Ornamental device and method of forming it

Ornamental device having compartments formed of net-like foraminous material and containing sparkle elements which are larger than the openings in the material, but having appendages whose outer ends are smaller than the openings so as to engage therein to inhibit movement of the sparkle elements within the compartments.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
Many devices have been developed over the years for enhancing feminine 
appearance, but one of the most popular types consists of the use of a 
tulle fabric on which sparkle elements, such as sequins, are mounted. This 
type of ornamented fabric has been used for veils, formal dresses, and 
ballet skirts. It has not, however, come into common use for a number of 
reasons. 
One deficiency of the prior art fabric of this type has been the fact that 
it is necessarily expensive, because of the hand work that has been 
necessary to apply the sparkle elements. In the case of sequins, the 
traditional method of attachment has been by sewing each individual sequin 
in place. The expense also rises if a large number of sparkle elements are 
used. Of course, attempts have been made to fasten the sparkle elements by 
using glues and cements, but these apparently have also caused problems. 
For instance, many of the cements soften at high temperature, so that the 
sparkle elements fall off. In other cases, they are so brittle that normal 
rubbing that takes place during the wearing of the dress, etc., cause a 
breakage and release of the sparkle element. These and other difficulties 
experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel 
manner by the present invention. 
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide an 
ornamental device that makes use of a net-like material having sparkle 
elements, but which device is relatively inexpensive. 
Another object of this invention is the provision of an ornamental device 
in which sparkle elements are applied to a netted material, such as tulle, 
in such a way that the elements remain in place despite intensive use. 
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a 
decor-enhancing means in which sparkle elements are applied to a net-like 
material with a minimum of manual labor. 
A still further object of the invention is the provision of an ornamental 
material which is simple and rugged in construction, which can be easily 
manufactured from readily-available materials, and which is capable of a 
long life of useful service with a minimum of maintenance. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide an ornamental fabric 
display having sparkle or sequin elements, wherein the sparkle elements 
are automatically maintained in a shining condition and do not easily 
become tarnished. 
Another object of the invention is the provision of an ornamental device in 
which an arrangement of sparkle elements can be easily varied as desired. 
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled 
in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in 
the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In general, the present invention is concerned with an ornamental device 
having a main envelope that is divided into a plurality of compartments, 
each compartment being defined by at least one sheet of a net-like fabric. 
A plurality of sparkle elements are contained in each compartment, each 
element being larger that an opening in the fabric. Each sparkle element 
has an appendage that is smaller at its outer end than the said opening in 
the fabric. 
More specifically, the ornamental device is formed by combining two sheets 
of the net-like fabric to form an open-ended envelope, inserting the 
sparkle elements in the envelope so that they lie in a selected restricted 
portion, and then forming a fold or seam across the envelope to totally 
enclose the said portion, thus providing the compartment containing the 
sparkle elements.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 demonstrate the novel method used to make the 
ornamental device, indicted generally by the reference numeral 10. In FIG. 
1, it can be seen that two sheets 18 and 28 of tulle are combined to form 
an open-ended envelope 12. As shown, the sheets are similar elongated 
rectangles that are stitched along two edges, leaving the end edges open. 
Sparkle elements 20 are inserted, as in FIG. 2, and are placed at one end 
in a restricted portion or area. These sparkle elements are larger in size 
than the openings and have appendages that are smaller at their outer ends 
than the openings. Folds are formed across the envelope to restrict the 
sparkle 14 elements to their own portions or compartments 14, 16, etc. In 
most situations, it will be sufficient to accomplish this division into 
compartments simply by folding the envelope sharply along transverse 
lines. After completely folding the envelope into compartments, as shown 
in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bundle is stitched completely across, thus closing 
the ends of the envelope and completing the formation of the plurality of 
compartments that enclose the sparkle elements 20. 
Referring next to FIGS. 3 and 4, which best show the general features of 
the invention, the ornamental device 10 is shown as including the main 
envelope 12 having a plurality of compartments 14 and 16. Thus, each 
compartment is defined by at least one sheet 18 of a net-like material. In 
the preferred embodiment of the invention, this material is a synthetic 
tulle, but silk and other similar transparent net fabrics can be used. 
Each compartment 14, 16 contains a plurality of glitter or sparkle elements 
20, each such element being larger than the mesh or opening 22 in the 
net-like material. In addition, each sparkle element has an appendage 24 
(see FIG. 5) that is smaller at its outer end than the said opening in the 
material. 
