`band portion of elastically shirred material which com
`pletely encircles the garment and a body portion de
`pending from the waistband portion. The waistband
`portion has a narrower vertical extent at the rear por
`tion of the garment, and a wider vertical extent which
`swoops down at the front portion of the garment to
`form a pouch which cups and supports the lower part of
`a woman’s stomach. The waistband portion is con
`structed to be width-wise expandable and contractable,
`but not vertically expandable. The degree of width-wise
`expansion and contraction is controlled by the length
`and type of stitch, the spacing of the rows of stitching
`and the gauge and type of elastic thread employed in the
`elastic shirring. The expandable waistband portion is
`therefore not too tight or too loose, at any stage of
`pregnancy. Open yardage forming the waistband por
`tion is shirred at an optimum ratio of slightly greater
`than two-to-one to provide the desired degree of width
`wise expansion. The stitching of the elastically shirred
`waistband portion is also arranged to prevent fold-over '1
`or ruffling of the upper edge of the garment. Since the
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention is directed to a maternity gar
`ment which provides a high degree of wearer comfort
`throughout a pregnancy, and which looks attractive
`and is still usable even after a pregnancy.
`2. Discussion of the Prior Art
`Because a woman’s body changes signi?cantly during
`pregnancy, there is a need for comfortable clothing
`which can conform to these changes and yet be attrac
`tive. Several attempts have been made at providing
`maternity garments, such as pants and skirts, which
`conform to a woman’s body throughout the term of
`pregnancy. Typically, such garments have a generally
`rectangular shaped expandable knit (stretch) panel ex
`tending from side-to-side across the front thereof,
`which allows the stomach and waist area to expand.
`The sole function of the panel is to cover that area of the
`body throughout the pregnancy. It provides no support
`for the wearer nor does it assist in supporting the gar
`ment itself. The garment is supported by a narrow elas
`tic band, attached to the top of the panel, which encir
`cles the garment at waist level. The garment relies to
`tally on the concentrated area pf this narrow band to
`hold itself up. This construction presents numerous
`problems for a pregnant wearer.
`As a pregnancy progresses the waistband has the
`largest relative circumference of the garment so that the
`elastic band has to be tight enough to hold the skirt up
`and counteract the natural tendency for the waistband
`to slip down. The narrow elatic band necessary to sup
`port the garment does not expand sufficiently to remain
`comfortable. The elastic ratio of the elastic band is less
`than the proportionate dimensional change of the cir
`cumference of a pregnant wearer’s stomach. Since the
`elastic band is sized to attempt to accommodate all
`stages of a pregnancy, it is loose during the early stages
`and the garment is not securely supported. Conversely,
`during the latter stages, this narrow band is stretched
`too tght and causes great discomfort as it tends to
`abrade and cut into a pregnant wearer.
`The panel easily accommodates the changes in shape
`of a pregnant woman’s body, but provides no support
`for the lower portion of the stomach. As the panel itself
`is not very elastic, it does not contract or hug under the
`stomach. The bottom of the panel is pulled away from
`the body by the weight of the garment and falls from
`the fullest part of the stomach. The changing position of
`the bottom of the panel alters the drape of the garment.
`This makes it difficult to keep the hem line even and
`increases the fullness of the body of the garment, result
`ing in a less ?attering ?t. The panel, as it is rectangular
`in shape, extends over the hip bone area where little or
`no expansion is needed, unnecessarily increasing the
`total area of the panel. Moreover, the front panel is
`typically constructed of a different material (knitted)
`than the ramainder of the garment (woven) making it
`unattractive. The dye lot of the panel and therefore its
`color is different from that of the body of the garment,
`further increasing its unattractiveness. The panel re
`quires a corresponding maternity top that covers and
`conceals the entire panel area, thereby restricting the
`styling of the top. As a further consequence of the pan
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`invention does not use a narrow encircling elastic band,
`abrasion and cutting of a wearer is entirely avoided.
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`4,506,390
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`The invention will be better understood by reference
`to the accompanying drawings, in which:
`FIG. 1 illustrates in perspective view a maternity
`garment of the invention;
`FIG. 2 illustrates in side view the maternity garment
`of the invention;
`FIG. 3 illustrates in front view the attachment of the
`waistband portion to a body portion of the maternity
`garment;
`FIG. 4 illustrates in front view a piece of fabric used
`to construct the waistband portion;
`FIG. 5 illustrates in front view the fabric of FIG. 4
`after shirring and with a cut line for the waistband por
`tion; and,
`FIG. 6 illustrates in side view an enlargement of a
`portion of the waistband.
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`to form the waistband portion of the garment (FIGS.
`1-3).
`A skirt body portion is formed from one or more skirt
`panels which are sewn together to form the body shape
`shown in FIG. 3. The front portion of the skirt body
`includes a cut-out area 21 which conforms to the pouch
`19 formed in the elastic waistband portion. The opening
`23 formed at the top of the body portion has a circum
`ferential dimension larger than that of the elastically
`shirred waistband portion 11 when relaxed. To con
`struct the garment, the waistband portion is stretched
`and sewn to the upper edge of the body portion of the
`garment. Subsequent relaxation of the shirred tube
`causes the skirt body 13 to be gathered, as shown in
`FIGS. 1 and 2. The ?nished skirt dimensions are typi
`cally a 28" waistband circumference, and a 30” overall
`length.
`As shown in FIGS. l-3, the waistband portion 11 of
`the garment has a wider vertical extent at the front of
`the garment than at the rear and the front portion of the
`waistband further includes a curved downwardly ex
`tending pouch 19. The tapering of the elastically shirred
`waistband speci?cally con?nes the expandability to that
`area where it is needed. Additionally, the tapering re
`duces the total area of the waistband, thereby permit
`ting greater latitude in the design of corresponding
`maternity tops.
