Patent 7347229 was granted and assigned to Stretchline on March, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A tubular fabric receives an underwire in a garment such as a bra. The tubular fabric is formed by arranging a fusible yarn, such as Grilon®, and melting said yarn to form a barrier, which exhibits excellent resistance to penetration by underwires. Preferably the fabric does not include an elastomeric yarn or contains a minor amount and is treated to impart stretch to the fabric in the length direction.