One embodiment relates to an orthopedic precast comprises a knitted shell portion and a knitted flexible portion. Heat or other hardening agent is used to harden the shell portion, while retaining flexibility in the flexible portion. Contemplated hardening agents include light, heat, and chemical polymerizing agents. In some embodiments the shell portion includes thermoplastic threads or yarns, which is then hardened by heating the thermoplastic sufficiently to at least partially melt, and thereby fuse together some of the threads or yarns, and then cooling to ambient temperature for enhanced rigidity. In other embodiments, the precast is contained in a bag or other airtight container, along with a self-heating composition that is triggered to release heat upon contact with oxygen. In still other embodiments, the precast includes a prepolymer of other polymerizable composition, which is polymerized by effective application of light, heat, and/or chemical agent(s) or deployed as a wearable.

A process for thermo-adhesive bonding of semi-finished products includes preparing an inner sock, an outer sock and an impermeable membrane provided with a thermo-adhesive disposed on an inner surface and/or an outer surface of the membrane; fitting the inner sock onto a rigid reference shape; fitting the membrane over the inner sock; fitting the outer sock over the membrane; heating the outer sock, the membrane and the inner sock arranged on the rigid reference shape in an oven until at least partial melting of the thermo-adhesive; cooling the outer sock, the membrane and the inner sock arranged on the rigid reference shape until cross-linking of the thermo-adhesive and stable bonding of the membrane to the outer sock and/or the inner sock. Also, exerting a substantially uniform pressure on the outer sock, the membrane and the inner sock disposed on the rigid reference shape during cooling, so as to compact them.

A knitted semi-finished product for manufacturing stockings, footwear and gloves, comprises: a main waterproofed portion configured to contain a user's foot or hand. The main waterproofed portion comprises an outer knitted portion and an inner waterproofing portion configured to prevent the passage of liquids from the outside to the inside of the semi-finished product. An auxiliary knitted portion is connected to the outer portion and delimits an opening configured to receive the user's foot or hand. A ring-shaped portion belonging to the auxiliary knitted portion and directly connected to the outer knitted portion has a lower hydrophilic characteristic than a hydrophilic characteristic of the outer knitted portion, so as to stop or at least slow down the capillarity rise of the water absorbed by the outer knitted portion.

The present disclosure is a sock that has a leg that extends up a person's calf and a foot integral with the leg that cover's the person's foot. The sock further has a footie coupled to the foot, coupled partially up the sides of the foot, coupled partially to the heel turn, and coupled around the toes, the footie comprising a coarse material and configured to receive water such that when the sock is worn, the coarse material sloughs off dry skin, dead skin, callouses and removes toxins from the person's feet.

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 receptacle 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.

A composite waterproof breathable sock with two-way extensible properties, wherein each sock is formed by lamination of an outer layer, an inner layer and an intermediate waterproof and breathable sock-like film component on a one-step forming mould. The outer layer, or both the outer and inner layers, is/are knitted by deploying fine twisted elastic yarns consistently into all the knitting courses of the main body for each such layer, so as to make the composite sock therefore extensible in both weft X and warp Y directions after lamination of the layer(s) to the waterproof film component such that the composite sock will be recoverable uniformly after stretching to a relaxed conformation. The composite sock can be sewn with a water seal kit inside the cuff band, wherein the cuff band is extended from the outer component of the sock. The in-cuff seal kit can be constructed by a sew-in waterproof polyurethane elastic fabric in round shape.

A disposable waterproof bootsock is worn over foot and sock to protect from exposure to liquids, dirt and other contaminants in an environment that can penetrate footwear or reach above the ankle. The bootsock is secured about the wearer's calf and ankle using fasteners that accommodate a range of calf and ankle sizes and allow adjustment to the wearer's desired fit while maintaining the bootsock in position upright. One or more sealed compartments are provided to hold essential supplies.

A process for fabricating a three-dimensional, multi-layered fabric product with a moisture barrier is provided. A partially seamed inner lining fabric assembly having at least a two-dimensional shape is laminated with a membrane barrier film having flaps left un-laminated to cover at least one seam. The inner lining fabric assembly is further seamed and flaps of the of the membrane barrier film overlapped into contact with each other and sealed to provide a continuous moisture barrier. A process for fabricating a stretchable section of a garment with a moisture barrier is also provided. At least a section of a garment is formed from fibers arranged in a pattern having a direction of stretch in one direction and a three-dimensional surface texture such that a portion of the fibers protrude above another portion of the fibers. The stretchable section is stretched in the direction of stretch. Segments of a membrane barrier film are adhered to an outer edge of the protruding portion of the fibers while the section is stretched in the direction of stretch, leaving intermediate segments of the barrier film free from adherence to the section. In this way, the intermediate segments of the membrane barrier film include slack that folds up to form ruches when the section is in a relaxed state.

A sock with zones of varying numbers of layers is formed as a single tube on a circular knitting machine. At least one end of the tube is doubled back over a portion of the remainder of the tube to form a double layer first zone. The sock further includes a single layer zone adjacent to the double layer first zone, where no such folding occurs. Optionally, a second end of the tube may also be folded to create a third zone having two layers of material.

A sock includes a sock body with portions formed from different materials to provide decreased friction in particular regions of the sock. A decreased friction portion (a) is provided to include both a heel portion and a portion directly above the heel portion of the sock, and/or a decreased friction portion (b) is provided on a front portion of the sock, corresponding to a location of a tongue of a boot or shoe when the sock is worn over a user's foot, inserted into such boot or shoe. Portions (a) and (b) can be formed from one or more of a low friction nylon or low friction polyester material having a lower coefficient of friction than a remainder of the sock body, which remainder of the sock body can be formed from wool, cotton, a cotton blend, etc., which material has greater friction, providing other desired properties (e.g., insulation, wicking).