Convertible Stockings

The present invention relates to stockings for use by dancers, more particularly, convertible stockings.

Dancers usually wear footless stockings or tights when they are training in ballet shoes and footed stockings or tights when training in pointe shoes. Since dancers usually train in both types of shoes during a given training session, changing between footless and footed tights presents a considerable inconvenience for the dancers.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a stocking and tights that could be used with both ballet and pointe shoes without removing or changing the stocking or tights when changing shoes.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a stocking or tights that achieve the aforementioned object and which may be conveniently and economically manufactured.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a knitted convertible stocking which may be conveniently knitted on a continuous tubular knitting machine with reciprocating cylinders and which does not require a boarding operation to form the toe or heel portion of the stocking.

A convertible stocking for use by dancers is disclosed. The stocking may be converted from a footed to footless stocking without changing the stocking. The stocking is constructed in a manner that permits efficient manufacturing of the stocking. Dancer tights may be formed by sewing or knitting a pair of convertible stockings together. The invention comprises a tubular seamless stocking knitted on a circular knitting machine with reciprocating cylinders. The stocking has a main tubular portion, a toe pocket portion, and a foot opening collar. The main tubular portion is knitted in a continuous, circular manner to form a substantially uniform knit tube having a border at one end. The toe pocket portion is knitted in a continuous, reciprocating manner onto about one half of the border of the main tubular portion using successive courses of yarn beginning with about one half the total number of knitting needles of the knitting machine and progressively decreasing the number of knitting needles used to knit each course and then increasing the number of knitting needles to about one half the total number of knitting needles thereby forming a knitted pocket over about one half the border of the main tubular portion. The pocket has a terminating edge. The foot opening collar comprises a tubular collar knitted in a continuous, circular manner to the remaining half of the border of the main tubular portion and to the edge of the toe pocket portion.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic front view of a pair of dancing tights having incorporated therein the convertible stocking of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side view of the main tubular portion prior to knitting of the toe pocket portion and foot opening collar;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic side view of the main tubular portion and toe pocket portion prior to knitting of the foot opening collar;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic front view of the main tubular portion and toe pocket portion prior to knitting of the foot opening collar;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic side view of a convertible stocking having incorporated therein the foot construction of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic front view of a convertible stocking having incorporated therein the foot construction of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of a foot in which the stocking is worn in a footed manner with the foot opening on the bottom of the foot;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a foot in which the stocking is worn in a footless manner.

The stocking of the present invention is knitted on a continuous knitting machine having a reciprocating cylinder attachment for forming a toe pocket, such as a Singer-Fidelity Mark 3 circular knitting machine having 400 needles. This type of knitting machine has a main yarn feed and an auxiliary yarn feed.

Referring first to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, the stocking is made by first knitting a main tubular portion 10. Main tubular portion 10 is knitted in a continuous circular manner using all 400 needles and both feeds. Preferably a waist band portion (not shown) is knitted using 30/2 denier nylon on every needle, and 70 denier lycra on every other needle. Preferably, the remainder of the main tubular portion is knitted of 70 denier lycra with an S twist yarn as the main feed and a Z twist yarn as the auxiliary feed. This is the conventional manner in which the main tubular portion or leg portion of stockings are knitted on this type of machine.

Once main tubular portion 10 is knitted, forming border 12 at one end, a toe pocket portion 14 is knitted to border 12 of main tubular portion 10 using a reciprocating cylinder attachment. In this operation, toe pocket portion is knitted using approximately 200 adjacent needles at border 12 in a reciprocating manner. The successive courses of yarn, preferably 70 denier lycra and 30/2 nylon, are fed by the main feed only and the number of needles used in the knitting are progressively decreased, preferably to 70 needles, and then progressively increased back to the original number of needles used at the beginning of the reciprocating operation. This forms a toe pocket over about one half the opening at border 12 of main tubular portion 10.

When toe pocket portion 14 has been formed, a continuous circular knitting operation is resumed using both feeds to form a foot opening collar 16 along the heretofore unknitted border of main tubular portion 10 and edge 18 of toe pocket portion 14. The main feed feeds 70 denier lycra and 30/2 denier nylon and the auxiliary feed feeds 70 denier lycra. Foot opening collar 16 is preferably a half inch wide. Preferably, the final courses along border 20 of collar 16 are knitted with nylon to prevent unravelling. When constructed in this manner, the foot opening is thereby positioned under the ball of the foot when the stocking is worn in a footed manner, as illustrated in FIG. 7.

Tights may be formed by knitting or sewing a pair of stockings together to form a waist band and crotch area. A pair of tights 22 according to the invention are shown in FIG. 1.

While yarns of various weights and thicknesses may be used in the invention, it has been found that 70 denier lycra and 30/2 denier nylon are preferred and provide the optimum stretchability and tension for use in dancing tights.

Although only a single embodiment of a convertible stocking of the invention is disclosed and described in detail, a skilled artisan will recognize many variations may be made in the arrangement and details of the invention, all without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.