Customer-Created Textiles and Customer-Oriented Garment Dyeing Machine

Abstract

Customers obtain customized textile materials by selecting style, shape, size, pattern and color for an undyed textile product. Based on a selection made by the customer, the textile product is transformed by a dyeing operation performed on a single item to yield a product, such as a shirt, pants, or jacket which has a color and pattern of his or her own choosing, in the size and style he or she desires. The process can be performed in a retail setting using a dye machine which allows the process to be viewed by the customer. Preferably, the textile material is constructed from yarns which include cationic cotton alone or in combination with natural cotton or other natural or synthetic fibers, and using anionic dyes, such as a fiber reactive dye, such that the dye is exhausted during the process and effluent from the dye machine is environmentally friendly without excess dye, salts, and alkalis. To enhance the educational and entertainment experience of the customer, the dyeing operation can be performed in a transparent tank or water kettle in the retail outlet so that the customer can view, for example, the garment as it is being dyed to the customer's specifications.

1 - 17 . (canceled) 
   
   
       18 . A business method of producing customized dyed fabric materials, comprising the steps of:
 a) selecting, for a single fabric material, a size, pattern, and color;   b) placing a single fabric material which will produce said size and pattern selected in said selecting step in one of a water kettle made of glass or a dyeing machine with a glass window, said single fabric material being viewable in said water kettle or said dyeing machine,   said single fabric material placed in said water kettle or said dyeing machine having a pattern which is a function of at least one of weave or knit pattern, and varying content of cationic cotton yarn for 0% to 100% in said single fabric material;   c) dyeing said single fabric material with a dye which produces said color selected in said selecting step, said single fabric material being permitted to be viewed while in said water kettle or said dyeing machine; and   d) repeating steps a-c for additional fabric materials.   
   
   
       19 . The business method of  claim 18  wherein said selecting step selects said single fabric material from among socks, handkerchiefs, or napkins. 
   
   
       20 . The business method of  claim 18  wherein said selecting step selects said single fabric material from among shirts or jackets. 
   
   
       21 . The business method of  claim 18  wherein said dyeing step is performed in a water kettle. 
   
   
       22 . The business method of  claim 18  wherein said dyeing step is performed in a dyeing machine with a glass window. 
   
   
       23 . The business method of  claim 18  wherein said selecting step includes selecting said single fabric material placed in said water kettle or said dyeing machine to be of a size which accounts for shrinkage of said single fabric material during said dyeing step.