Abstract:
A stretchable bottom garment is provided including a faux fly having an outer flap extending over an inner flap, where the inner flap is connected to the outer flap defining a connection. A tack including a first portion and a second portion also connects the inner flap to the outer flap. A waist band is provided above the fly and has two end portions. At least a fastener releasably fastens one end portion of the waist band to the other.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/160,170, filed on Mar. 13, 2009, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention is directed to bottom garments, as for example pants, made from a stretchable material, and in an exemplary embodiment, to a pair of pants made from a stretchable denim material and more particularly to a construction of a faux fly on such stretchable pants. A faux fly is a fly that looks like a fly, but which does not open to serve as a fly. Consequently, faux flys tend to rip apart after a relative short repeated use of the pants due to the fact that the pants are stretched about the faux fly when a user tries to wear them. Thus, a better faux fly construction is required that will prolong the life of pants having such faux flys. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In an exemplary embodiment, a stretchable bottom garment is provided including a faux fly having an inner flap and an outer flap extending over the inner flap where the inner flap is connected to the outer flap defining a first flap connection. A tack is provided having a generally vertical portion and a generally horizontal portion such that the tack also connects the inner flap to the outer flap. A waist band is provided above the faux fly. The waist band has two end portions. At least a fastener releasably fastens one of the end portion to the other, such that when the waist band is not fastened, a load applied at opposite portions of the waist band for stretching the garment along the faux fly will be reacted by the tack. In an exemplary embodiment, the load is reacted by the generally vertical portion and the generally horizontal portion of the tack. In another exemplary embodiment, the garment is made from a stretchable denim material. In yet a further exemplary embodiment, the garment may be a pair of pants or a skirt. In yet another exemplary embodiment, each of the flaps includes two layers of material. In one exemplary embodiment, each flap is formed by folding a material portion onto itself. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the first flap connection extends along a generally vertical line. In one exemplary embodiment, the outer flap is sewn onto the inner flap along the generally vertical line forming a stitching along the generally vertical line. In a further exemplary embodiment, the load is reacted by the generally vertical and generally horizontal portions of tack before being reacted by the stitching. In yet a further exemplary embodiment, the generally vertical line begins at an intersection between the generally vertical and the generally horizontal portions of the tack. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the outer flap is further connected to the inner flap along a direction transverse to the generally vertical line at a lower portion of the outer flap forming a second flap connection. In a further exemplary embodiment, the tack generally vertical portion extends along the generally vertical line. In an exemplary embodiment, the load is reacted by the generally vertical and generally horizontal portions of tack before being reacted by the connection between the outer and the inner flaps. In yet a further exemplary embodiment, the waist band is sewn circumferentially to the garment using a lock stitch comprising no more than five stitches per inch. 
         [0004]    In another exemplary embodiment, a stretchable bottom garment is provided including a faux fly having an outer flap extending over an inner flap, where the inner flap is connected to the outer flap defining a connection. A tack including a first portion and a second portion also connects the inner flap to the outer flap. A waist band is provided above the fly and has two end portions. At least a fastener releasably fastens one end portion to the other, such that when the waist band is not fastened, a load applied at opposite portions of the waist band for stretching the garment along the faux fly will be reacted generally vertically and generally horizontally by the tack. In a further exemplary embodiment, the garment is made from a stretchable denim material. In another exemplary embodiment, the garment may be a pair of pants or a skirt. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the load will be reacted by the tack before being reacted by the connection. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the band is sewn circumferentially to the garment using a lock stitch comprising no more than five stitches per inch. In any of the aforementioned exemplary embodiments, the material is capable of stretching by 30% or more and is preferably a denim material. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a front view of an exemplary embodiment stretchable pants of the present invention including an exemplary embodiment faux fly construction. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a front view of the exemplary embodiment stretchable pants shown in  FIG. 1  which are turned inside out. 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a partial cross-sectional view of the pants shown in  FIG. 1  taken along arrow  3 - 3 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a front view of another exemplary embodiment stretchable pants incorporating an exemplary embodiment faux fly construction. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    In an exemplary embodiment, a stretchable bottom garment, such as stretchable pair of pants  10  are provided with a faux fly  12 , as for example shown in  FIG. 1 . “Bottom garment” as used herein refers to a garment worn over a person&#39;s legs, such as pants, skirts, etc. For illustrative purposes, the present invention is described herein in relation to a pair of stretchable pants. The exemplary embodiment stretchable pants are made from a stretchable denim, i.e., a jean material. In an exemplary embodiment, the stretchable denim material stretches 30% or more. In other words, a 100-inch piece of material is capable of stretching to 130 or more inches. The faux fly is formed by an outer flap  14  ( FIG. 1 ) which is sewn proximate its edge to an inner flap  16  ( FIG. 2 ) extending behind the outer flap forming a generally vertical sewn seam  17 . In other words, the outer flap extends over the inner flap and is sewn to the inner flap along seam  17 . In an exemplary embodiment, the outer flap is also sewn to the inner flap along another seam  19  extending transversely from seam  17 . 