FIG. 6 shows the sparkle element 20 to be in the form of a star, whose 
points constitute the appendages 24 which are smaller at their outer ends 
than the openings in n the net-like material Similarly, FIG. 6a shows a 
sparkle element 20a in the form of a crescent moon having pointed horns 
24a. FIG. 6b shows a sparkle element 20b in the shape of a stylized heart 
that is provided with a pointed cusp 24b. A sparkle element 20c is 
demonstrated in FIG. 6c and is in the shape of a sun having thin radial 
rays 24c. 
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the sparkle elements 20, 
etc., are formed of a plastic material such as Mylar (duPont trademark) or 
a foil material that is stamped into the forms shown, i.e., stars, 
crescents, hearts, suns, and the like. In each form selected, the shape is 
provided with at least one narrow-ended appendage. In addition, the 
preferred embodiment has compartments that are made up of two sheets 18 
and 28 of the net-like material that are sewn together at their edges. In 
the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the compartments are 
arranged sequentially to form a ribbon 26. 
FIG. 7 shows the manner in which the ribbon 26 can be formed into a bow 32 
with the sparkle elements 20 displayed neatly on facing surfaces. A strip 
34 of material similar to that in the ribbon is wrapped around the center 
of the bundle of ribbon, shown in FIG. 2, to form the bow. Such a bow can 
be effectively used as an ornament on a dress or in the hair. 
FIGS. 8 and 9 show a modified form of the invention, in which the 
ornamental device 36 is intended for use to hold a "pony-tail" hairdo in 
place. An envelope 3 is divided into two elongated, parallel compartments 
40 and 42, each compartment containing a plurality of the sparkle elements 
20, etc. of the type previously described. In other words, the sparkle 
elements are larger than the openings in the net-like material, but have 
appendages that are smaller than those openings. The adjacent edges of the 
compartments 40 and 42 are joined by an annular strip 44, which, as is 
clearly shown in FIG. 9, has a central elastic ring 46. The strip 44 is 
sewn to the compartments in such a way that the compartments are formed 
with ruffles and maintained in that condition. 
The operation and the advantages of the present invention will now be 
readily understood in view of the above description. For instance, it is 
clear that the basic construction of the ornamental device 10 can be used 
in a number of configurations for the enhancement of feminine apparel, 
hair, or accessories. FIG. 7 shows one form that can be used, namely as a 
bow. FIG. 8 shows how the principle of the invention can be used in an 
elastic ring for application to the hair. When the invention is used, for 
instance, in the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the sparkle elements 20 
are in the shape of stars. When the sparkle elements are more or less 
evenly distributed within the compartment 14, the stars cannot escape, 
because they are larger than the openings 22 in the mesh. Furthermore, the 
appendages or points of the stars extend into the openings in the mesh and 
lock the star in place. The simple act of handling the bow 32 will tend to 
re-distribute the stars evenly throughout the compartment 14. If, however, 
the sparkle elements accumulate at the bottom of the compartment, it is a 
simple matter to invert the bow and the compartment to move the stars into 
a more pleasing distribution. 
It is evident, then, that it is not necessary to fasten the sparkle 
elements individually to the net-like material, because they are not only 
enclosed in their respective compartments, but they also lock in place and 
are inhibited from moving within the compartment by the engagement of the 
points or appendages with the openings in the mesh. This method of 
assembly, therefore, involves very little manual labor, and the cost of 
manufacture is substantially reduced from the prior art methods of 
attaching sparkle elements In addition, the appearance of the finished 
product is rather novel, because the shining surfaces of the sparkle 
elements show through the openings in the mesh, but at the same time, are 
very unlikely to become entangled with other clothing, etc. The sparkle 
elements are, of course, initially manufactured from polished material 
which normally would eventually become tarnished. In the present 
invention, however, the slight movement of the sparkle elements within the 
mesh compartment will serve to almost continuously polish the surfaces and 
prevent tarnishing. 
It can be seen, then, that the invention has several advantages over the 
prior art, which advantages are in addition to the novel appearance of 
sparkle elements enclosed in net-like compartments. The manufacture is 
relatively inexpensive and the polished surfaces are practically 
self-maintaining. The novel structure of the invention lends itself to a 
large number of imaginative configurations in addition to the bow and hair 
elastic shown in the illustrated embodiments. 
It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction 
of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is 
not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein 
shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly 
come within the scope claimed.