ROARK DENIM UNDERSTANDING
DENIM
D E N I M I S T H E K E Y I N G R E D I E N T T O M A N U FA C T U R I N G A P R E M I U M PA I R OF JEANS AND THAT’S WHY WE NEED TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF DENIM. E A C H D E N I M W E S E L E C T E D H A S U N I Q U E C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S T O W I T H S TA N D Y O U R A D V E N T U R E S A N D T H E T E S T O F T I M E . O U R M E T I C U L O U S D E TA I L S A R E W H AT M A K E R O A R K D E N I M S TA N D O U T. W E F O C U S O N B U I L D I N G J E A N S F R O M T H E I N S I D E O U T.
UNDERSTA ND I N G DE N I M WOVEN FABRIC - th e weav in g o f warp a n d we ft ya r n s WARP - yarns ru n p are lle l t o th e s e lved g e o f t h e d e n i m W EFT - yarns run cros s g ra in TW ILL - ty pe of we ave of t h e f a b ric w h ich p ro d u c e s a d i a g o n a l g ra i n vi su a l 2x1 - Twill weave , lig h t weig h t d e n i ms 3x1 - Twill weave , m os t d u ra b le , 1 0 . 5 o z a n d h i g h e r ***Plain we ave - ox f o rd s an d p o p l i n s Denim Cons truct ion : Yarn s RIN GSPUN - orig in al d en im ya rn c o n s t ru c t i o n , st ro n g e r, so ft e r, “ p r e mi u m” OP EN END - cos t e f f e c t ive yarn c o n s t ru ct i o n , fu zzy fl a t l o o k , n o st r e t ch IN DIGO DYE Originally n at u ra lly d erived f rom p l a n t s Now produ c e d s y n th e t ica lly Indigo dye is u n iq u e in t h e s e n s e o f h ow i t a b so r d s i n t o ya r n s Unique ag in g ch arac t e ris t ics o f d e n i m Di ps is us ed in ref ere n ce to h ow m an y ti me s t h e ya r n s h ave b e e n d i p p e d i n i n d i g o d ye . Mor e dips equals d a rker d e n im t h at p ro d u c e s st ro n g e r c o n t ra st s ove r t h e a g i n g p ro c e ss. We ave s RH T - Right Hand Tw ill weave : m o s t c o mmo n we ave i n d e n i m. T h e o r i g i n a l we ave ma d e m o st famous by Lev i’s . A n e a s y way t o id en tify i s t h e t w i l l l i n e o n t h e fa c e o f t h e fa b r i c r i se s f ro m l eft to RIGHT. LHT - Lef t Hand Tw ill we ave : is th e ex ac t o p p o si t e o f R H T. T h e g ra i n (t w i l l l i n e ) o f t h e fa bric r i ses from right to LE F T. Ove r th e ag in g p ro c e ss, t h e fa b r i c wi l l st a r t t o l o o k fu zzy. L H T is typi cally not as d ark a s RHT. T h is f ab ric wa s fi r st i n t ro d u c e d by L E E . BR OKEN TWILL - p rod u c e s a z ig z a g p at t e r n . T h e we ave a c t u a l l y a l t e r n a t e s l e ft a n d r i g h t w hich “ br eaks ” the trad itio n al t w ill lin e lo o k . T h i s we ave wa s i n t ro d u c e d by W ra n g l e r t o p r eve n t l eg twis ting. LEG TWISTING - th is was c o n s id e re d a p ro b l e m i n t h e e a r l y d ays o f d e n i m. T h e se d ays, t his i s va lued as auth e n tic to th e orig in a l n at u r e o f d e n i m c o n st r u c t i o n . S AN FORIZATION - a p roc e s s of t re a t in g c o t t o n fa b r i c t o p r e - sh r i n k b e fo r e se w i n g . C r e a t e d to pr event leg twis tin g . Mo s t m od ern d en ims o f Sa n fo r i ze d .
