An article of footwear flat pattern upper having an upper portion and a footbed portion is provided. The upper portion and the footbed portion are integrally continuous, such that the upper portion lateral side converges with the footbed lateral side. The flat pattern includes nested same-sided article of footwear with a reduced surplus portion there between. The articles of footwear includes the following continuous portions: the first medial side with a toe end, the toe end with a lateral side, the lateral side with a heel end, and the heel end with the second medial side. The first medial side and the second medial side are joined to form dimensional article of footwear.

Stitching is applied to a shoe or shoe component and then printed. The stitching may be formed from a continuous thread. After printing, a portion of the continuous thread may have a different color or appearance from other portion(s) of the continuous thread.

A footwear article is provided having an upper and a wear guard arranged across a vamp of the upper. In one embodiment, the wear guard is configured with a grid pattern of raised articulations extends entirely across a width of the vamp. In another embodiment, the footwear article also include a heel guard positioned above a heel region of the upper. In yet another embodiment, a tab may be coupled to the heel guard.

An embroidered vamp process includes the following steps: (1) designing a vamp manufacture drawing by a computer; (2) according to the design drawing of step (1), cutting different pieces of cloth into base fabric of the vamp and a splice component of the vamp respectively by a laser; (3) typesetting the splice component cut in step (2) on the base fabric, then embroidering the splice component on the base fabric according to an embroidery thread pattern of the drawing by an embroidery machine; (4) cutting out the redundant base fabric of the vamp along the edge the splice component by, once again, the laser, forming the vamp of the finished product shoe model. An embroidered vamp comprises a vamp body, said vamp body comprising the base fabric and the splice component, said splice component being embroidered on the surface of base fabric by embroidery thread.

An article may include first and second components comprising non-woven textiles and a third component positioned between the first two components. A first surface of the third component that is adjacent the first component comprises a thermoplastic polymer material, and the third component is fused with a first region of the first component and unfused with a second region of the first component. A method of manufacturing the article, which may be an article of wear, includes arranging the components to form a stacked configuration so that the third component is positioned between the first and second components. Heat and compression may be applied to at least a first region of the first component to fuse the first region with the third component, whereas a second region of the first component may remain unfused to the second component.

There is provided an instep cover in which various designs can be provided on a side surface portion of the instep cover even when a shoelace holding section is provided, and a shoe upper including the instep cover. In a shoe upper (100) configuring a shoe, an instep cover (1) that covers a portion on an instep side of a wearer includes a slit (5S) extending from a foot insertion opening for the wearer to insert a foot toward a toe, and a shoelace holding section (4) that holds a shoelace for adjusting a spacing of the slit (5S). The shoelace holding section (4) includes a holding unit (4U) configured by a hole (4h) formed in a slit edge region (11) that shapes the slit (5S), and an annular strap (4s) being formed to an annular shape by connecting one end and the other end of a lace-like body to the slit edge region (11) and having a length that can be pulled out from the hole (4h) when an intermediate portion of the lace-like body is brought to a position of the hole (4h).

An upper component for an article of footwear allows easy entry of the foot into the article of footwear. The upper component includes a heel body, which includes a first portion partially defining an ankle opening. The heel body further includes a second portion coupled to the first portion. The second portion is foldable and partially defines the ankle opening. The second portion is movable relative to the first portion between an unfolded configuration and a folded configuration. The upper component includes at least one tension member coupled to the second portion. The tension member is movable relative to the first portion to move the second portion from the unfolded configuration to the folded configuration. The ankle opening is larger when the second portion is in the unfolded configuration than when the second portion is in the folded configuration.

Among other things, the inventive subject matter generally relates to bulk fill materials suitable for an insulative or cushioning material. The bulk fill material consists of a plurality of discrete units comprising clusters or loose webs of fibers. The fibers consist of superfine fibers and/or fibers in a range of 1 to 5 denier; the fibers being entangled to form the clusters or loose webs. In some embodiments the clusters or webs are multinode fiber structures that mimic natural down. The inventive subject matter is also directed to related methods of production.

The present invention is directed towards customized 3D printed footwear articles and methods for designing and manufacturing 3D printed footwear having improved cosmetics, comfort and ventilation. The improved footwear articles and methods provide greater integration and/or customization of different components. The method used to manufacture the 3D printed footwear can be conceptualized, prototyped, designed both physically and digitally and then finally designed with specific additive manufacturing processes in mind. Upon completion of printing, the components are cleaned and then in any combination, the components are bonded and coated, or coated and bonded to each other.

Various articles, such as footwear, apparel, athletic equipment, watchbands, and the like, and methods of forming those articles are presented. The articles are generally formed, in whole or in part, using rapid manufacturing techniques, such as laser sintering, stereolithography, solid deposition modeling, and the like. The use of rapid manufacturing allows for relatively economical and time efficient manufacture of customized articles. The articles may include one or more reinforcements configured to provide added durability to various regions of the articles. In addition, the articles may be formed from two or more materials in a single rapid manufacturing process. The rapid manufacturing additive fabrication technique may also include using of varying intensities of the laser to fuse material to form the articles.