A sea-islands type composite fiber includes an island component that is a polymer having moisture absorbability; a ratio (T/R) of a thickness T of an outermost layer to a diameter R of the fiber in a transverse cross section of the fiber of 0.05 to 0.25; and a moisture absorption rate difference (MR) after a hot water treatment of 2.0 to 10.0%, wherein the thickness of an outermost layer is a difference between a radius of the fiber and a radius of a circumscribed circle formed by connecting apexes of the island components disposed in an outermost circle, and represents a thickness of a sea component in the outermost layer.

An apparel item configured to reduce the perception of cling is provided herein. The apparel item comprises a first set of outwardly-projecting nodes on a first portion of the apparel item, a second set of outwardly-projecting nodes on a second portion of the apparel item, and a third set of inwardly-projecting nodes on a third portion of the apparel item, where the third set of nodes is positioned between the first set of nodes and the second set of nodes. The first and second sets of outwardly-projecting nodes comprise apertures that provide a communication passage from an outer surface of the apparel item to an inner surface of the apparel item. Besides reducing the surface area of the apparel item that comes into contact with a wearer's skin surface, the nodes also facilitate cooling the wearer and speed up drying times of the apparel item when being worn.

An improved insulating performance fabric has a double-knit body, formed with traditional, relatively smooth, outer surfaces, and an inner surface with the form of multiple fabric bubbles separated, e.g., by a grid pattern of intersecting grooves. An insulating, double-knit performance fabric of this disclosure may also be found in the form of a garment comprising the insulating, double knit performance fabric, or in the form of fabric article comprising the insulating, double knit performance fabric, etc.

A brushed circular knitted fabric has double loops stacked with at least two kinds of synthetic fiber multifilaments, wherein at least one surface of the circular knitted fabric has undergone brush processing, and the FT index represented by the equation (T2/T1) [T1: thickness (of one layer) according to a method prescribed by JIS, T2: thickness according to the same method prescribed by JIS at a state where the fabric is folded in two] is 2.1 or greater. The brushed circular knitted fabric has resiliency feeling and stretchability suitable for use in a coat or jacket, and is excellent in physical properties such as pilling resistance and changes in dimensions with washing.

A seat cushion having a layered structure including at least a surface layer unit and a cushion layer unit disposed below the surface layer unit, characterized in that the cushion layer unit includes at least one nonwoven layer and at least one spacer crocheted-fabric and/or spacer knitted-fabric layer. A seat cushion of a seating furniture or an automobile seat or an office seating furniture or an aircraft seat are exemplary embodiments of the seat cushion mentioned above.

An imitation leather including a three-dimensional textile supporting material and a PVC-based covering that is applied to one side of the supporting material and includes three successively applied layers. The first layer of which is applied directly to the supporting material without an adhesion-promoting glue layer, the second layer of which is embodied as an intermediate layer and applied directly to the first layer and the third layer of which serves as a top layer and is applied directly to the second layer. This invention also discloses a method for producing such an imitation leather and an interior component of a motor vehicle having a visible surface that is composed of such an imitation leather.

Knit fabrics and military apparel such as T-shirts made therefrom are disclosed. The fabrics are constructed from blended yarns made from an intimate combination of nylon and cotton staple fibers. Such fabrics comprise a weight ratio of cotton to nylon which ranges from about 55:45 to about 85:15, and these fabrics also have a weight ranging from about 3 to about 8 oz/yd.sup.2. Knit fabrics of this type possess a desirable combination of good thermal protective properties, provided the specified high level of staple fiber blend uniformity is achieved, along with very useful abrasion resistance, bursting strength and drying time characteristics.

A warp-knitted spacer fabric has a first and a second planar warp-knit layer that are joined together by spacer yarns. The first warp-knit layer is formed by a first yarn system having a first pattern and a second yarn system having a second pattern. The first pattern is a modified pillar-stitch in which the yarns of the first yarn system form pillar stitches in alternating sequence in the working direction and are guided without formation of stitches, and the yarns of the second yarn system are each guided over at least two adjacent stitch wales and running in the working direction. The second warp-knit layer has openings formed by a plurality of stitches.

The present disclosure relates to a multi-layered design for an article of apparel such as swimwear. In particular, at least one layer may include a stretch resistant matrix made of a thermoplastic polymer, a silicone or other similar material to provide additional support and modesty to certain areas of the apparel, such as the bust area. Further, a method of manufacturing the article of apparel is also disclosed. According to aspects described herein, the layers may be integrated using techniques to increase the overall integrity of the apparel.

A moisture management fabric using denier differential to facilitate the movement of sweat away from the wearer's body is presented. An exemplary moisture management support garment constructed from an exemplary moisture management fabric is presented. An exemplary moisture management support garment is a moisture transporting sport bra. A denier differential is employed to provide superior moisture transporting and evaporation of perspiration from a wearer during exertion. The denier differential relies upon a facing layer and a back layer with substantially different yarn thickness and fabric porosity to achieve fluid transport.