Patent ID: 7861490

Claim:
A method of packaging articles comprising: providing two of a first sheet of heat-shrinkable material, each first sheet defining a plurality of pre-shrinking holder lengths; providing two of a second sheet of heat-shrinkable material, each second sheet being separate from the first sheets and defining a plurality of pre-shrinking holder lengths substantially equal to those of the first sheets; joining the first sheets to the second sheets at discrete joinder portions spaced along the first and second sheets so as to form a plurality of openings, each opening located between each adjacent pair of joinder portions, the joinder forming a plurality of holders each having the pre-shrinking holder lengths of the first and second sheets; inserting an article into each of the openings; and heating the first and second sheets to shrink the first and second sheets thereby forming a unitary package of the sheets and the inserted articles, the first and second sheets being sized so that during the heating step the articles are drawn together in two perpendicular directions.