Laminated fabric and garments made therefrom

摘要

A fabric laminate (10) comprises first and second stretch fabrics (11 and 12) having an intermediate adhesive securement layer (13) between them. The adhesive securement layer (13) is in the form of a regularly repeating pattern which comprises an array of aligned adhesive elements (14) arranged in successive generally horizontally and vertically extending rows. The array of adhesive elements (14) is capable of offering resistance to elongation as the laminate (10) is subjected to distortion, with the pattern having a differential elongation characterised as offering different magnitudes of resistance to elongation when the fabric laminate (10) is subjected to distortion in selected different directions. The adhesive securement layer (13) is predeterminedly oriented in accordance with its differential elongation and the stretch characteristics of the fabrics (11, 12) such that the resistance to elongation offered by the laminate (10) is determined by the pattern and orientation of the individual adhesive elements (14) in conjunction with the stretch characteristics of the fabrics (11, 12). The laminate (10) may be employed to reinforce items of clothing, particularly underwear and the like.