Shirt construction

Abstract

A shirt having a seamless shoulder construction is provided. The shirt comprises a body portion and two sleeves. The body portion comprises a sheet of generally rectangular fabric having opposed elongated arcuate cutouts formed in the opposed side edges of the sheet, and a neck opening. The fabric sheet is folded transverse its length to define overlying front and back shirt portions having seamless shoulders and arm openings. Seams join at least a portion of the adjacent edges of the opposed sides of the folded sheet Each of the sleeves is formed from a generally trapezoidally shaped sheet of fabric having a longer base with an arcuate shape. The arcuate shaped base is attached to one of the arm openings to form a seam, and side edges of the sleeves are joined to seam under the arm of the wearer. The shirt is without the conventional seam running across the shoulder from the neck to the shoulder edge.

1 . A shirt having a seamless shoulder construction, comprising:
 (a) a body portion and two sleeves;   (b) the body portion comprising a sheet of generally rectangular fabric having opposed side edges, opposed ends, and a length;
 (i) opposed elongated arcuate cutouts formed in the opposed side edges of the sheet; 
 (ii) a neck opening; 
 (iii) the fabric sheet folded transverse its length to define overlying front and back shirt portions having seamless shoulders and arm openings; 
 (iv) seams joining at least a portion of the adjacent edges of the opposed sides of the folded fabric sheet; 
   (c) each of the sleeves formed from a generally trapezoidally shaped sheet of fabric, with the trapezoidally shaped sheet having a longer base with an arcuate shape, the arcuate shaped base attached to one of the arm openings to form a seam, and the sleeves having side edges that are joined to seam under the arm of the wearer; and   (d) whereby the shirt is without the conventional seam running across the shoulder from the neck to the shoulder edge.   
   
   
       2 . The shirt of  claim 1  wherein:
 (a) each arcuate cutout of the body portion comprises a length;   (b) the arcuate shaped base of each sleeve comprises:
 (i) an edge that does not conform precisely to the arcuate shape of the elongated cutout of the body portion; 
 (b) a length; 
   (c) the length of the arcuate cutout of the body portion and the length of the arcuate shaped based are substantially the same; and   (d) wherein when the arcuate cutout of the body portion and the arcuate shaped base are combined and seamed, pucker of the fabric under the arm of a wearer is substantially eliminated.   
   
   
       3 . The shirt of  claim 1  wherein the arm openings are spaced from the neck opening a distance sufficient to position the seam between the arm opening and the sleeve below the shoulder of a wearer. 
   
   
       4 . The shirt of  claim 1  wherein the fabric is formed of yarns comprising an intimate blend of fibers containing at least some flame resistant fibers. 
   
   
       5 . The shirt of  claim 4  wherein the intimate blend comprises about 80 percent modacylic fibers and about 20 percent flame resistant viscose fibers. 
   
   
       6 . The shirt of  claim 1  wherein the front shirt portion is slit from the neck to the bottom edge to form a button-up type shirt.