Year: 1887

page_text: I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
My invention relates to improvements in Shirts, and consists of the novel construc-
tion and combination of parts, hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.
The objects of the invention are made to appear in connection with the following
description.
Fig. 1 of the drawings is a front view, of a yokeless shirt, showing my improved
means of extending the neck opening in front.
Fig. 2 is a back view of a yoke shirt, showing my improved means of extending
the neck opening in the back.
Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of the diagonally cut body ply detached.
Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of the overlapping piece detached.
Fig. 5 is a view in elevation of a detached body ply, of a shirt as heretofore
constructed, showing the neck opening g, and slitted extension S.
. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9,. 10 & 11 illustrate modified forms of construction.

page_text: Shirts are usually formed by joining two body plies, called front and back, at their
sides, by side seams, and at their tops, when formed of separate pieces of fabric either
directly or to the opposite edges of an intervening yoke, a central neck opening being
cut partly from one or both of the plies and as heretofore constructed, the neck
opening has been enlarged or extended by a central slit cut down one of the plies, to
permit of easily putting on, and taking off the shirt, substantially as shown at S, in
Fig. 6, A, being one of the body plies, and the neck opening cut therein.
In such forms of construction, the slit S is likely to tear, in use, so as to extend
farther into the body of the shirt ply, and the opening formed by the slit is likely to
gape, with each movement of the wearer.
Various forms of stays, gussets, and facings, have been employed to remedy these
defects, many of which are expensive to manufacture, and cumbersome to the wearer,
and all require buttons, to keep the opening even partially closed, while the buttons
are easily torn off in laundering the shirts. One of the objects of my invention, is to
avoid the necessity of the slit, and the attendant stays, and buttons. In Fig. 1, I have
shown an undergarment, which usually opens in front. A, is the front body ply,
and B the back body ply. The plies are united down their opposite sides by the side
seams b, and to the sleeves D by the seams & which may for the purpose of this case,
he called side seams as they may be a continuation of the side scams b.
The lines also represent the outlines of the sleeve openings. The upper end of
the ply A is secured to the upper end of ply B, from the neck, to the sleeve opening,
on one side of the neck, by the shoulder seam a, the shoulder part of the ply on the
other side of the neck opening being cut away, along the diagonal line J, extending
from the neck opening to a point at, or near, the lower part of the sleeve opening, as
shown in Fig, 3, and elsewhere.
The piece C shown detached, in Fig. 4. is cut to correspond in form with the upper
part of ply A having the diagonal edge J.
This piece is secured along its upper-edge to the top of ply B as shown in Fig. 1,
hy the shoulder seam a, and along one side to the sleeve, by the seam b', the lower
edge and opposite side Coverlapping the ply A in such a manner that the two
diagonal edges J and J³, are about right angular to each other; the opposite side C¹
of the piece being included in the side seam 1, which unites the sleeve, to ply A as
shown in Fig. 1, or in the side seam which unites the two plies, as shown in Fig. 2;
or when desired, the side C₁ of the piece may terminate in a point, and not extend to
the side seam as shown by dotted line J, in Fig. 1, or it may be carried up to and
included in the shoulder seam a, as indicated by the dotted line L in Fig. 1.
The lower edge of the piece is then stitched to the ply A by the line of stitching G.
It is obvious that there is no slit to tear, and the overlapping piece being secured to
both sides of the shirt, is held firmly against the ply A, when in use, making it
impossible to present a gaping opening, and rendering buttons unnecessary. The
overlapping piece also affords an additional protection to the lungs, whether on the
back or in front, and upon thin undergarments, wholly absorbs the perspiration of
the body, before it can reach the bosom of the outer shirt. When it is desired to
have the extension in the back ply of a yoke shirt, the overlapping piece is secured
by the shoulder seam, as before explained, which connects it with the intervening
yoke E, as shown in Fig. 2, instead of directly to the ply on the other side of the
shirt.
When desired, a button d, may be employed as shown in Fig. 2, on the yoke, or in
the collar band F.
In Fig. 3, I have indicated by dotted lines e the portion which would be cut away
from the body ply as ordinarily cut, in applying my invention.
It is obvious that a larger or smaller portion may be cut away as desired, and that
the diagonal line J may be curved with different degrees of curvature.
It is apparent that the neck opening may be extended both in front, and rear in
the same shirt.
Such a form of construction would be especially desirable in undergarments, as a

