Hosiery Garment and Method of Making the Same

Abstract

A hosiery garment including a top support portion that has a waist panel, buttock panels, a tummy panel and leg panels. The waist panel has a relatively tight knit and extends around the wearer's waist. The buttock panels have a relatively loose knit and may include loose-knit defined pockets to conform more to the buttocks of the wearer. The tight knit of the waist panel provides firmness and compression and in combination with the loose fit of the buttock panels facilitates use of a low-rise cut without bunching or riding-up of the undergarment when sitting. The upper edge of the waist panel may also include higher extending hip portions for a more secure fit. A downwardly extending rear portion of the waist panel may have a V-shape to reduce gapping. The undergarment may also include leg portions that have a sheer knit single ply and extend from the leg panels.

1 . A hosiery garment for supporting buttocks, legs, waist and an abdominal region of a wearer, the hosiery garment comprising:
 a two-ply top support portion including a waist panel, buttock panels, a tummy panel and leg panels;   said waist panel having a relatively tight knit and defining an upper edge that includes a low rise front edge portion that is lower than a rear edge portion;   said buttock panels having a relatively loose knit, and being positioned below the waist panel and shaped to conform to the buttocks of the wearer;   said tummy panel having a relatively tight knit and being positioned below the waist panel at the abdominal region of the wearer; and   said leg panels extending from the tummy and buttock panels and being configured to extend around and along the legs of the wearer.   
   
   
       2 . A hosiery garment of  claim 1 , wherein the upper edge of the waist panel has higher extending hip edge portions between the front and rear edge portions. 
   
   
       3 . A hosiery garment of  claim 1 , wherein the waist panel includes a downwardly extending rear portion. 
   
   
       4 . A hosiery garment of  claim 3 , wherein the downwardly extending rear portion has a V shape. 
   
   
       5 . A hosiery garment of  claim 1 , wherein the buttock panels are shaped to define pockets. 
   
   
       6 . A hosiery garment of  claim 1 , wherein the tummy panel extends downward from the waist panel and has converging lateral edges. 
   
   
       7 . A hosiery garment of  claim 6 , wherein the tummy panel has a triangular shape. 
   
   
       8 . A hosiery garment of  claim 1 , further comprising sheer leg portions that extend downward from the leg panels of the top portion to below the wearer's knees. 
   
   
       9 . A hosiery garment of  claim 8 , wherein the leg panels transition to the leg portions by dropping to a single ply. 
   
   
       10 . A hosiery garment for supporting buttocks, legs, waist and an abdominal region of a wearer, the hosiery garment comprising:
 at least a top portion comprising at least a pair of continuously, seamlessly knit portions attached to each other, said top portion including a waist panel configured to extend around the waist of the wearer, a buttock panel configured to extend around the buttocks of the wearer and a pair of leg panels configured to extend around the legs of the wearer, said buttock panel having a knit that is looser and relatively more elastic than a knit of the waist panel.   
   
   
       11 . A hosiery garment of  claim 10 , wherein the continuously, seamlessly knit portions are tubular knit halves of the top portion. 
   
   
       12 . A hosiery garment of  claim 11 , wherein the halves are attached along a seam that extends through the buttock panel so as to be positioned between the buttocks of the wearer. 
   
   
       13 . A hosiery garment of  claim 12 , wherein the seam extends from a top edge of the waist panel to a top of the leg panels. 
   
   
       14 . A hosiery garment of  claim 13 , further comprising a gusset crotch panel attached within the seam of the top portion between the leg panels. 
   
   
       15 . A hosiery garment of  claim 1 , wherein the top portion includes a tummy panel that is configured to extend along the abdominal region of the wearer, said tummy panel having an inelastic knit. 
   
   
       16 . A hosiery garment of  claim 6 , wherein the tummy panel extends downward and has converging lateral edges. 
   
   
       17 . A hosiery garment of  claim 1 , wherein the waist panel has a 1×1 knit and the buttock panel has a jersey knit. 
   
