When a pair of stockings or tights is torn, or"laddered", it can often be at an embarrassing or inconvenient moment, when a replacement garment is not available or changing is not practical. Therefore, wearers need to be able to contain such ladders or tears to prevent them from becoming enlarged or "running", so as to thereby avoid further personal discomfort and embarrassment.

For instance, if a ladder forms above the hemline of a wearer's skirt and it can be contained and prevented from running downwardly below the hemline, the wearer can carry on wearing the damaged pair of stockings or tights until such time as they can be changed.

A known method for dealing with ladders and tears in tights or stockings by way of emergency is to apply a blob of nail varnish to the damaged area. Nail varnish is normally a highly viscous but relatively quick setting varnish or lacquer, which forms a barrier around a tear and, thus, prevents it from running

further. The problem with this method is that a supply of nail varnish is not always readily to hand and, because they are often highly coloured, any repair carried out using such a varnish is highly visible and thus unsightly.

Furthermore, the composition of the nail varnish can be such that it causes the tights or stockings to stick to the wearer's leg which can be uncomfortable. Nail varnish can also cause irritation to the skin.

It is an object of the invention, therefore, to provide a composition, method and apparatus for preventing further running or laddering of stockings or tights, which overcome or substantially reduce some or all of these problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a sprayable lead- free composition for application to a fabric for containing a hole or a tear therein, said composition comprising a binding agent in a solvent system, wherein the solvent system serves as a propellant.

In this aspect of the invention, the composition is sufficiently tacky and volatile to seal a tear in a stocking quickly but remains sufficiently fluid to be repeatedly dispensed from an atomiser or an aerosol dispenser without clogging of the nozzle. The composition is hardenable, after spray application to a site of a hole or a tear, to provide a barrier to significant further enlargening of the hole or tear. Advantageously, the sprayable composition, in accordance with the present invention, may be carried in a conveniently sized spray applicator, or aerosol container and sprayed at or around a damaged portion of a fabric article, such as

a stocking, whenever required and without difficulty. The barrier provided by the use of the invention should be sufficient to prevent significant further enlargening of a treated hole or tear, under normal usage of the fabric.

Preferably, the composition is substantially colourless and, in an embodiment, the sprayable composition can harden to bind the threads of a torn or holed fabric-material which is under tension. Preferably, the sprayable composition is for containing a hole or tear in fabric material formed from polyamide filaments.

Most preferably, the fabric material is an article of clothing, especially an article of hosiery, such as a stocking or a pair of tights.

In this aspect of the invention, the binding agent may be any material suitable for application by spraying to a fabric material for containing a hole of a tear therein. Prefeably, the binding agent is selected from the group consisting of nitrocellulose, cellulose propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, ethyl cellulose, sucrose acetate isobutyrate, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, polymethyl methacrylate and mixtures thereof, especially from the group consisting of polyvinyl butyral, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol and mixtures thereof. Most preferably, the binding agent consists essentially of polyvinyl butyral. In this context, the phrase"consists essentially"should be understood to mean that the composition does not include other specific binding agents and that the polyvinyl butyral is at least 80% pure, preferably at least 90% pure, more preferably at least 95% pure and most preferably at least 97% pure. The solvent system also serves as a propellant and, in a preferred embodiment, comprises a

primary solvent and a volatile secondary solvent. In this embodiment, the primary solvent is preferably selected from the group consisting of acetone, ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, butanol, butyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone and mixtures thereof, especially from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, butanol and mixtures thereof.

The secondary solvent may be any liquefied gas or volatile liquid having a high vapour pressure at ambient temperature that is suitable for use as a propellant.

Preferred propellants include lower hydrocarbon gases, such as butane, rather than a CFC of the type considered responsible for depleting ozone levels in the upper atmosphere. In this regard, the secondary solvent is preferably selected from the group consisting of dimethyl ether, propane, butane, isobutane and mixtures thereof. In an especially preferred embodiment, the secondary solvent consists essentially of dimethyl ether.

In a preferred embodiment, the composition according to the invention comprises 1-5% by weight of a binding agent, 50-65% by weight of a primary solvent and 35-45% by weight of a secondary solvent, wherein the secondary solvent serves as a propellant. Optionally, the composition further comprises 0.01-2% by weight of an organic acid derivative. In this context, the term organic acid derivative should be understood to include the parent organic acids, as well as derivatives thereof. Preferably, the organic acid derivative is a carboxylic acid derivative, especially a salt selected from the group consisting of sodium benzoate, potassium benzoate, calcium benzoate and mixtures thereof.

In an embodiment, the composition further comprises 0.01-1% by weight of a

fragrance, to mask the smell of the evaporating solvent system and to make the composition pleasant to use. The composition may also include other components to impart desired properties or characteristics, such as colouring agents or dyes to match the colour of the tights or stockings for example. In a further embodiment, the composition comprises 1.5-3.5% by weight of a binding agent, 55-60% by weight of a primary solvent, 37.5-42.5% by weight of a secondary solvent, 0.05-0.15% by weight of a carboxylic acid derivative and 0.01- 0.5% by weight of a fragrance. Preferably, the composition comprises 2.25-2.75% by weight of a binding agent, 51.6-63.1% by weight of a primary solvent, 36-44% by weight of a secondary solvent, 0.09-0.11% by weight of a carboxylic acid derivative and 0.045-0.055% by weight of a fragrance. Most preferably, the composition comprises 2.5% by weight of a binding agent, 57.35% by weight of a primary solvent, 40% by weight of a secondary solvent, 0.10% by weight of a carboxylic acid derivative and 0.05% by weight of a fragrance.

