Cone Mills (last US denim manufacturer) is shutting down

[Niro]

Get the 66 from Levi's online store then, give the 76 a buddy 

[Cucoo]

Just ordered the '66 and the '47 for good measure vom Levi's, I'll probably just keep the '76 but who knows

[HAZARDkid]

lol i ordered 2 pairs of '55s recently jut in case

[lance]

What does Levi’s have to say about White Oak closing; have they made a comment?

[Cucoo]

On 1.11.2017 at 3:36 PM, Cucoo said:

Just ordered the '66 and the '47 for good measure vom Levi's, I'll probably just keep the '76 but who knows

Because I'm a dumbass I interpreted "TTS" as "will shrink to tag size" the 76 arrived and the sz 30 already measure 37cm in the waist before washing. I don't think I'll be OK since I need a 30" waist... 

Liking everything else about them though, I think.

Edit: should just stay to the LVC thread I guess  Just read that they'll end up at pre-wash after shrink and stretch.

Edited November 2, 2017 by Cucoo

[Maynard Friedman]

The size 32s I tried on were definitely over-sized and would shrink to tag. I hope the pair I get use the same principle...

[Cucoo]

Alright, that's strange. Mine feel "too big" for a size 30 everywhere but the waist. I'll probably just ask Cultizm what they make of it...

[Maynard Friedman]

Just received my size 32 and the waist measures approx 33.5"/34" waistband aligned. Should be perfect with a couple of inches shrinkage.

[HAZARDkid]

Damn Cucoo that was unlucky, hopefully they can exchange them for you so you can get your desired size.

 

 

'

[emaze]

This book about Cone Mills just sold on ebay.  Copyright 1925.

 

[bartlebyyphonics]

a nice link shared by dr heech of the db

https://www.heddels.com/2015/04/defense-cone-mills-hems-haws/

[Paul T]

that story makes some good points - about the different design philosophies - but gets the mechanism completely wrong.

Cone denim is essentially like vintage denim; a lot of Japanese denim is designed with far more slubbing than vintage denim so it looks more 3-D when new and wears in more quickly. But this is all down to the yarns (and dyeing process), it has almost nothing to do with the looms.

http://loomstate.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/gripping-yarns-q-with-cones-allen-little.html

[bartlebyyphonics]

interesting.

as posted in lvc much love for simple complexity of cone here.

thnx for clarification and sharing. 

any discussion with allen little about next stages? such knowledge must get channelled somewhere...?

[Paul T]

Which stages? If you click on the Cone tag there's a huge amount there, especially a long, detailed interview with Ralph Tharpe, from more or less the time of the Roy contest.

http://loomstate.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-cone-factory.html
 

Edited November 4, 2017 by Paul T

[bartlebyyphonics]

sorry: my attempted brevity leads to miscommunication

your blog is most informative and indepth and has provided much good reading - the lvc re-boot with triple pleat and more has been inspiring - i thank you for so many of your articles

by stages i mean in relation to cone's next stages (as it disassembles) and the loss or retention of the depth-level of knowledge and love for denim that these figures have in relation to u.s. denim production

but then i also realise my talk is mere tattling in the midst of industrial negotiations and what not and zip my trap

Edited November 4, 2017 by bartlebyyphonics

[Paul T]

14 hours ago, bartlebyyphonics said:

sorry: my attempted brevity leads to miscommunication

your blog is most informative and indepth and has provided much good reading - the lvc re-boot with triple pleat and more has been inspiring - i thank you for so many of your articles

by stages i mean in relation to cone's next stages (as it disassembles) and the loss or retention of the depth-level of knowledge and love for denim that these figures have in relation to u.s. denim production

but then i also realise my talk is mere tattling in the midst of industrial negotiations and what not and zip my trap

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I did email a couple of folks to wish them well and ask how they are but haven't heard back. I wonder the same thing.

