Importance

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Abstract

A multi-axial seamed base fabric is provided that is formed from a spirally wound fabric strip having a width less than an overall width of the fabric that is joined together along neighboring adjacent edges of the strip to form a fabric tube. The fabric strip includes a plurality of generally linearly extending vertically stacked pairs of machine direction (MD) warp yarns interwoven with cross-machine direction (CMD) weft yarns in a repeat pattern which maintains the vertically stacked alignment of the paired MD warp yarns. The fabric tube includes an upper layer and a lower layer formed from the spirally wound fabric strip that are adjacent to one another in the base fabric. The ends of the base fabric are formed by CMD folds in the fabric tube, with the MD warp yarns of each of the upper and lower layers being in a generally vertically stacked alignment within both of the layers adjacent to the ends to provide at least some continuously extending ones of the outer warp yarns between the upper and lower layers at the folds. Seaming loops are formed from at least some of the continuously extending ones of the outer MD yarns located at the CMD folds in the fabric tube. A method of producing such a fabric is also provided.

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First Claim