Abstract:
A religious article with at least one reinforced edge, said reinforced edge comprising a strip of material which is capable of being stitched to the fabric from which the religious article is produced, said strip of material having a sufficiently high tensile strength such that said at least one reinforced edge is not able to be torn with two hands.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to the field of textiles. More particularly, the invention relates to a religious article, particularly a four-cornered garment with braided fringes having a tapered neck opening, whose edges are reinforced with a strip of material having a relatively high tensile strength which is stitched to the fabric from which the religious article is produced.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    According to the Jewish religion, males are obliged to wear a four cornered garment, hereinafter referred to as a “tallit katan.” FIG. 1 is a photograph of a typical tallit katan, generally designated by numeral  10 , the periphery of which is produced with four corners  6 , wherein a set of braided fringes  7  is attached to each corner  6 . Tallit katan  10  is formed with head opening  12  so that the garment may be worn on one&#39;s upper body, with two corners positioned in front of and two corners positioned behind the wearer. Each longitudinal edge of the tallit katan may be provided with appendages produced from a set of warps without wefts tied together, hereinafter referred to as “unbraided fringes.” 
           [0003]    A tallit katan is generally worn as an undergarment, with neck opening  14  positioned to the front of the wearer to provide ventilation, especially since a tallit katan is preferably made from wool, although other fabrics are acceptable as well. The exemplary neck opening is formed with a tapered V-shaped apex  15 . Wool fibers are relatively short, and therefore yarn which is produced therefrom has a relatively low tensile strength. Over the course of time during which a tallit katan is worn and removed on a continuous basis, occasionally being stretched, stitching  17  may become frayed.  
           [0004]    Referring now to FIG. 2, stress is concentrated at apex  15  of neck opening  14 , and as can be readily seen, apex  15  is liable to be inadvertently torn as a result of a minimal stress. After the stitching of apex  15  is torn, fabric  18  in the vicinity of the apex becomes unprotected. As a result, fabric  18  tends to additionally tear, often resulting in tear line  19 , which inwardly extends, i.e. in a direction towards a longitudinal edge of the tallit katan connecting two adjacent corners  6  (FIG. 1), from apex  15 . A frayed or torn neck opening is not becoming in a religious article, and is esthetically unacceptable since the neck opening is at times visible when the shirt of the wearer is partially unbuttoned.  
           [0005]    Some prior art religious articles provide reinforced edges by stitching a visible strip of cloth, such as a 65%/35% mixture of polyester and cotton. When a V-shaped neck opening is to be reinforced, a V-shaped strip is stitched onto the neck opening. Although the apex of the neck opening has a greater tensile strength with the addition of the strip of cloth, it nevertheless presents some drawbacks. Firstly, the visible strip is esthetically unacceptable. Secondly, the strength of the cloth is relatively low since cotton fibers of relatively low tensile strength are used and the cloth has a relatively low woven density of no more than 30 warps per centimeter. Thirdly, a piece of yarn at the apex of the strip is inevitably torn during the cutting thereof. An initial tear is therefore produced at the apex, which increases in size, due to shear and tensile stress.  
           [0006]    A prior art tallit katan has not yet provided an article of manufacture whose neck opening cannot be easily torn or frayed.  
           [0007]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a tallit katan whose neck opening cannot be easily torn or frayed.  
           [0008]    It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a tallit katan with reinforced edges.  
           [0009]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a tallit katan with reinforced edges which are not visible.  
           [0010]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a tallit katan with reinforced edges with a relatively high tensile strength.  
           [0011]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tallit katan with reinforced edges which can be produced in a cost-effective manner.  
           [0012]    Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    The present invention provides a religious article with at least one reinforced edge, said reinforced edge comprising a strip of material which is capable of being stitched to the fabric from which the religious article is produced, said strip of material having a sufficiently high tensile strength such that said at least one reinforced edge is not able to be torn with two hands.  
           [0014]    The strip of material is preferably made from twisted polyester and not visible to an observer due to overlock stitching with which it is stitched to the fabric. The width of the strip ranges from 3-10 mm, and is preferably 6 mm. The thickness of the strip ranges from 0.25-0.5 mm, and is preferably 0.3 mm. The strip preferably has a woven density of at least 60 warps per centimeter. The width of a stitch ranges from 3-6 mm, and is preferably 5 mm.  
           [0015]    In one aspect, the religious article is a tallit katan comprising a periphery produced with four corners, a set of braided fringes capable of being attached to each of said corners and a head opening. The tallit katan preferably further comprises a neck opening. The side edges of the neck opening preferably taper to a V-shaped or T-shaped apex. When the reinforced edge is the apex, the tensile strength of the apex is on the order of hundreds of kilograms, said tensile strength being measurable by application of a substantially linear tensile force coincident with the side edges of the neck opening and with the apex, said side edges being in a collinear disposition.  
           [0016]    An outer edge of the strip is preferably positioned to be parallel with, and in close proximity to an outer edge of the fabric. An outer edge of the strip may be a fold.  
