US Patent 8925129 Methods of manufacturing articles of footwear with tensile strand elements

An upper for an article of footwear may have material layers and a plurality of strand segments. The material layers are located adjacent to each other and in an overlapping configuration, and the material layers are located in a lace region and a lower region of the upper. The strand segments extend from the lace region to the lower region. The strand segments may be located and secured between the material layers in the lace region and the lower region. The strand segments may form both an exterior surface of the upper and an opposite interior surface of the upper in an area between the lace region and the lower region. The material layers may define an opening between the lace region and the lower region, and the strand segments extend across the opening.