Headwear with Absorbent, Wicking, Expandable Band

Abstract

A headband for headwear such as a cap or hat, the headband having a material formed by an absorption layer fused with a wicking layer, the material having stretch and recovery properties, wherein said wicking layer controls stretch and recovery of said absorption layer, and wherein the wicking layer comprises a wicking fusible substrate, and wherein the absorption layer comprises a material substrate having absorptive fibers, and wherein the headwear comprises a second material and wherein a shrinkage of the material substrate substantially matches a shrinkage of the second material.

1 . A headband for headwear, the headband comprising:
 a material formed by an absorption layer fused with a wicking layer, the material having stretch and recovery properties, wherein said wicking layer controls stretch and recovery of said absorption layer, and   wherein the wicking layer comprises a wicking fusible substrate, and   wherein the absorption layer comprises a material substrate having absorptive fibers, and   wherein the headwear comprises a second material and wherein a shrinkage of the material substrate substantially matches a shrinkage of the second material.   
     
     
         2 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the fusible substrate comprises a two-way fusible substrate. 
     
     
         3 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the wicking layer comprises wicking fibers. 
     
     
         4 . The headband of  claim 3 , wherein the wicking fibers comprise polyester fibers. 
     
     
         5 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the wicking layer provides memory and/or performance to the headband. 
     
     
         6 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the absorptive fibers comprise one or more of: cotton fibers, hemp fibers, and bamboo fibers. 
     
     
         7 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein stretch properties of the absorption layer are due, at least in part, from the material substrate being compacted or being cut on a bias thereof and/or having mechanical stretch and/or comprising an elastic polyurethane fiber or fabric. 
     
     
         8 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the absorption layer comprises a material selected from a group comprising: cotton, poly-cotton, a compacted woven material, and a compacted knit material, and
 wherein the absorption layer comprises 35% to 100% cotton, and/or   wherein the absorption layer comprises between 1% to 65% polyester.   
     
     
         9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the absorption layer is perforated. 
     
     
         12 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein different portions of the absorption layer have different degrees of perforation. 
     
     
         13 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the wicking layer is perforated. 
     
     
         14 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein different portions of the wicking layer have different degrees of perforation. 
     
     
         15 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the headband is perforated. 
     
     
         16 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein different portions of the headband have different degrees of perforation. 
     
     
         17 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein perforations in the headband form and/or comprise one or more repeating patterns. 
     
     
         18 . The headband of  claim 17 , wherein the repeating patterns comprise repeating logos and/or text. 
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the fusible substrate has shrinkage equal to shrinkage of the second material. 
     
     
         21 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the shrinkage of the material substrate is 2% to 15%, and the shrinkage of the second material is 2% to 15%. 
     
     
         22 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the second material comprises a fabric that is the same as a fabric of the headwear. 
     
     
         23 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the second material is selected from a group comprising: a pant fabric, cotton, poly-cotton, linen, denim, a compacted woven material, and a compacted knit material. 
     
     
         24 . The headband of  claim 1 , wherein the headwear is selected from a group comprising: caps and hats. 
     
     
         25 . Headwear comprising a headband according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . A method of making a headband of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 (A) positioning a fusible substrate on a material substrate;   (B) fusing said fusible substrate and said material substrate to form a fused combination; and   (C) spooling said fused combination as a spool of headbands.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 compacting said material substrate prior to said positioning in (A).   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 perforating said fusible substrate and/or said material substrate prior to said positioning in (A).   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 perforating at least a portion of said fused combination.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the fused combination is perforated with one or more logos. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the fused combination is uniformly perforated. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein different portions of the fused combination have different degrees and/or amounts of perforation. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 printing indicia on said fused combination.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the indicia comprise one or more logos. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the indicia match perforations in shape and/or size. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein said printing is performed before perforating said fused combination. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein said printing is performed in conjunction with perforating said fused combination. 
     
     
         39 . A headband formed by the method of  claim 27 . 
     
     
         40 . A spool of headbands formed by the method of  claim 27 .