An article of footwear with an upper having a knitted component in an instep region extending between a first side and a second side. Outer lace apertures and inner lace apertures are disposed along the instep area on the first side and, in some aspects, the second side, where inner lace apertures are located more inward towards a middle of the upper than outer lace apertures. A lace extends through an inner lace aperture from an exterior surface on the first side of the upper, along an interior surface of the upper, and then exits the upper through an outer lace aperture on the first side. After exiting the outer lace aperture on the first side, the lace extends across the instep area along the exterior surface of the upper and extends through a lace aperture on the second side, which may be an inner lace aperture.

An article of footwear with an upper having a knitted component in an instep region extending between a lateral side and a medial side. First lace apertures and second lace apertures are disposed along the instep area on the medial and lateral sides at first and second locations. A lace extends through an first lace aperture of the plurality of first lace apertures, from an exterior surface on the medial side of the upper, along an interior surface of the upper, and then exits the upper through a second lace aperture of the plurality of second lace apertures on the medial side. After exiting the second lace aperture, the lace extends across the instep area along the exterior surface of the upper and extends through a third lace aperture of the plurality of first lace apertures on the lateral side.

Articles of wear having one or more textiles that include a low processing temperature polymeric composition and a high processing temperature polymeric composition, and methods of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The low processing temperature polymeric composition and the high processing temperature polymeric composition can be selectively incorporated into a textile to provide one or more structural properties and/or other advantageous properties to the article. The textile can be thermoformed to impart such structural and/or other advantageous properties to the article of wear. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

A knitted component may have a first portion, where the first portion has a first layer and a second layer, and where the first layer and the second layer each have opposite-facing surfaces. The first layer and the second layer may be secured via at least one knit structure of the knitted component at a boundary of the first portion. The first layer may form at least one of: (a) an overfoot portion of an article of footwear such that the pocket forms a void of the article of footwear for receiving a foot and such that the first layer forms a top surface of the void, and (b) an underfoot portion of the article of footwear such that the first layer forms a bottom surface of the void of the article of footwear.

A system for forming a braided footwear upper is provided. The upper has a medial side and a lateral side, and a toe end and a heel end. The braided footwear is made from a number of yarns that are braided together. The heel-axis finishing system includes an alignment mechanism that orients the medial side and the lateral side at the heel end. The lateral side and the medial side come together at the heel to form a heel axis. A joining mechanism is associated with the alignment mechanism. The joining mechanism couples at least one braided yarn from the medial side to at least one braided yarn from the lateral side along the heel axis. By joining the aligned yarns as they are severed, the heel area transitions from the medial side to the lateral side with an appearance of seamlessness.

A method of manufacturing a braided footwear upper is provided. The method includes braiding a two-layer, single-tube structure with a first end that couples a first braided layer to a second braided layer, and second end that couples the first braided layer to the second braided layer of the tubular braided structure. The first end is proximate the second end. At least one yarn from the first end, and at least one yarn from the second end are braided with at least one draw yarn. The draw yarn is braided to be easily removable, such that the first end is selectively de-coupled from the second end. When the draw yarn is removed, the double-layer tubular braided structure is expandable to form a larger diameter tubular braided structure.

An upper for an article of footwear is provided, having a braided structure comprising a first yarn having a first cross-sectional shape and a second yarn having a second cross-sectional shape different than the first cross-sectional shape. The first cross-sectional shape comprises an outer surface parallel to an inner surface in a rectangular orientation. Additionally, the first yarn is oriented such that at least a portion of the outer surface comprises the first side of the first yarn and at least a portion of the inner surface comprises the second side of the first yarn.

An article of apparel includes a first layer and a second layer. An auxetic structure penetrates the first layer. The auxetic structure includes a plurality of interconnected members forming an array of cell units. Each of the plurality of interconnected members form cell walls with interior recesses defined within the cell walls. The second layer is coupled to the first layer via the auxetic structure.

An item of footwear including an outsole secured to an upper is provided. A bootie is attached to the infill panel. The bootie and infill panel combine to form a cavity receiving the wearer's foot. The bootie is provided by a single air permeable, moisture vapor permeable, and waterproof sheet formed from a plurality of layers of material laminated together. The sheet forms at least one edge portion extending, at least one time, a distance between a toe end and a heel end of the bootie. A protection strip is attached to the outer surface of the sheet adjacent the at least one edge portion. A stitching seam is formed by a thread-type material securing the at least one edge portion of the bootie adjacent an outer peripheral edge portion of the infill panel. The thread-type material extends through the protection strip and the infill panel to form the seam.

A shoe having an upper and a sole connected to the upper. The upper has, at least in part, a knitted material forming its outer surface. To ensure sufficient longitudinal elasticity in the forefoot region and a good fit, along with efficient production, the knitted material includes a first knitted material layer produced from a first thread and a second knitted material layer produced from a second thread arranged on the first knitted material. The second material layer at least partially covers the first material layer. In the region of the front half, as seen in the longitudinal direction of the shoe, and/or in the heel region of the shoe, the second material layer runs, at least in part, in strip form in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of the shoe so as to form a number of strips running parallel to one another.