page_text: double protection to the lungs. In the construction of under garments, the front and
back plies are frequently one piece of fabric, folded together, and closed at the sides.
by side seams extending to points near the fold, between which points and the fold
openings are left for the arms, a central portion of the fold being cut out to, form the
neck opening.
I have shown in Fig. 6, the two plies in one piece of fabric, as described, laid out
flat, as they would appear before the sides are seamed together, the fold line being
indicated by the dotted line X-X.
By cutting away one of the shoulder portions, as before described, from each ply,
we produce an opening in one side of the fabric, bounded by the neck opening g, and
the dotted lines n n. The double piece (, C, is then superimposed upon the plies, as
shown and before described, and stitched along its lower edges, to the respective plies,
the upper portion of the piece partly covering the place occupied by the piece cut
away, and being secured in the sleeve or side seam. The front and back plies of the
shirt or other garment, may be formed of as many plies as desired, without departing
from my invention, and I have shown in Fig. 8, a shirt ply formed of two pieces A¹,
and A³.
I have in the same Fig. shown the piece C superimposed in its proper position
relatively to the upper part of the ply, to be stitched thereto.
The three parts A1, A2, and C, may all be united by a single seam.
In Fig. 9 I have shown the single piece of fabric forming the body plies, provided
with a single diagonal downward cut, extending from the neck opening, through the
side of the ply, to the side or sleeve seam 68, which forms the diagonal edge J, to be
left loose on the ply A.
The overlapping piece C, with the diagonal edge J¹ Fig. 10, is then stitched, to the
shirt, by the seam K, as shown in Fig. 11, the lower edge being stitched to the ply, as
before described, the edge J', as in each of the other cases shown, being left loose, and
unstitched.
a
It is obvious that if a similar cut was made in ply B, as indicated by dotted line i,
a portion would be cut out similar to that shown in Fig. 6, and that by stitching
piece C like that shown in Fig. 10, upon the cut edges of the part cut out, it would
become the double piece C, C, shown in Fig. 7.
I do not desire to limit the scope of my invention to shirts, as it may be applied to
outer, or other garments.
It should be borne in mind, that the cut, forming the diagonal edge J, and extended
neck opening, does not terminate in the body of a ply, or section thereof, leaving an
end to be stayed, or tear, but extends through the ply, or section thereof, to terminate
in a seam, uniting two or more parts of the shirt, substantially as shown, and indicated
by dotted line J³, in Fig. 8.
I prefer to cut the body ply and overlapping piece in such a manner as to produce
a diagonal edge J, J, but I do not wish to be limited to any particular line of
direction for extending the neck-opening, and what I have called diagonal edges may
be properly called loose edges, since they are allowed to remain loose and unstitched
from the neck-opening to the seam in which they terminate, which is a seam employed
to join the body ply to some other part or portion of the shirt independently of the
neck-opening, and may for the purpose of this case, be called a terminal seam."
12
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :—
First The combination with a shirt, having a loose edge, on a body ply, forming
one side of the neck-opening, and extending from said opening, laterally, to a terminal
seam, beyond the opposite side of the neck-opening of an overlapping piece, having
a loose edge forming the opposite side of the neck-opening and extending from the
opening laterally across the loose edge of the body ply to a terminal seam beyond the
first mentioned side of the neck-opening, the other edges of the piece being secured

page_text: to the contiguous portion of the shirt, substantially as described and for the purposes
set forth..
Second The combination with a shirt, having one of the shoulder parts of a body
ply, cut away, on, a diagonal line, extending from the neck-opening downwardly, and
sidewise, of an overlapping piece similar in form to the remaining upper part of the
cut ply, superimposed upon said part, and stitched thereto, along its lower edge, with
their diagonal edges unstitched, and about right angular to each other, the upper
portion of the piece partly occupying the place of the cut out section, and secured to
the contiguous portions of the shirt, substantially as described and for the purposes
set forth.