In a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for containing a hole or a tear in a fabric material, comprising spraying a mist of fine droplets of a composition according to the invention in its first aspect, to the site of the hole or tear and allowing the composition to harden, to thereby bind threads of the fabric sufficiently to provide a barrier to significant further enlargening of the hole or tear. In an embodiment of the inventive method, the fabric material forms an article of clothing, which is under tension created by a wearer's body.

Preferably, the article of clothing is an article of hosiery, such as a pair of tights or a stocking.

In a third aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for use in a method according to the invention in its second aspect, which apparatus comprises a composition according to the invention in its first aspect and means for dispensing said composition as a spray of fine droplets. In an embodiment, the dispensing means comprises an aerosol container, preferably in the shape of a human leg. In an alternative embodiment, however, the dispensing means may comprise a mechanically-operated atomiser. The low viscosity quick drying solution is preferably dispensed from an aerosol which is small and compact and will readily fit into a ladies handbag. It is important that the dispenser is convenient to use and as small as possible. The container can contain a sealed reservoir and be disposable when empty or, alternatively, it can include a reservoir which is refillable.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, the following examples of sprayable compositions in accordance with the present invention are provided by way of illustration only.

Example 1-Preparation of Sprayable Composition A 25g of polyvinyl butyral was mixed with 0. 5g of fragrance, 1g of sodium benzoate, 573.5g of ethanol and 400g of dimethylether and the mixture stirred at low temperature and under pressure until homogeneous, to provide a final composition ready for loading into an aerosol container.

Example 2-Preparation of Sprayable Composition B 30g of polyvinyl acetate was mixed with 0.4g of fragrance, 1. 1g of sodium benzoate, 593.5g of ethanol and 375g of isobutane and the mixture stirred at low temperature and under pressure until homogeneous, to provide a final composition ready for loading into an aerosol container.

TABLE 1: SPRAYABLE COMPOSITIONS CDEFGH BINDER Polyvinylbutyral32.0 Polyvinylacetate2.53 Polyvinylalcohol2.52.0 SOLVENTA Methanol3840 Ethanol4039 Isopropanol4037 SOLVENTB Dimethylether 57.258.558 Isobutane58.957.359.5 FRAGRANCE 0.050.050.05 CARBOXYLIC ACID0.10.150.45 DERIVATIVE0.3 0. 45 Sodiumbenzoate Potassiumbenzoate TOTAL100100100100100-100

Table 1 shows the proportions, in parts by weight, of the components included in further compositions C-H in accordance with the invention, which are prepared in the same manner as composition A. In use, the compositions are applied to a hole or tear in a fabric material in the form of a fine spray from an aerosol container or a atomiser at a height of approximately 4"-6"and the mixture allowed to set for approximately 2-5 minutes.

The accompanying drawings show examples of dispensers in accordance with the third aspect of the invention, which are suitable for filling with and thereafter dispensing compositions in accordance with the first aspect of the invention.

Figure 1 shows one form of dispenser for use in the practice of the present invention ; Figure 2 shows an alternative dispenser; and Figure 3 is a partial view of the interior of the dispenser shown in Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a dispenser comprising a removable cap 1 on a dispenser body 2 having a depressible plunger 3, which is mounted for reciprocal movement in a housing 4. A tube 5 extends from the housing 4 and is connected by passageways (not shown) to a nozzle outlet 6 in the plunger 3.

The container is constructed so that on depression of the plunger 3, a pressure is generated in space 7, above a sprayable composition 8, which forces the

composition up the tube 5 to exit as a spray of fine droplets from the nozzle outlet 6. The construction of the dispenser is of a known type and, therefore, it will not be described further here. As an alternative to the described pump action dispenser, an aerosol dispenser may be used which, preferably, does not use a CFC as propellent. Suitable propellants, therefore, include lower hydrocarbons such as commercial grade butane.

Figures 2 and 3 show an alternative form of dispenser which is in the general shape of a human leg and has a clip 10 so that it can be retained in a user's pocket. As can be seen from Figure 2, the dispenser comprises adepressible plunger 3a which is movable axially relative to the dispenser body 2 to dispense the sprayable composition 8a from the reservoir via outlet tube 5a and dispensing nozzle 6a.

The composition 8, to be dispensed from a particular dispenser, should be selected so as to be capable of spraying easily into a fine spray and to be quick drying and not too thick so that it clogs the nozzle. The nozzle 6 must be small enough for a fine wide spray but not so big that too much liquid is released.

Suitable nozzles can be selected from those commercially available in the light of the pressurising or propellant system chosen and the actual 5 composition 8 employed. The best nozzle and spray pressure for a particular dispenser and composition combination, can then be determined by a series of simple trials.

The container must be small enough to fit into an average sized ladies handbag and be easy to use and fit easily into the hand. All surfaces should be smooth with no sharp edges.