Scarf

An article of clothing which comprises one or more pieces of fabric which are gathered within a member and releasably held together at predetermined ends by weighted attachment means thereby securing the article of clothing about an individual and allowing the material to hang in an attractive manner.

The invention relates to an article of clothing for wearing, particularly, 
but not exclusively, about the neck of an individual. 
Articles of clothing, and particularly accessories, such as scarfs, shawls, 
neckerchiefs, cravats and the like, typically comprise a single piece of 
generally elongate and typically rectangular material which is worn draped 
or tied around a wearer's neck. 
FR-2297577 discloses for example a loosely knitted cylindrical muff which 
is gathered at its outer most ends and provided at these ends with a 
pompon. The muff can be worn as a scarf, hat or belt. When used as a hat 
the cylindrical muff is folded in on itself, so that an opening is formed 
for affixing the muff to an individual's head. When used as a belt, the 
muff is tied by a knot or other special attachment. 
In the instance where an article is draped around a wearer's neck the 
wearer suffers the inconvenience of having the draped article alter in 
position or even fall off as the individual moves around. In the instance 
where the article is held in place by fastening or tying or the like, one 
typically finds that the article becomes creased or even possibly damaged 
at the site where a knot is tied, and in any event the article is still 
likely to be altered in position although it is less likely to fall off. 
There is therefore a need to provide such an article of clothing which can 
be worn more reliably and further, which is so innovatively designed and 
held in position that it can be worn in a number of ways and so to a 
number of advantages. 
According to the invention there is therefore provided an article of 
clothing for wearing about an individuals neck or middle comprising: at 
least one elongate piece of fabric having provided at either end thereof 
at least one drawing member into which at least part of an end of the 
fabric is drawn; and an attachment member for bringing said drawings 
members releasably theretogether wherein at least one of said drawing 
members or attachment member is weighted. 
It follows from the above that the article of the invention is fashioned, 
by the drawing-in members and attachment member, into a loop structure 
which can be worn to advantage about a user's neck. 
In a preferred embodiment of the invention said drawing members and 
attachment member comprise aesthetically designed pieces which are 
appealing to a wearer, for example, such pieces may be fashioned in 
accordance with items of modern jewellery. 
In a preferred embodiment of the invention and in particular, where only 
one piece of fabric is used, said fabric is printed such that an appealing 
pattern, colour or texture is provided on both sides of the fabric. 
In yet a further embodiment of the invention said fabric comprises one 
elongate piece of fabric which is fashioned in tubular form so that what 
is commonly known as the right side of the fabric only is viewable when 
the article is worn. 
According to a yet further aspect of the invention there is provided an 
article of clothing for wearing about an individual comprising a plurality 
of the aforedescribed articles releasably joined theretogether by way of 
the provision of a common and complementary attachment member provided on 
each article. 
According to this further aspect of the invention the said attachment 
member may comprise a screw barrel arrangement. That is to say a two part 
member which has the outward appearance of a barrel when the two parts are 
joined theretogether and which comprises a first part having at the 
attachment end thereof a projecting member including an outer threaded 
portion and the other part having at the attachment end thereof an inner 
recess portion which includes a screw thread complementary to said thread 
on said other portion. 
It will be evident that, using the aforementioned arrangement, a number of 
articles can be joined theretogether by simply mating the appropriate ends 
of said screw barrel arrangement. Thus, a number of articles can be joined 
together to form a sash which will be appropriately Weighted at 
pre-determined intervals. 
It is to be understood that the article may have any preferred or 
conventional forms of attachment members. It is not intended that the 
invention is to be limited by the single attachment described herein.

Referring to the Figures and firstly to FIG. 1, there is shown a plan view 
of a single piece of fabric for use in the invention. Where only one piece 
of fabric is to be used in an unfolded fashion, it will be clear that the 
fabric selected must have appeal when viewed from both sides. Since this 
may be rare it will be more commonplace to use a single piece of fabric 
which is folded in half along its longitudinal axis so as to provide, when 
appropriately sewn, a tubular member. However, it will be clear that said 
tubular member may be formed by joining theretogether, along two seams, 
two ideally equally sized and similarly or complementary coloured or 
patterned or textured pieces of fabric. However, it is also possible to 
provide at least two contrasting or different pieces of fabric for joining 
theretogether so as to form a desired tubular shape comprising a plurality 
of strips of sections of fabric. 
Once the tubular member has been made the outer most ends A-B thereof are 
drawn together to form two reduced and gathered ends which are secured in 
any conventional way by means of drawing-in members 1, 2 provided at ends 
A-B respectively. Drawing-in members 1, 2 may take any preferred shape and 
configuration but it is thought that a particularly attractive arrangement 
comprises an appealingly plated metallic member which is shaped into a cup 
shape having an upper fluted edge as best seen in FIG. 3. The cup shape 
may be provided with any preferred pattern, indentation, sculpturing or 
the like. 
Having drown the fabric as aforedescribed, one is provided with an 
essentially inched or gathered article. 
The ends of said article are joined theretogether using an attachment 
member and ideally an attachment member as illustrated in FIG. 3. This 
attachment member comprises a rigid loop 3 or 4 attached to the bottom 
central portion of cups 1 and 2 respectively. Hook members 5 and 6 engage 
at a first outer most end with loops 3 and 4 respectively and are attached 
at the other end to first and second barrel members 7 and 8. Barrel member 
7 comprises a first decorative part 7a and a second protruding part 7b 
located centrally on the, in use, inner most side of barrel 7. Protruding 
part 7b is provided with an outer most screw thread arrangement. 
Barrel member 8 comprises an aesthetic part 8a having a centrally located 
aperture protruding inwards towards the centre of the barrel from the 
inner most surface of the barrel. Said inner part is provided with a screw 
thread arrangement complementary to said screw thread arrangement on 
protruding part 7b. 
In use, member 7b is inserted into the aperture provided in barrel member 8 
and screwed into position. In this way, the two ends A and B of the fabric 
are brought theretogether. 
Ideally, cups 1 and 2 and barrel members 7 and 8 are made of a relatively 
weighty material so as to provide weight to the article. This ensures that 
the article can be suitable positioned and draped about a wearer. 
The article may be worn in a number of appealing ways. For example, the two 
ends of the article may be positioned at the back of a wearer's neck and 
the length of the article provided on the front of a wearer may be so 
arranged such that the lower most part forms a single straight folded 
edge, rather like a conventional arm sling, which can then be tucked into 
the front of a skirt or pair of trousers. A cardigan or jacket worn over 
this arrangement creates the impression that the article is a wrap over 
blouse. 
Alternatively, the article may be worn at a cummerbund, neck choker, edge 
to a jacket, head scarf, neck scarf, sash or in any other appealing way. 
In the instance where the article is to be worn as a sash, it is possible 
to join a plurality of articles theretogether so as to create an extended 
length. This is possible where a number of such articles have the same 
fastening members so that the joining theretogether of complementary 
fastening members is possible. 
It will be apparent from the above that the invention comprises an 
innovative and appealing article which as a result of the weighting and 
fashionable appearance of the attachment member can be worn in a number of 
positions and ways to advantage.