[Huston Textile]

On 10/20/2017 at 12:24 PM, dudewuttheheck said:

Also, isn't Huston supposed to be making denim soon?

 

On 10/27/2017 at 8:31 PM, Iron Horse said:

Supposedly yes, but it doesn't seem to be up and running yet. 

Their fabrics are great, but $$$. They have no choice, and you do get a fabric from a small operation. Hopefully Roy and others can use their denim, but I wonder if that might affect the price of the jeans.

 

We are going to be running our first narrow run selvage denim shortly. We have the threads loaded on the beam and doing some adjustments to our new to us narrow loom before we dress it. We hope to get the weaving finished before December. 
We also anticipate with acquiring more working and running looms that we will be able to lower our costs. 
It's been a busy year and the closing of Cone Mills is one that we had heard rumors of for some time. We hope that while this is a loss for many larger consumers it will be a large step for smaller manufacturers such as our selves.  

[dudewuttheheck]

1 hour ago, Huston Textile said:

 

 

We are going to be running our first narrow run selvage denim shortly. We have the threads loaded on the beam and doing some adjustments to our new to us narrow loom before we dress it. We hope to get the weaving finished before December. 
We also anticipate with acquiring more working and running looms that we will be able to lower our costs. 
It's been a busy year and the closing of Cone Mills is one that we had heard rumors of for some time. We hope that while this is a loss for many larger consumers it will be a large step for smaller manufacturers such as our selves.  

This is exciting news! Based on how amazing your shirt fabrics have been, I'm excited to see some denim from you! Not to rub salt in the wound, but Cone denim was never very... appealing. 

[Iron Horse]

3 hours ago, Huston Textile said:

We also anticipate with acquiring more working and running looms that we will be able to lower our costs. 

[erk]

3 hours ago, dudewuttheheck said:

Not to rub salt in the wound, but Cone denim was never very... appealing. 

Doh Kay 

[Paul T]

Just to change the direction of this...

For those who have just started wearing selvage denim I can see why Cone isn't the first choice - it's simply subtler than many Japanese fabrics, which are intended to crock quickly, and have exaggerated slubbing. But I find the latter gets boring very quickly. Even some Japanese fabrics that I liked at the time, like my Full Count, never really had the range of tones of the best Cone. Like every maker, some of their fabric isn't as good as others; I am not a fan, for instance, of the LVC 1947. But the Roy contest jeans, for example, show a range of tone that's pretty much perfect for me - because the fabric looks good new, after one wash, after a few washes, and knackered. And every state is different.

When there's no more Cone fabric, you can bet people will be paying super-premium prices for deadstock.

[Paul T]

If you look at Cone, you get all these shades of blue, from dark black to a greeny mid tone, that you don't get, say, with many other fabrics. This is how vintage-style jeans should look. Of course the Japanese companies we love offer a different take and that's wonderful.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

x-post from LVC thread:

 

With Paul being so active these days I hope he can step in and confirm.

I see more and more conspiracy (ok, only on reddit) theories saying LVC doesn’t use White Oak Cone denim because they don’t explicitly write that on the tags or anywhere else. Only that they write: “Made of Cone Denim”. So something along the line of the denim being from Cone which has its headquarters in North Carolina but the denim itself could still be from their Chinese or Mexican mills. Do their other sites have shuttle looms at all? Paul do you know more?
I remember you saying that all LVC denim for the rigid models if it is from Cone it is also from White Oak.

[Paul T]

yes, all the LVC Cone is from White Oak which is the only shuttle loom location. Sanforized denim is Kaihara and some of the chambray etc is from Nihon Menpu and others.

I've tried to find what's happening to the looms in future  but not very hard, I don't want to ask people whose jobs are probably doomed.

Edited November 8, 2017 by Paul T

[erk]

1915

1937

1955 compared with TCB 50s

1955 iphone pic. need to get better pics of these but my dad is wearing them nowadays.