`The elastically shirred waistband portion also has a
`natural automatic contraction, which is not true of some
`types of expandable materials, such as a regular knitted
`structure. As a result of the elastic shirring, the pouch
`19 cups the lower portion of a woman’s stomach and
`contours itself to ?t it, and acts as a sling-like support
`which provides added comfort to a wearer. This cup
`like action of the pouch provides a wearer with a cus
`tom ?t and a feeling of security. As the pouch acts
`independently from the body of the garment, the drape
`of the garment remains unchanged. The cup-like action
`of the pouch permits the body of the garment to always
`hang from the same position below the bulge of the
`stomach, close to the legs. This results in a slimmer
`silhouette and a smaller hem circumference. Addition
`ally, the garment maintains an even horizontal hem
`level with no hike-up in the front.
`The waistband portion 11, being elastically shirred.
`can be formed of the same woven or knitted material
`which is used for the body portion of the skirt so that
`the skirt as a whole has a more attractive and uniform
`appearance and looks like a traditional garment.
`The approximately two-to-one shirring ratio is com
`patible with the growing dimension of a pregnant wear
`er’s stomach. It provides adequate support for the gar
`ment in the earlier stages of pregnancy and easily
`stretches to comfortably accomodate the maximum full
`term stomach circumference. The elastic ratio of the
`elastic shirring is considerably greater than the propor
`tional change of the pregnant wearer’s stomach. The
`shirring ratio can also be greater than the slightly
`greater than two-to-one ratio discussed above to pro
`vide even more “hug” to the garment, if needed or
`desired. As the hug, and therefore the support for the
`garment, is distributed over the entire waistband area.
`the waistband portion 11 does not present an encircling
`narrow elastic band, as in the prior art garments. This
`wide distribution and the waistband’s ability to sepa
`rately expand at each of the encircling rows of stitching
`ensures that it will not abrade or cut a wearer at any
`stage of a pregnancy.
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`DETAILED DECRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a maternity garment con
`structed in accordance with the teachings of the inven
`tion. It includes a waistband portion 11 and a body
`portion 13. The garment illustrated is a skirt; however,
`other types of maternity garments, such as slacks, can
`also be constructed. To simplify subsequent description,
`a skirt will be described.
`The waistband portion completely encircles the gar
`ment and is radially expandable, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
`It is formed of a strip of open yardage material approxi
`mately 60” long and 9" wide, as shown in FIG. 4. A
`hem is formed along a top edge thereof by folding the
`top edge and stitching along line 15 (FIG. 4) so that the
`material strip is reduced to a size XXY of about
`60"X8". This material strip is then elastically shirred
`(stitched longitudinally) with stretched elastic thread to
`form the waistband material shown in FIG. 5, having a
`XXY dimension of approximately 28"X 8". The stitch
`used is a single thread chain stitch and the elastic thread
`is known in the trade as 3M. The ?rst four longitudinal
`rows of stitching (those closest to the top edge 11) are
`spaced approximately 3/16” apart (“A” in FIG. 6),
`while the remaining rows of stitching are approximately
`3/8" apart (“B” in FIG. 6). The stitches are all the same
`size and hit in the same spacing. The smaller spacing
`between the ?rst four rows of stitching prevents ruf?ing
`or “fold over” of the upper edge of the garment during
`use. Stitching of the hemmed open yardage to produce
`the elastically shirred waistband material can be accom
`plished by a multi-needle chain stitching machine,
`which is known in the trade. With this stitching, the
`open yardage is elastically shirred at a slightly greater
`than a two-to-one ratio (60" to 28"=approximately a
`2.14 to 1 ratio). The resultant waistband material is
`expandable horizontally (in the radial direction) when
`fastened to a garment, but not vertically.
`The elastically shirred waistband material is then cut
`along the out line 17, shown in FIG. 2. One portion at
`each end of the waistband material is cut to a height Z
`of approximately 4%", while a central portion at the
`center is cut on a curve from each of the end portions to
`form a pouch 19 having a maximum height T of approx
`imately 7%".
`The cut, elastically shirred panel is then sewn into a
`tube, with the center back edges being joined together
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`Although a skirt has been shown and described, it
`should be appreciated, as noted above, that the waist
`band material can also be attached to the top of a body
`portion con?guredas a pair of slacks. Accordingly, the
`invention is not to be construed as limited by the forego
`ing description, but is only limited by the scope of the
`claims appended hereto.
`I claim:
`1. A maternity garment comprising:
`a tube-like waistband portion having a front and back
`and a vertical extent which is narrower at said back
`and wider at said front, said waistband portion
`having a pouch-like vertical extension at said front
`and being elastic and expandable and contractable
`only in a radial direction; and
`a body portion connected with and extending down
`wardly from said waistband portion, said body
`portion forming the con?guration of said garment.
`2. A maternity garment as in claim 1, wherein said
`waistband portion is formed of an elastically shirred
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`material which is stitched circumferentially of said gar
`ment with elastic thread.
`3. A maternity garment as in claim 2, wherein said
`elastically shirred material includes a plurality of verti
`cally spaced circumferential stitches arranged in rows,
`said stitches all being of the same size, the spacing of a
`?rst predetermined number of rows of said stitches
`adjacent to a top edge of said garment being less than
`the spacing between the remaining rows of said stitches.
`4. A maternity garment as in claim 1, wherein said
`waistband portion and body portion are formed of the
`same fabric material.
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`5. A maternity garment as in claim 2, wherein said
`material is elastically shirred with a ratio which is at
`least slightly greater than two-to-one.
`6. A maternity garment as in claim 5, wherein said
`material is elastically shirred with a ratio of approxi
`mately 2.14 to l.
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