         [0010]    In an exemplary embodiment, the outer flap  14  is formed by folding the pants material onto itself such that the outer flap  14  has an inner layer  18  and an outer layer  20  of the material, as for example shown in  FIG. 3 . The inner layer  18  of the outer flap  14  is sewn to the outer layer  20  of the outer flap  14  along a seam  22 , as for example shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . Similarly, the inner flap  16  is formed by folding the pants material onto itself such that the inner flap  16  has an inner layer  24  and an outer layer  26 , as for example shown in  FIG. 3 . The inner layer  24  of the inner flap  16  is sewn onto the outer layer  26  of the inner flap  16  along a seam  28 , as for example shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
         [0011]    The inner and outer flaps extend up to a waist band  30  of the pants. The waist band, in an exemplary embodiment, includes a button  32  proximate one end and a button hole  34  proximate the other end, as for example shown in  FIG. 1 . In another exemplary embodiment, other fastener types, such as clips, hooks, etc. which are known in the art may be used. 
         [0012]    In an exemplary embodiment, a tack, such as a V-tack  34 , is used to enforce the connection between the outer flap  14  and the inner flap  16 . In the shown exemplary embodiment, the V-tack includes a generally horizontal portion  36  and a generally vertical portion  38 . In the shown exemplary embodiment, the two V-tack portions are perpendicular to each other and are connected to each other. The V-tack is formed by a thread sewing the two flaps horizontally and vertically together to form the V-tack horizontal portion and vertical portion, respectively. In an exemplary embodiment, a continuous thread is used to form the horizontal and vertical portions. The V-tack has a relatively short horizontal and vertical portion relative to the inner and outer flaps. In an exemplary embodiment, the horizontal portion has a length of about ⅜ inch and the vertical portion has a length of about ⅜ inch. The V-tack may be formed with any color thread. In one exemplary embodiment, the V-tack is formed from thread that has the same or similar color as the pants, such as indigo colored thread, thereby making the V-tack not readily visible. In an exemplary embodiment, the inner flap  16  has a portion  39  extending at an angle to allow for the stitching of the V-tack, as for example shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0013]    As the pants are stretched over one&#39;s hips to allow a person to wear them, the load exerted on the faux fly is reacted in the V-tack, along its horizontal portion  36  and its vertical portion  38 , thereby preventing the inner and outer flaps which are connected along the seam  17  from ripping apart, i.e., preventing the seam  17  from failing. Consequently, a thread of sufficient strength is used to form the V-tack. In other words, when a wearer stretches the pants along the waist band, any load applied to the faux fly will be reacted by the tack. In an exemplary embodiment, such a load will be reacted by the tack before being reacted by the seam  17 . Moreover, in a further exemplary embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  4 , the waist band  30  is stitched with a lock stitch  40  that allows the pants to be pulled and stretched past a person&#39;s hip. Applicant has discovered that five stitches per inch allow for sufficient stretching of the garment when it is being pulled over a person&#39;s body when being worn. Moreover, the lock stitch due to its design also provides for stretchability in the stitch. In another exemplary embodiment, the entire garment may be stitched with a topstitch comprising five stitches per inch or less. By using fewer stitches per inch, as for example five stitches or even less, the garment is not tightly held together thereby allowing it to stretch when being pulled over one&#39;s body when being worn. 
         [0014]    In other exemplary embodiments, instead of a V-tack, other shapes of tacks may be used that will distribute the load exerted on the seam  17  both vertically and horizontally. 
         [0015]    The preceding description has been presented with reference to various embodiments of the invention. A person skilled in the art and the technology to which this invention pertains will appreciate the alterations and changes in the described structures, and methods of operation can be practiced without meaningfully departing from the principles, spirit, and scope of this invention. For example, although the invention has been described in relation to a pair of stretchable denim pants, it can equally apply to other bottom garments such as stretchable denim skirts.