Adornment of fabric

An adornment for affixing to fabric comprised of several ornaments in a series. The ornaments are attached by threads. The adornment is affixed by either a heat sealable thread which binds the adornment to the fabric upon application of sufficient heat and pressure, or by a heat sealable coating or 2 heat sealable material laminated on the individual ornaments.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to adornments for fabrics and more particularly to 
composite ornaments for affixing to fabric. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The affixing of ornaments such as beads and sequins to fabric is a 
time-consuming, labor intensive operation in the garment industry. 
Originally each individual ornament was hand sewn. At present strings of 
ornaments are available having threads which run the length of the 
underside of the string. These strings present a considerable cost saving 
in that they permit the sewer to quickly attach a large number of 
ornaments. However, the strings must still be sewn by hand. 
In addition, when strings of ornaments are sewn on by hand in a fixed 
shape, constant attention must be given to its shape. This also represents 
considerable labor costs. 
The present invention is an improved method for affixing adornments to 
fabric that alleviates the high labor cost of hand sewing, and allows 
strings of ornaments to be used as a separate unit with a rigidity of 
their own. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The primary object of the invention is to provide an adornment for fabric 
which can be quickly and easily attached to fabric which is neither labor 
intensive nor requires expensive equipment. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of affixing an 
adornment to a fabric which involves placing a string of ornaments on a 
fabric. The string of ornaments contains at least one heat softenable 
thread. Upon application of heat and pressure to the adornment and fabric, 
the heat softenable thread melts and binds the string of ornaments to the 
fabric. 
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a string of 
ornaments which can be quickly and easily attached to a fabric. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a string of 
ornaments with sufficient rigidity such that it may be shaped as a 
separate unit and retain its shape while being affixed to the substrate. 
These and various other features of novelty which characterize the 
invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto 
and forming a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the 
invention, reference should be had to the drawings which form a further 
part hereof, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is 
illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Reference is now made to FIG. 2 which shows a cross-sectional view of the 
adornment 10 attached to a fabric 20. The fabric is preferably cloth which 
can be selected from a wide range of materials as well as synthetic 
materials. For reasons which will become obvious the cloth may also be 
made from paper or other porous materials. 
The series of individual sequins A, B, C, D, E lie face up on the cloth. 
The sequins are shown to be overlapping so that the edge 20 of sequin B 
touches the eye 25 of sequin A. Alternate embodiments are foreseen in 
which the adjacent sequins either touch edge to edge, overlap slightly, or 
are spaced at either periodic or non-periodic intervals. The exact 
positioning of adjacent sequins is a matter of preference. 
A main thread 30 runs through the eyes of each ornament. The main thread, 
like the other threads mentioned below, may be formed from either natural 
or synthetic material. A filler thread 40 and four heat-softenable threads 
51, 52, 53, 54 run essentially parallel to the main thread along the 
underside of the ornaments. In the preferred embodiment, two bobbin 
threads 61 and 62 entwine the main thread, filler thread, and 
heat-softenable threads and serve to bind them in close proximity to each 
other and hold them along the underside of the ornaments. Alternate 
embodiments utilize heat-sealable threads as the bobbin thread, with or 
without filler thread/s or the main thread either alone or in combination 
with each other or in combination with heat-softenable threads as shown. 
The ornament 10 is affixed to the fabric by placing it so the underside 
contacts the fabric. Heat and pressure are then applied to cause the 
heat-softening threads 51, 52, 53 and 54 to melt and intermingle with the 
filler thread and the fabric. As a result the filler thread becomes 
integral with the fabric and the adornment is thus affixed to the fabric. 
The heat and pressure may be applied in any of the conventional methods 
known to the art. In a preferred embodiment the fabric and adornment are 
run through the nip of a pair of rollers. The lower roller is heated and 
applies sufficient heat and pressure to affix the adornment to the fabric 
as described above. Alternately the upper roller or both the upper and 
lower rollers are heated to melt the heat-softenable threads. An adhesive 
tape may be used to ensure the adornment remains properly positioned 
during handling. After heating the tape may simply be peeled off the 
fabric. 
In an alternate embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the two 
bobbin threads 61 and 62 entwine a main thread 30 and two flexible wires 
67 and 68. The flexible wire provides a decorative effect and allows for 
positioning the series of ornaments which form the adornment in a given 
pattern so that the adornment can be affixed to the fabric without 
constant attention to its shape. The bobbin threads and/or the main 
threads may be softenable and serve to bind the adornment to the cloth. 
Sequins with wire can also be used as a separate unit on their own to give 
shape to artificial flowers, hair, fur, or feather trimmings, decorative 
ties, bows, etc. 
A third embodiment of the invention is seen in FIG. 5. This embodiment does 
not have heat sealable threads but rather a coating 81 on the sequins of a 
heat softenable material. The ornaments of the embodiment are attached by 
threads and/or wires and affixed to fabric as described above. 
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with 
reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those 
skilled in the art that variations in form may be made without departing 
from the spirit and scope of the invention.