1947 - my first pair of selvage jeans.

kinda wish I hadn't sold them all, but they nolonger fit me and I needed some pairs that did. 

Edited November 8, 2017 by erk
fixed my pics.

[bartlebyyphonics]

10 hours ago, Paul T said:

Just to change the direction of this...

For those who have just started wearing selvage denim I can see why Cone isn't the first choice - it's simply subtler than many Japanese fabrics, which are intended to crock quickly, and have exaggerated slubbing. But I find the latter gets boring very quickly. Even some Japanese fabrics that I liked at the time, like my Full Count, never really had the range of tones of the best Cone. Like every maker, some of their fabric isn't as good as others; I am not a fan, for instance, of the LVC 1947. But the Roy contest jeans, for example, show a range of tone that's pretty much perfect for me - because the fabric looks good new, after one wash, after a few washes, and knackered. And every state is different.

When there's no more Cone fabric, you can bet people will be paying super-premium prices for deadstock.

amen!

to those who want to **** in the coffin, have some respect and understanding of the long term consequences of this game changer...

dude. with respect. some respect. pls.

@erk thanx for sharing

[erk]

42 minutes ago, bartlebyyphonics said:

amen!

to those who want to **** in the coffin, have some respect and understanding of the long term consequences of this game changer...

dude. with respect. some respect. pls.

@erk thanx for sharing

preach it/no problem. 

those were just my pairs - heres some other great cone stuff. 

if ya get what I'm sayin'...

[dudewuttheheck]

1 hour ago, bartlebyyphonics said:

amen!

to those who want to **** in the coffin, have some respect and understanding of the long term consequences of this game changer...

dude. with respect. some respect. pls.

@erk thanx for sharing

The loss of jobs is very unfortunate. Am I not allowed to give an opinion? I know for a fact that there are a lot of others who agree with me. 

I thought this was a thread to discuss the closure. If this is a mourning and condolences only thread, please let me know. 

The fact that skilled workers have lost their jobs is very sad and unfortunate. I really hope they have some chance to apply their skills somewhere else, but unfortunately I don't think that will happen.

As far as the denim itself goes, I have never liked the way Cone denim fades. It's not my preference and I know that others have said this here and on other forums. For most brands (and especially the ones we really like here) this will have a fairly minor effect, if we're honest. Roy is probably going to be affected the most, but I'd be very surprised if he couldn't get denim from Japan as well.

My point is that the title of the thread does not imply that we should only be giving condolences. Why is that not OK? Why jump on me just because I'm the only one with the nerve to say what many are thinking?

In my opinion, this gives greater opportunity to any new small operation like Huston or True Loom that want to make some denim in the US. I would be happy to support them. I already own some Huston fabric shirts and they are incredible. There is something good that can come from this.

 

Also, I do own some jeans and duck pants made from Cone fabric. It's not as though it's poor quality. It's just not my favorite and this is a conclusion I have reached after several years.

 

Edited November 8, 2017 by dudewuttheheck

[Paul T]

Yup, pissing in the coffin about covers it.

It's great you like other brands. Please do go and post lovely photos of those jeans in the appropriate thread.

Because you seem to be making a category error: Cone made the denim that all other brands are paying tribute to. Anyone who loves denim in general should be saddened at their passing , because they wrote the book. They invented rope dyeing; they came up with the red line on denim; they were the first major mill to use automatic looms; they popularised synthetic indigo. THey didn't only develop Levi's fabric as we know it - they were responsible for other historic denim too, like Lee Jelt.  I'm sure you knew all of that, though. This isn't a case of one brand vs another. This is about a century's worth of history.

[itsbenhere]

Cone closing is sad but I think it’s a little silly to be so offended by dudes original comment. 

He qualified it by saying he didn’t want to be rude. Calling it “pissing in the coffin” is ridiculous. 

Cmon guys this is superfuture not reddit, it doesn’t have to be fairydust and rainbows here!