QUALITY DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS
C o t t o n w ra ppe d poly core thread
Flat felled seams durable const ruct ion
Pocket bag sewi n g Clean finish, durable con st ru ct i on
Re i nf o rc e d ba ck pockets L i ne d l owe r panel
YKK z ippers & Donut shank and rivet s
Belt loops plac emen t for opt imal st r en g t h
F ul l sha pe d c oin pocket w i t h cl e a n f inis h
O verlock but t erfly out seam
Chainst it ch Hem original t ype of hem st i t ch , aging charact erist ics cal l ed rop i n g
Wove n F a br i c : 2 or m ore s ets of yarns ( warp and weft ) int erlaced (t he weave) at rigt h angles t o each o t he r. War p: Wa r p ya rns run lengthw is e ( parallel t o t o t he selvedge (fabric edge), t his yarn is dyed in d i g o Wef t: We f t ya r n s run in the cros sw is e direct ion. t hey run from selvedge t o selvedge at right a n gl e s t o t he warp yarn. In denim , this yarn is generally left in it s nat ural or uncolored st at e
Twi l l We ave : the weave repeas t on 2 or m ore warp & weft yarns, and diagonal line visuals are p rod u ced o n the f a c e o f the f abric.
2x1 RHT K now yo ur tw ills . It m ay no t be as com m only know n that the weave is what helps det ermine t he weight of denim. 3 x 1 , 2 x 1 , 1 x 1 or plain weave are the ty p es. E x a m pl e : 3 x 1 i s t he m o s t com m on in s elvedge denim. Any denim over 10.5oz is 3x 1. T his describes t h ere are 3 wa r p thr e a ds f or ever y 1 wef t thread.
T h e d i f f e r e nc e be t weeh R ings pun and O pen End denims. Un t i l t he 7 0 ’s a l l d enim s were produced us in g Ringspun yarns. Open end denim was creat ed bec au se t h e p ro c e s s wa s cheaper and cons um ed m uch less cot t on when weaving denim. T his quickly became a n i ndus tr y sta ndard. B ut, w ith the grow ing demand for vint age denim, ringspinning has become a p r e m i um s ta nda r d.
Natural slubs of a ringspun denim
Ri n gspun: pro duces a s of ter and durable yarn wit h unique and unever t ex t ures (such as slub) wh i ch r e s ul ts i n a m uch m ore def ined aging f inis h . Because t he yarns are t hinned out and elongat ed as t h ey a r e t w i ste d, t he i ndigo dyes don’t get as absorbed int o t he yarns, t his producse t he cont rast ing h i g h s a n d low s ( a gi ng) as the denim f ades . R ingspinning also enables mult i-core yarns where polyesters p rov i de str e ngt h and elas tane adds s tretch wit hout affect ing how it looks and feels on t he out sid e. * * * *
Softer S tro nge r A uthe nt i c A ging M ul ti -C o r e Yarns ( s trength and elas t icit y)
Op e n E nd: ge ne ra lly produces a m ore f uzzy effect and is a weaker const ruct ion. Wit h short er ya rn s s p u n to ge the r, t hi s yarn als o abs orbs m ore indigo int o t he yarns. T his reduces t he high low con t rast s t h a t deve l o p thro u gh the aging proces s w hich result s in a flat t er and more even fade. * * * *
C he a pe r F l a t ( f e a ture-les s aging) F uz z y N o S t r e tch
INDIGO PLANT
I n d i go : dye wa s originally taken naturally from plant s. I t has been document ed as far back as 1600 B C i n I ndi a , C hi na and the M iddle Eas t, w here it was oft en used as a color for royalt y. S i n c e t he be gi nn ing of the twentieth centu r y, most manufact urers now use synt het ic dye. I ndig o d ye i s uni que si nc e the dye does not f ully inf il t rat e t o t he cent er of fibers. T his ex plains why denim f ad es ove r ti m e . A s t h e denim ages , indigo s lowly fades away ex posing t he nat ural core of t he yarn.
