GB2243759A

GB2243759A - Footwear for infants

Info

Publication number: GB2243759A
Application number: GB9109674A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gail Devereux-Batchelor; Michael Cyril Felce
Original assignee: M & F Jinks Ltd
Current assignee: M & F Jinks Ltd
Priority date: 1990-05-10
Filing date: 1991-05-03
Publication date: 1991-11-13
Also published as: GB9010470D0; GB9109674D0; CN1057174A

Abstract

An article of infant's footwear comprises an upper and sole made from a single piece of material 1, and a liner or sock 4 also made from a single piece of material and having the same shape as the upper and sole. The article is preferably decorated, for example with a decoration in the form of an animal's head. <IMAGE>

Description

Title : Footwear for Infants The present invention relates to an article of footwear for infants and is concerned more especially with a slipper or bootie.

Hitherto, such articles of footwear have been made from a plurality of component parts secured together for example by sewing. The soles, socks and upper have been separate pieces of material stitched together. This method of manufacture is labour-intensive and expensive since a variety of differently shaped blanks must be cut from the fabric thus necessitating fabric waste.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved article of footwear and manufacturing method.

According to the invention there is provided an article of infant's footwear comprising an upper and sole made from a single piece of material, and a liner or sock also made from a single piece of material and having the same shape as the upper and sole.

The footwear according to the invention is advantageous primarily in that it is relatively simple to manufacture, and can hence be manufactured relatively quickly and hence inexpensively. Manufacture is further simplified by the use of only a single shape of blank and the small number of components. Fabric waste is also relatively low.

In use, the article of footwear is preferably secured to a wearer's foot by means of an elastic or elastomeric thread which is secured to the outer layer of material forming the upper and sole and which draws the material together in the region of the wearer's ankle to form a cuff.

Preferably, the footwear is decorated so as to have an appearance attractive to infants. For example, a decoration such as in the form of an animal's head may be secured to the foot portion. Alternatively, or in addition, the footwear may be so decorated that the whole article has the appearance of an animal.

From a further aspect the invention provides a method of making an article of footwear comprising the steps of cutting outer and inner sock blanks, each blank being shaped in the form of the slipper or bootie, inserting the inner into the outer component and securing the two components together.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank for making the inner and outer components of a bootie according to the invention, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of a bootie made using the blank of Figure 1.

The illustrated bootie comprises generally an outer component 1 (corresponding to the conventional upper and sole), and an inner component 4 (conventionally a liner or sock). Both components are cut from the same shaped blank and are stitched individually from A to B and C to D along the blank profiles. An elastic or elastomeric thread 2 is stitched to the outer layer only in order to secure the footwear to the wearer's ankle when the bootie is worn.

The liner component is then placed in the outer component and the two components secured together by stitching from B to C and D to A.

Either in the assembled condition or prior to assembly, decorations can be applied to the bootie to provide and animal-like appearance. Thus, in the illustrated example two ears 6, two eyes 7 and a nose 8 are secured, for example by stitching or adhesive to the foot portion of the bootie.

Claims

1. An article of infant's footwear comprising an upper and sole made from a single piece of material, and a liner or sock also made from a single piece of material and having the same shape as the upper and sole.

2. An article as claimed in Claim 1, provided with an elastic or elastomeric thread which is secured to the outer layer of material forming the upper and sole and which draws the material together in the region of the wearer's ankle to form a cuff.

3. An article as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, which is decorated so as to have an appearance attractive to infants.

4. An article as claimed in Claim 3, wherein a decoration in the form of an animal's head is secured to the foot portion.

5. An article as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4, which is so decorated that the whole article has the appearance of an animal.

6. A method of making an article of footwear comprising the steps of cutting outer and inner sock blanks, each blank being shaped in the form of the slipper or bootie, inserting the inner into the outer component and securing the two components together.

7. An article of footwear for infants substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying Figures.

8. A method of making an article of footwear for infants substantially as hereinbefore described.