   
       18 . A hosiery garment of  claim 17 , wherein the top portion is knit from a first feed having a spandex single covered with a nylon and from a second feed having a nylon. 
   
   
       19 . A hosiery garment of  claim 18 , wherein the first feed is a 40 denier spandex single covered with a 40 denier, 34 filament nylon and wherein the second feed is a 70 denier, 48 filament bright nylon. 
   
   
       20 . A hosiery garment of  claim 1 , wherein the top portion has an inner ply and an outer ply. 
   
   
       21 . A hosiery garment of  claim 20 , wherein the continuously, seamlessly knit portions are tubular knit halves of the top portion. 
   
   
       22 . A hosiery garment of  claim 21 , wherein the waist panel is defined by a knit turn of the tubular knit halves, the knit turn extending between the inner and outer plies of the top portion. 
   
   
       23 . A hosiery garment of  claim 1 , further comprising legs extending from the leg panels of the top portion, said legs including a single layer, knit proximal sheer portion and a dual-layer, knit distal leg band portion. 
   
   
       24 . A hosiery garment comprising:
 a pair of legs each comprising a two-ply seamless fabric tube, each leg having a seamless tubular inner ply and a seamless tubular outer ply knit thereto at a lower end of the leg, the legs having a length such that the lower ends of the legs encircle a wearer's legs; and   a two-ply panty portion connected to the legs and including a waist panel, a buttock panel and an abdominal panel,   wherein the two-ply panty portion comprises a first panty half that is continuously knit with and seamlessly connected to a first of the legs, and a second panty half that is integrally knit with and seamlessly connected to a second of the legs, the first and second panty halves being joined to each other along a front seam and a back seam,   wherein each leg and the panty half seamlessly connected thereto are formed of a circularly knit two-ply fabric tube that is knit starting at the lower end of the leg and proceeding up to an upper end of the panty half and then back down to the lower end of the leg, the panty halves then being slit longitudinally and joined together to form the panty portion, and   wherein the waist panel has a knit with relatively less elasticity than a knit of the buttock panel.   
   
   
       25 . A hosiery garment of  claim 24 , wherein the abdominal panel has a knit with relatively less elasticity than the knit of the buttock panel. 
   
   
       26 . A method for making a hosiery garment, comprising:
 circularly knitting a first and second fabric tubes to have a two ply portion by knitting upward toward a top edge of the fabric tube and transitioning from a looser knit of a buttock panel to a tighter knit of a waist panel near the top edge while forming a first layer and downward from the top edge and transitioning from the tighter knit to the looser knit away from the top edge while forming a second layer;   longitudinally slitting an upper portion of the first fabric tube for a distance generally corresponding to a desired rise of the hosiery garment so as to form two fabric edges;   longitudinally slitting an upper portion of the second fabric tube for said distance generally corresponding to said desired rise of the hosiery garment so as to form two fabric edges; and   joining the two fabric edges of the first fabric tube to the two fabric edges of the second fabric tube so as to form a single larger fabric tube from the upper portions of the first and second fabric tubes, said single larger fabric tube including the joined top edges with the tighter knit forming a waist panel, the single larger fabric tube serving as a panty portion of the garment, and lower portions of the first and second fabric tubes serving as legs of the garment.   
   
   
       27 . A method of  claim 26 , wherein transitioning from a looser knit to a tighter knit includes transitioning from a jersey knit to a 1×1 alternating knit. 
   
   
       28 . A method of  claim 27 , wherein circularly knitting includes knitting from a first feed having a spandex single covered with a nylon and second feed having a nylon. 
   
   
       29 . A method of  claim 26 , wherein circularly knitting includes transitioning from the looser knit to the tighter knit at a tummy panel of the fabric tubes. 
   
   
       30 . A method of  claim 29 , wherein circularly knitting includes transitioning from the looser knit to the tighter knit to form a leg panel.