INDIGO DYE
Di p s: In t he de nim dyeing proces s , dips refer t o t he met hod of submerging t he yarns int o indig o d ye b a ths . I n be t ween each dip, the yarn is ex posed t o air for t he indigo t o ox idize. T his process i s r e p e a te d unti l t h e des ired color is achieved. More dips equal darker denim.
RHT
LHT
Ty p e s o f Tw i l l Weaves : RHT ( r i ght ha nd tw ill) : m os t com m on weave in denim. Here warp yarns are colored indigo and p r edo m i na nt o n the f ace of the f abric, w ith t he whit e weft yarns showing on t he back. A n e a sy way t o identif y if denim is R H T is t he t will line rises diagonally t o t he right . T his was mad e m o st f a m o us w i th LEV I’s . Ri ght ha nd t w i l l has a s m oother and f latter surface. One of t he diffferent iat ing charact ersist ic s i s h ow m uch ti ght er and com pact the denim is due t o being woven wit h S t wist yarns. T his yarn is sp u n c o unte rcl o ckw i s e and creates m ore def ined fades or “charact er” as denim ages. RHT is t ypical l y d a rke r de ni m . L HT ( l e f t ha nd tw ill) : is woven is the exact opposit e direct ion as RHT, and t he t will grain st art s f rom b o t to m r i ght a nd m oves up to the lef t. LEE mad LHT most famous. LHT has a soft er feel becaus e i t i s wove n w i th a Z tw is t yarn, w hich is s pun clockwise. Over t he aging process of left hand t wil l , t h e d e n i m w i l l be gi n to look f uzzy as it f ades . LHT t ypically let s more nat ural weft yarns t o show t h ro ugh o n t he face of the f abric, res ulting denims not as dark as RHT. Bo th R H T a nd L HT creating tw is ting in the legs aft er wash, unt il brands st art ed t o Sanforize t he i r d e n i m . T he tw i sting was in realation to the angle at which t he weave was creat ed, and as t he wearer was he d a nd s hrank the denim , it would s hrink unevenly, creat ing t he t wist .
BROKEN TWILL
BR O K E N T W IL L : Firs t us ed by W rangler in the 60’s. Broken t will alt ernat es left and right in t he weave p ro c e s s a nd c r eates a zig-zag pattern. Th is weave was originally creat ed t o prevent t wist ing.
L e g Tw i s ti ng & S anf orization: C r e a te d i n the 1930’s , s anf orization is the process of t reat ing cot t on fabrics t o reduce t he amou n t of s h r i nka ge tha t would otherw is e occur af ter t he first wash. Thi s pro c e s s e ns ures the f abric w ill s hrink no more t han 5% aft er is is washed t he first t ime. Unsa nf o r i ze d f abrics ty pically s hrink 10%. Levi’s “shrink-t o-fit ” made famous unsanforized d en i m. The se days , m os t denim s are cons idered “pre-shrunk” as t hey have been sanforized.
Agi ng & Wa s hi n g D enim : Raw de ni m i s ver y s trong, durable and designed for workwear. I t ’s a product t hat can last t hro ugh a s m a ny was hes as you like. B ut , t he indigo may not last , depending on t he amount of i n di go di ps a yarn has gone through. M ost denim ex t remist believe you should never wash you r j ean s b e f o r e t hey have been worn f or a good 6 mont hs. T he a ppe a l o f raw denim is that it w ill co nform and fade t o your body t he longer you wear it wi t h ou t wa sh. T he r e a son the jeans f ade to your mechanics is because t hey are losing indigo in t he p l aces t hey na tura l l y abrade. ( behind knees , thighs, pocket edges, where your wallet sit s...). T he m ore i n di go yo u l o se in thes e key areas , the great er t he cont rast bet ween t he cont act point s and t h e r est o f t he j e a n. The bes t way to was h your jeans (pre-dist ressed or self-worn-in)...t urn ins i d e ou t , r inse c o l d, w i th m ild detergent if any at all, and hang dr y. Wash as rarely as possible.