Abstract:
A head garment has a satin lining, sewn into the interior, to create a barrier that is necessary to keep hair moisturized. Hair will never touch the harsh materials of the hat. The hat comprises of an acrylic or polyester exterior also; a 95% polyester and 5% spandex interior comprising of different material finishes. The hat fits snugly around the head due to a thin elastic band.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/953,754, filed Mar. 15, 2014, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to hair care, hair protection, and maintenance. The inventive head garment is designed to protect against breakage of hair, “hat hair” and dryness. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Women with a naturally dry texture of hair need to go above and beyond to keep their hair moisturized and healthy. For many women, this consists of wearing a bonnet or scarf at night to keep hair protected from the harsh materials their hair may come into contact with, such as cotton. Typical hats are made from harsh materials but are necessary for both style and protection. Weather is a serious factor that can cause damage and breakage to hair from the cold, dry air as well as the beaming sunlight. During the winter, hats are used to keep warm and during the summer, hats are used to block the sun; during both times protection is still needed. 
         [0004]    When bonnets are worn under hats, there is always the possibility of the bonnet accidentally showing or having difficulties taking the bonnet and the hat off at the same time. A head garment that eliminates the additional step and adds the “bonnet” to the hat is required. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Briefly, the present invention provides a head covering including a single sheet of an exterior fabric material and a single sheet of interior fabric material fixedly attached to the exterior fabric material, forming a hat material assembly. The hat material assembly has a base and a top portion, the top portion forming a plurality of arches. Each of the plurality of arches is connected to an adjacent of the plurality of arches, forming a dome. 
         [0006]    Further, the present invention provides a method of making the head covering, as well as a head covering manufactured by the method. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the features of the invention. In the drawings: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a bolt of fabric that is cut to form an exterior portion of a hat according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the fabric after having been cut; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the cut fabric shown in  FIG. 2 , with a liner sewn thereon; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of the fabric/liner shown in  FIG. 4 , being folded across a first central lateral axis; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4B  is a perspective view of the fabric/liner shown  FIG. 4A , being folded across a second central lateral axis; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4C  is a perspective view of the fabric/liner shown in  FIG. 4B , after being folded; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the folded fabric/liner shown in  FIG. 4C , with a template secured to the top thereof; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the folded fabric/liner shown  FIG. 5 , being cut along the template; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the fabric/liner after having been cut, forming four panels; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is a top plan view of the fabric/liner with an elastic material having been sewn long along a bottom edge thereof; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing a first panel being sewn to an adjacent panel; 
           [0019]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing a fourth panel being sewn to the first panel; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  shows a finished hat according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    In the drawings, like numerals indicate like elements throughout. Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. The embodiments illustrated below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. These embodiments are chosen and described to best explain the principle of the invention and its application and practical use and to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention. 
         [0022]    Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarily mutually exclusive of other embodiments. The same applies to the term “implementation.” 
         [0023]    As used in this application, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. 
         [0024]    Additionally, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. 
         [0025]    Referring to the figures, a hat  100  (shown in  FIG. 11 ) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shown  FIG. 1 , hat  100  includes an exterior material  110 . Exterior material  110  may be constructed from a fabric material that may be suitable for the exterior of a hat, such as, for example, an acrylic material, although those skilled in the art will recognize that exterior material  110  may be constructed from other materials as well. Exterior material  110  can be a rectangular sheet cut from a bolt  112  of the fabric. As shown  FIG. 2 , cut fabric  110  has a length “L” and a width “W”. In an exemplary embodiment, length L can be about 23 inches and with W can be about 12 inches. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , an interior lining  120  is sewn along the edges of exterior material  110 , forming a hat material assembly  130 . In an exemplary embodiment, interior lining  120  may have a satiny finish and be a polyester/spandex blend, such as, a 95% polyester/5% spandex blend, although those skilled in the art will recognize that interior lining  120  may be other materials as well. Interior lining  120  forms a barrier that is necessary to keep hair moisturized. With interior lining  120 , hair will not touch the harsh materials of exterior material  110 . 
         [0027]    As shown  FIG. 4A , hat material assembly  130  is folded along a centrally located lateral axis A 1 , and then, as shown  FIG. 4B , material assembly is folded along a centrally located axis A 2 , which extends parallel to lateral axis A 1 , resulting in material assembly  130  having four layers with dimensions “L 1 ” and “W 1 ”, as shown in  FIG. 4C . In an exemplary embodiment, dimension L 1  is the same dimension as with W, while dimension W 1  is about one quarter the dimension of length L. Therefore, in an exemplary embodiment, L 1  is about 12 inches and W 1  is about 5⅞ inches. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , a template  140  is secured to folded material assembly  130 , such as, for example, by a plurality of pins  142 . Template  140  has a base  144  that is the same length as dimension W 1  and a maximum height that is the same dimension as dimension L 1 . A top portion  146  of template  140  is arched, similar to a Gothic arch. 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , scissors  50  are used to cut all four layers of folded material assembly  130  along top portion  146  of template  140 . After cutting, template  140  is removed from material assembly  130 , which is then unfolded to reveal a four paneled cut assembly  132  having four peaks  132   a,    132   b,    132   c,    132   d,  as shown  FIG. 7 . Peaks  132   a,    132   b,    132   c,    132   d  will form the top portion of finished hat  100 . 
         [0030]    While the folding process described above results in four layers that, when sewn together, will generate a four paneled hat, those skilled in the art will recognize that different folding processes that result in a different number of layers will generate a paneled hat with the different number of layers. For example, if, after  FIG. 4A , material assembly  130  is folded in thirds, resulting in six layers, the generated hat will be a six-paneled hat. 
         [0031]    An elongate elastic material  150  is sewn along a bottom edge of cut assembly  130  over interior lining  120 , distal from peaks  132   a,    132   b,    132   c,    132   d,  as shown in  FIG. 8 . As shown  FIG. 9 , the panel of cut assembly  132  having peak  132   a  is folded over toward adjacent panel of cut assembly  132   b  and the portion of peak  132   a  that is adjacent to the portion of peak  132   b  are sewn together. 
         [0032]    The process is repeated for the portion of peak  132   b  that is adjacent to peak  132   c  and for the portion of peak  132   c  that is adjacent to peak  132   d.  The unsewn length along the left side  134  of cut assembly  132  as shown  FIG. 7  is then sewn to the length along the right side  136  of cut assembly  132 , as shown in  FIG. 10 . At this point, all of peaks  132   a,    132   b,    132   c,    132   d  are joined at the top of hat  100  with arched portions below peaks  132   a,    132   b,    132   c,    132   d  forming a generally circular dome. 
         [0033]    The sewn assembly is then inverted so that interior lining  120  and elastic material  150  are on the inside of hat  100  and exterior material  110  is on the exterior of hat  100 . 
         [0034]    It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.