Headwear and sewing method therefor using rubber thread

Abstract

Headwear having a crown portion and a headband attached to and extending around the lower inside edge of the crown portion. The sewing thread used on the headband includes rubber thread and nylon stretch thread sewn together in a chain-like pattern to provide expandability and thereby increase the number of different wearer head sizes that may be accommodated by the headband. With this construction, a wide range of automatic size adjustment is obtained without imposing undue elastic pressure on the wearer.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . Headwear comprising: 
 a crown main body; and    a headband attached along said lower peripheral edge of said crown main body, said headband having a plurality of stitching lines, each of said stitching lines formed from an inner thread and an outer thread interwoven in a chain-like pattern, each of said inner thread and said outer thread having elasticity.    
     
     
         2 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said crown main body and said headband are sewn together using rubber thread and nylon thread.  
     
     
         3 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein said outer thread is rubber thread and said inner thread is nylon stretch thread.  
     
     
         4 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said outer thread is rubber thread and said inner thread is nylon stretch thread.  
     
     
         5 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said headband is made of textile containing no spandex yarn.  
     
     
         6 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said crown main body is made of more than one piece of fabric including spandex yarn.  
     
     
         7 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein said crown main body is made of more than one piece of fabric containing no spandex yarn.  
     
     
         8 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein said plurality of stitching lines are sewn such that on one side of said headband only said outer thread is visible.  
     
     
         9 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 8 , wherein only said outer thread passes through said headband.  
     
     
         10 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 8 , wherein both said inner thread and said outer thread, interwoven in said chain-like pattern, are visible on a side of said headband opposite said one side.  
     
     
         11 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 9 , wherein said inner is interwoven with said outer thread in said chain-like pattern exclusively on a side of said headband opposite said one side.  
     
     
         12 . Headwear comprising: 
 a crown main body;    a visor portion secured to a peripheral edge of said crown main body and extending outwardly therefrom; and    a headband attached along said lower peripheral edge of said crown main body, said headband having a plurality of stitching lines, each of said stitching lines formed from a rubber thread and a nylon stretch thread interwoven in a chain-like pattern.    
     
     
         13 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein a joint between said crown main body and said headband is sewn using rubber thread and nylon thread.  
     
     
         14 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 13 , wherein said joint is sewn so that a stitch line thereof is visible on an outer surface of said crown main body.  
     
     
         15 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 13 , wherein said joint is sewn so that a stitch line thereof is not visible on an outer surface of said crown main body.  
     
     
         16 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein said plurality of stitching lines are sewn such that on one side of said headband only said rubber thread is visible.  
     
     
         17 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein only said rubber thread passes through said headband.  
     
     
         18 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 17 , wherein both said nylon stretch thread and said rubber thread, interwoven in said chain-like pattern, are visible on a side of said headband opposite said one side.  
     
     
         19 . The headwear as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein said rubber thread passes through a double loop of said nylon stretch thread on said side opposite said one side in between each pass through said headband.  
     
     
         20 . A method of sewing lines of stitching using rubber thread, comprising the steps of: 
 passing an outer thread through an outer fabric and then an inner fabric;    weaving the outer thread down and up through a double loop of an inner thread to form a chain-like pattern on an inner portion of the lines of stitching; and    passing the outer thread back through the inner fabric and then the outer fabric to form a generally linear pattern on an outer portion of the lines of stitching.