           [0017]    Alternatively, the outer edge of the fabric is a fold formed from an original edge of the fabric. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]    In the drawings:  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a photograph of a prior art tallit katan;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a photograph of a torn neck opening which results from the use of a prior art tallit katan;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a plan view of a tallit katan utilizing reinforced edges in accordance with the present invention; and  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is an enlargement of FIG. 3 showing the position of the reinforcement relative to the fabric from which a tallit katan is produced. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]    [0023]FIG. 3 illustrates tallit katan  20  in accordance with the present invention, which is provided with reinforced edges  22  and neck opening  25 , which terminates at V-shaped apex  26 . The entire periphery of the garment, including that of head opening  24  and neck opening  25  are provided with reinforced edges  22 . A reinforced edge may be effected with many different types of stitching, preferably of the overlock type, and for brevity these types of stitching will not be described since they are well known to those skilled in the art.  
         [0024]    The side edges of neck opening  25  are designated by numerals  23  and  27 . By bending side edges  23  and  27  to be in a substantially collinear disposition, the tensile strength of the apex may be measured by applying a substantially linear tensile force passing through the side edges and the apex. Due to the reinforcement, the tensile strength of edge  22  at V-shaped apex  26  is significantly increased. With the innovation of the present invention, the tensile strength at apex  26  is on the order of hundreds of kilograms, whereas in prior art garments it is less than 10 kg.  
         [0025]    As shown in FIG. 4, edge  22  is reinforced by the addition of strip  28  of 100% polyester, or any other material which is flexible, yet is relatively inelastic and of a relatively high tensile strength. Strip  28  is preferably made from substantially infinite polyester fibers, which are twisted together to form strengthened pieces of yarn. The strip is further strengthened by being provided with a woven density of at least 60 warps per centimeter. Since a continuous strip is used to form the edges, even at an apex of a V-shaped neck opening, a stress concentration at the apex is not extant and yarn is not inevitably torn thereat during the cutting of the material.  
         [0026]    Strip  28  is placed on top of fabric  33  and positioned such that outer edge  29  of the strip is parallel with, and in close proximity to, outer edge  31  of fabric  33 . Stitch  32  permanently affixes strip  28  to fabric  33  such that strip is not visible to an observer. If so desired, outer edge  31  may be formed by folding the original edge of fabric  33 . Likewise edge  29  may be formed by a fold. The width of strip  28  ranges from 3-10 mm, and is preferably 6 mm. The thickness of the strip ranges from 0.25-0.5 mm, and is preferably 0.3 mm. The width of stitch ranges from 3-6 mm, and is preferably 5 mm.  
         [0027]    Any other religious article which tends to fray or tear may be advantageously provided with a reinforced edge in accordance with the present invention.  
       EXAMPLE 1  
       [0028]    A tallit katan produced from 100% sheep wool has a length of 135 cm, a width of 60 cm and a thickness of 0.5 mm. The head opening is rounded, and has a length of 18 cm and a width of 12 cm. The V-shaped neck opening inwardly extends for a length of 23 cm from the edge of the head opening, tapering from a width of 6 cm to an apex.  
         [0029]    The edges of the tallit katan, including the head and neck openings, are all reinforced with a strip of polyester having a width of 6 mm and a thickness of 0.4 mm. The strip of polyester is woven with a weave pattern in which one weft is provided for each warp, with a woven density of 64 warps per centimeter. An overlock stitching of 3 threads having a width of 5 mm is used to stitch the strip to the woolen fabric.  
       EXAMPLE 2  
       [0030]    A tallit katan produced from cotton has a length of 135 cm, a width of 60 cm and a thickness of 0.5 mm. The head opening is rounded, and has a length of 26 cm and a width of 18 cm. Due to the size of the head opening, a neck opening is not provided.  
         [0031]    The edges of the tallit katan, including the head opening, are all reinforced with a strip of polyester having a width of 6 mm and a thickness of 0.3 mm. The stitching and the weave pattern are identical to those of Example  1 .  
       EXAMPLE 3  
       [0032]    A tallit katan produced from a mixture of 65% polyester and 35% cotton has a length of 135 cm, a width of 60 cm and a thickness of 0.5 mm. The head opening is rounded, and has a length of 18 cm and a width of 12 cm. The T-shaped neck opening inwardly extends for a length of 23 cm from the edge of the head opening and has a width of  0 . 5  cm. The longitudinal edges of the tallit katan are provided with unbraided fringes.  
         [0033]    The edges of the tallit katan, including the head opening, are all reinforced with a strip of polyester having a width of 6 mm and a thickness of 0.3 mm. The stitching and the weave pattern are identical to those of Example 1.  
         [0034]    While some embodiments of the invention have been described by way of illustration, it will be apparent that the invention can be carried into practice with many modifications, variations and adaptations, and with the use of numerous equivalents or alternative solutions that are within the scope of persons skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims.