The invention also relates to such headwear being adapted for high density packaging and distribution.

Low cost caps and hats are known. However such items do not lend themselves to high density packaging for transportation and distribution purposes. It would be desirable-to provide a low cost disposable hat to keep the sun from a wearer's eyes during outdoor events and that such a hat or cap be distributable in a planar, flat packed state. It is also desirable that the headwear be formed of a substantially waterproof material.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION There is disclosed herein an item of headwear formed as a single sheet of self- supportive material including a substantially planar brim surrounding a head-receiving aperture, the headwear further including a plurality of fingers formed integrally with the brim and extending into the aperture, the fingers being resiliently deflectable out of the plane of the brim as a wearer's head is partly inserted through the aperture, the resilience of the material from which the headwear is formed serving to bias the fingers against the wearer's head so as to retain the headwear in position upon the wearer's head.

Preferably, the aperture is oval shaped like the shape of a human's head when viewed from above.

Preferably, each finger is hingedly interconnected to the brim at respective hinge lines following the form of the aperture.

Preferably, the single sheet of self-supportive material is substantially waterproof.

Preferably, a number of beads or other objects are suspended from the brim to serve as insect repellents.

Preferably, the beads or other objects are formed of the same material as that from which the sheet of self-supportive material is made.

Preferably, the beads or other objects are initially formed integrally with the sheet of self-supportive material and are detachable therefrom by tearing a frangible line or lines of weakness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a flat-packed hat; Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the hat of Figure 1 in an in-use state; Figure 3 is a schematic partial plan view of a blank from which a hat can be removed, the blank including a number of beads to be detached therefrom if desired; and Figure 4 is a schematic partial plan view of another blank from which a hat can be removed, the blank including a number of beads to be detached therefrom if desired.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings there is schematically depicted a hat 10. Hat 10 is typically formed as a single sheet of self-supportive, resilient material such as foam. The foam might be polystyrene, polyurethane or any other type of lightweight plastics material. The hat might alternatively be formed of cardboard. It might alternatively be formed as a laminate of cardboard and foam. The hat might alternatively be a laminate of one or more layers of foam or other resilient material.

The hat 10 includes a brim 11, near the periphery of which there might be provided a number of small holes 14 through which cords might be received for the purpose of hanging small beads, corks or other objects adapted to repel flying insects from the head of a wearer.

The hat 10 includes an aperture 12 defined as a plurality of hinge lines forming a substantially oval-shaped aperture. From each hinge line 12'there extends an inwardly projecting finger 13. Each finger 13 is separated from the finger at either side thereof by a cut-line 15. Each finger 13 points to the opposing side of the aperture 12 and terminates at a tip 16. In the flat-packed configuration as shown in Figure 1, the tips 16 are joined to form a polygonal or circular central hole 17.

The cut lines 15 are generally radial in form about the central aperture 17. The angular orientation of each cut line 15 can be chosen so as to ensure that no cut line resides along the central longitudinal axis of the hat from front to back. In other words, a flat face of the forward-most finger will face directly toward the front of the hat, whereas the flat face of the rearward-most finger will face directly backward. That way, when viewing a person wearing the hat directly from the front, the face of the forward-most finger will be seen, rather than a gap formed between two adjacent fingers.

As shown in Figure 2, a number of beads, corks or other dangling objects 18 are suspended from the holes 14 in the brim 11. Preferably, the material from which the beads are made is the same as the material from which the hat is made.

In use, the wearer grasps the brim 11 and draws the hat down over his or her head such that the head passes through the aperture 12 so as to deflect the fingers upwardly to the configuration depicted in Figure 2. The hat may be placed over the head either side up as the hinges would be adapted to allow the fingers to bend in either directin out of the plane of the brim. As the material from which the hat is formed is resilient, the fingers will remain biased against the wearer's head so as to retain the hat in position.

It might also be the case that the material chosen for the hat is stretchable and compressible so as to enable the hat to stretch around the wearer's head because not all heads are of the same shape when viewed from above.

In Figure 3 there is depicted a blank from which a hat can be removed. Tear off portions 23 are delimited from the periphery of the brim 11 by a frangible line 24. One of the tear off portions 23 has a number of beads 18 formed therein and adapted to be torn therefrom by lines of weakness 19. The frangible lines 19 and 24 may include perforations or a thinning in the material from which the blank is formed. Each bead 18 has an aperture 22 by which the bead may be tied to the respective aperture 14 by means of string 20 tapes by a strip of tape 21 to the surface of another break off portion 23 of the blank.

In Figure 4 there is depicted another blank from which a hat can be removed. In this embodiment, rather than providing a separate string or strings 20, the strings are pre- stitched. To this end, the dangling tabs 18 are formed as thumbnail tear-outs in the throwaway portion 23 of the hat blank. In the embodiment depicted, the hat is substantially triangular in shape and the triangular periphery is delimited from the throwaway portion 23 by a line of weakness or perforations 24. A number of short lengths of string 20 are pre-stitched into the periphery of the hat brim 11. In use, the throwaway portion 23 is first detached from the brim 11 whereupon it remains

attached to the brim by means of the short lengths of string 20. The thumbnail tear- outs can then be broken away from the throwaway portion 23, leaving them suspended by strings 20 from the holes 14 in the brim 11.

It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope of the present invention. For example, the brim may be square, circular, oval shaped, star shaped, diamond shaped or any other shape depending on fashion or function.