FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a garment, or a portion of a garment, having selected stretch zones, offering added flexibility in the area of the stretch zone.

BACKGROUND

Traditional garments are often made from a material that has low stretch characteristics. As an example, many garments are made from a low-stretch-woven material. One disadvantage of these materials is their general lack of flexibility, resulting in either restricted movement, or garments that are uncomfortable in active settings. One solution has been to construct garments of materials having high-stretch characteristics. However, the look, feel, and functionality of these garments may not be as desirable to the consumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The present invention is defined by the claims.

At a high level, aspects herein are directed to a garment, or a portion of a garment, made primarily from a material with low-stretch characteristics. The garment body has an external surface and an internal surface. In defined stretch zones, the garment body has a plurality of slits extending through the body, from the external surface to the internal surface. An interior layer having higher stretch characteristics than the garment body is affixed to the internal surface in the area of the stretch zone. The result is a garment, or a portion of a garment, that is primarily constructed with a low-stretch material that has stretch zones allowing greater flexibility. This makes the garment useful for more active activities that benefit from greater flexibility in the garment. The garment described herein may further comprise stretch zones in a variety of locations on the garment, where the locations are selected based on the intended end uses. The stretch zones may be formed with slits of varying length, and width and spacing there-between.

Aspects herein further relate to a method of manufacturing a garment, or a portion of a garment, having defined stretch zones. The method may comprise providing a garment body portion made from a material having low stretch characteristics. In an exemplary aspect, this material is a low stretch-woven material. One or more stretch zones are defined on the garment body portion, including determining where on the garment body portion the one or more stretch zones should be located. Continuing, for each of the defined stretch zones, slits are formed in the garment body portion. The slits are oriented to allow expansion of the slits as tensioning forces are applied to the garment in the area of the stretch zones. For each of the one or more stretch zones, the method comprises affixing an interior layer to the internal surface of the garment body portion in the area of the stretch zone, such that the interior layer covers the slits in the stretch zone. The interior layer is made from a material having higher stretch properties than the garment body portion. In one exemplary aspect, the internal surface of the garment body portion is coated with a heat activated adhesive in the area of the stretch zone. With the interior layer in place against the surface of the stretch zone, (after the slits are cut), heat is applied to thereby affix the interior layer to the garment body portion. The slits combined with the stretch interior layer provide added flexibility to the garment in the defined stretch zones.

