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Denim 101 for Men's Clothing

kaxixi

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+1. What is chainstitching and what is roping?
 

gdl203

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and Soaking 101 pwease
 

whodini

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Originally Posted by kaxixi
+1. What is chainstitching and what is roping?
Roping would be the white crests along the folds of my chainstitched RRLs:
cimg4158jj1.jpg
Originally Posted by gdl203
and Soaking 101 pwease
Basically, your high-end raw jean falls into two categories: 1) Unwashed/Shrink-to-fit: The cotton in the denim has yet to touch water or been mechanically-treated and subsequently will shrink upon the first soak. Most jeans do not come this way and for good reason: the average consumer would get a headache trying to figure out which size to buy to account for future shrinkage which can be variable. If you do purchase an unwashed/shrink-to-fit pair of jeans, the idea would be to soak them in water BEFORE wearing them as they will be larger than tagged at purchase and will shrink 2-3" in the waist, 3-5" in length once washed. 2) One-wash/Sanforized: A majority of jeans today are made this way. The denim is still raw but has been treated, either in water or mechanically, to minimize future shrinkage. There are two schools of thought on this: a) soak these immediately like unwashed jeans to get over the 3-5% expected shrinkage or b) wear these straight out of the bag and worry about the soak/wash later since it is minimal. I personally belong to the latter group since soaked jeans will eventually stretch back out in the waist and you can get back length shrinkage by pulling on the legs while the jeans are still wet. While most purists enjoy the guesswork of unwashed jeans, I have never had to deal with it and frankly don't see the point. In fact, places like Blue in Green offer the same jean model in an unwashed or one-wash state so that you can decide for yourself (guess which is more popular...).
 

gdl203

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Interesting thanks. And how exactly does one "soak" a pair of jeans after a good number of washes? I heard odd things like taking a bath with your jeans on in a bathtub - is this just mythology?
 

TheFoo

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Originally Posted by gdl203
I heard odd things like taking a bath with your jeans on in a bathtub - is this just mythology?

Well, I've done it.
 

gdl203

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Originally Posted by mafoofan
Well, I've done it.
So it must be mythology
 

TheFoo

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Originally Posted by gdl203
So it must be mythology

Well, I won't dispute being somewhat god-like.
 

dfagdfsh

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You can get roping with normal lockstitching, it just won't be as pronounced. In some higher end Japanese denims more than just the hems are chainstiched.
 

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JO3B

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i have no interest in going anywhere to inspect anything.

those not so interested should stick to apc. diving further in, it almost seems wrong to not chainstitch.
 

dfagdfsh

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these are the same jeans vox posted
waywt.jpg
 

bmulford

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Originally Posted by whodini
Roping would be the white crests along the folds of my chainstitched RRLs:
cimg4158jj1.jpg


Basically, your high-end raw jean falls into two categories:

1) Unwashed/Shrink-to-fit: The cotton in the denim has yet to touch water or been mechanically-treated and subsequently will shrink upon the first soak. Most jeans do not come this way and for good reason: the average consumer would get a headache trying to figure out which size to buy to account for future shrinkage which can be variable. If you do purchase an unwashed/shrink-to-fit pair of jeans, the idea would be to soak them in water BEFORE wearing them as they will be larger than tagged at purchase and will shrink 2-3" in the waist, 3-5" in length once washed.

2) One-wash/Sanforized: A majority of jeans today are made this way. The denim is still raw but has been treated, either in water or mechanically, to minimize future shrinkage. There are two schools of thought on this: a) soak these immediately like unwashed jeans to get over the 3-5% expected shrinkage or b) wear these straight out of the bag and worry about the soak/wash later since it is minimal. I personally belong to the latter group since soaked jeans will eventually stretch back out in the waist and you can get back length shrinkage by pulling on the legs while the jeans are still wet.

While most purists enjoy the guesswork of unwashed jeans, I have never had to deal with it and frankly don't see the point. In fact, places like Blue in Green offer the same jean model in an unwashed or one-wash state so that you can decide for yourself (guess which is more popular...).


RRL denim - how does one tell if they are of the first or second order?
 

dfagdfsh

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They will say "SHRINK TO FIT" on the back pocket tag. IIRC the STF RRLs also cost more, have a big buckle on the back, and come in a cloth bag.
 

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