Described herein are apparatuses and methods of creating fibers, such as microfibers and nanofibers for the production of clothing items and footwear. Also described herein is a microfiber and/or nanofiber coating system having a support that holds an object to be coated by fibers during the coating process. The support may move the object with respect to the fibers, such that at least a portion of each of the exterior surfaces of the object are coated by the fibers formed by the microfiber and/or nanofiber coating system.

A knitted glove includes at least one finger component, an upper palm component, a thumb component, a lower palm component, and a wrist component wherein each of the components comprises courses and each course is made of stitches, wherein each of the courses of the upper palm component includes a tuck knit stitch adjacent the upper palm inner edge and each of the courses of the thumb component includes a tuck knit stitch adjacent the thumb inner edge, such that the glove has a tuck knitted ridge along the upper palm inner edge, around the thumb crotch and along the thumb inner edge. The knitted glove has high strength in the thumb crotch area and is useful as a protective glove. The tuck knitted ridge provided in the glove not only increases the safety of the wearer but also increases the useful working life of the glove. Also provided is a method of making the knitted glove. The glove is knitted on a flat knitting machine.

The invention provides an antimicrobial fiber which exhibits excellent antimicrobial properties even without the addition of antimicrobial agents and can remain antimicrobial even after repeated washing. The antimicrobial fiber comprises a fiber having on a surface thereof a polyacetal copolymer (X) containing oxyalkylene groups, the molar amount of oxyalkylene groups in the polyacetal copolymer (X) being 0.2 to 5 mol % relative to the total of the molar amount of oxymethylene groups and the molar amount of oxyalkylene groups.

Apparatuses are described that provide for auxetic textile structures. An example auxetic textile structure includes an auxetic layer having an inner surface and an outer surface, wherein the auxetic layer comprises a plurality of high performance yarns. The auxetic textile structure further includes a plurality of dispersed elastic portions at least partially coupled to the inner surface of the auxetic layer, wherein the plurality of dispersed elastic portions in combination with the auxetic layer form a plurality of double layer structures distributed amongst a single layer of the auxetic layer. Each of the dispersed elastic portions comprises a plurality of elastic yarns.

A cut resistant fabric and a method of manufacturing a cut resistant fiber is disclosed herein. The fabric comprises a Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) material and a sheet shaped wollastonite filler. The sheet shaped wollastonite filler is treated with a coupling agent and mixed with the UHMWPE material. A thickness of the sheet shaped wollastonite filler is less than 10 micrometers (m). The method comprises providing the sheet shaped wollastonite filler having a thickness of less than 10 m and treating the sheet shaped wollastonite filler with a coupling agent at a first predefined temperature to obtain a uniform solution. The method further comprises mixing the uniform solution with a fiber solution comprising UHMWPE resin at a second predefined temperature.

A seamless compression article is knitted on a flatbed knitting machine having a front needle bed and a rear needle bed opposite thereto. The compression article includes a base structure of at least one weft thread, at least one elastic warp thread inserted or knitted therein, and at least one tubular or pocket-like receptacle extending along a longitudinal direction for at least one finger or at least one toe of a wearer of the compression article and can be placed on a body extremity of the wearer extending in the longitudinal direction. The receptable includes a number of rib-like elevations, which run substantially parallel to each other and along the longitudinal direction of the corresponding receptacle. Putting on the compression article can thereby be facilitated.

Examples are disclosed that relate to integrating electronic functionality into textiles. One example provides an article including a textile, a fabric piping positioned along the textile, an electrical conductor positioned within an interior of the fabric piping, and a first electronic component and a second electronic component disposed on the article and electrically connected by the electrical conductor.

A fabric-based item such as a fabric glove may include force sensing circuitry. The force sensing circuitry may include force sensor elements formed from electrodes on a compressible substrate such as an elastomeric polymer substrate. The fabric may include intertwined strands of material including conductive strands. Signals from the force sensing circuitry may be conveyed to control circuitry in the item using the conductive strands. Wireless circuitry in the fabric-based item may be used to convey force sensor information to external equipment. The compressible substrate may have opposing upper and lower surfaces. Electrodes for the force sensor elements may be formed on the upper and lower surfaces. Stiffeners may overlap the electrodes to help decouple adjacent force sensor elements from each other. Integrated circuits can be attached to respective force sensing elements using adhesive.

A fabric-based pressure sensor assembly utilizing in ionic material and conductive material is disclosed. The sensing device can be applied in several various wearable health and biomedical applications on complex body topologies. As an alternative to conventional flexible sensors, the fabric-based sensor assembly yields high device sensitivity and desirable parameters for pressure sensing in a wearable construct. The sensor assembly enables rapid mechanical responses (in the milliseconds range) for high-frequency biomechanical signals, e.g., blood pressure pulses and body movements. The fabrication process for the device is low-cost highly compatible with existing industrial manufacturing processes.

An aspect of the present invention is a glove including: a glove main body knitted with a yarn made of fiber, the glove main body including: a main body portion; five finger-receiving portions each having a bottomed cylindrical shape; and a cylindrical cuff portion, wherein in at least a part of a palm part, the main body portion has a repeating structure of: a strip-shaped electrically conductive part containing an electrically conductive yarn; and a strip-shaped electrically non-conductive part not containing the electrically conductive yarn, a ratio of the number of courses of the electrically conductive part to the number of courses of the electrically non-conductive part, the electrically conductive part and the electrically non-conductive part being adjacent to each other, is no less than 1:2 and no greater than 1:6, the electrically conductive part is constituted by plating knitting of the electrically conductive yarn and an electrically non-conductive plating yarn, a fineness ratio of the electrically conductive yarn to the plating yarn is no less than 1:0.5 and no greater than 1:2, and a fineness ratio of an electrically non-conductive yarn, which constitutes the electrically non-conductive part, to the electrically conductive yarn contained in the electrically conductive part is no less than 1:0.4 and no greater than 1:1.