Selvedge Denim

[jdavis]

thats very interesting.. i never head of that one either

Although it might explain why my dry lvc has microholes behind the knee and in the crotch. My sanforized denim is fine. Starch removed during the sanforization pocess makes them different perhaps.

[takashi]

mmm, microholes in the crotch, that sounds serious... (!)

How long have you been wearing the lvc dry, btw?

[ringring]

Sweet Orr - thanks for the clarification. Yeah, I know about the sizing process in mills - starch usually used to strengthen rather than weaken the yarns prior to weaving and for cutting (as you say) this contradictory fact prompted me to question whether starch+sweat created holes in denim by weakening the fibres.

I guess it's a case of 'stiff is strong' but 'flexible is stronger', like the twig analogy.

Thanks again.

[AmericanTemplar]

Why do so many people advocate wearing one pair of jeans daily for six months before washing, rather than, say, rotating two pairs for a year?

[giantreptile]

if you want to grow bread in your jeans, that's how you do it.

[shopgal]

Edited by shopgal on Aug 3, 2005 at 11:59 AM

[Guest Berget__]

AmericanTemplar: I dont really think it matters if you rotate 2 pairs for one year or if you use one pair of jeans for six months. The whole point people are trying to get across is to get a good wear on your jeans before the first wash...thats all there is to it I think...

I aint gotta get money man money get me

[Guest bed]

Quote:

Why do so many people advocate wearing one pair of jeans daily for six months before washing, rather than, say, rotating two pairs for a year?

--- Original message by AmericanTemplar on Aug 3, 2005 06:50 AM

To add to the above statement:

Some people like to see their jeans cure fast. The fastest way to cure them is to wear them all day and all night.

[sbbbjm]

so i have a small question. don't worry it's not a 'oh crap i spilled something on my selvages, is that ok?' -- i tried to see if there was anything said about this in previous thread but i didn't find anything.

i have a pair of earnest sewn filson selvages and they have stretched out to wear i need a belt with them. now i want to wear these tight so i get more defined lines once i wash them. to shrink them back again i was thinking of getting a spray of water bottle and dampening (not soaking) the jeans some and then putting them in the dryer, in hopes that they will shrink some. so denim experts, good idea or bad idea?

[minya]

Don't put them in the dryer! A 30-minute soak in a tub of cold water might be a good idea -- that would shrink them up a bit without bleeding much indigo -- but a dryer will cause problems if you're trying to get good fade/wear going.

[Geowu]

putting it in the dryer, it will cause the cotton to frizz (is that a word?), to get all over the place, weakening the weave. You can do it once or twice, but won't the jeans stretch back to normal again?

YOu can apply lots of starch daily while you wear them, the humidity in the starch may shrink them a bit, plus strenghtening the creases (particularly if you're wearing the jeans while you spray, because otherwise the creases may dry in a 'loose' state). That's a good idea (of course, just to get the creases and fade, then you stop it, preventing the possible rips).

A soak in cold water may cause the fade marks to blur, loosing sharpness, (I find that any wash does this, particularly in that Eternal jeans) although the general contrast increases. If you're in winter or cold climate, wear another pair of jeans beneath that one, so that it gets the effect of being tighter (just another option).

[wild_whiskey]

you could spray them with starch, then sit down for a couple hours. Those creases will be really sharp!

[Geowu]

Which one is best to get contrast ??

1. Soak with hot water and Woolite Black

2. Soak with hot water (without soap)

3. Machine wash in hot water

Edited by Geowu on Aug 3, 2005 at 05:36 PM

[AmericanTemplar]

One way that has worked for me for shrinking jeans a bit is spraying them with hot water, wiping off excess water and then hanging them up.

[T4phage]

Hello Takashi,

I find the "Levis Method" of soaking in the bathtub to work fine with me. Although I would agree that there is a tendancy to bag out on the knees (when sqatting to get rid of excess water), I find that subesquent washing restores the shape of the denim with no adverse effects. I've tried this method on all my shrink to fits such as; LVC's, Denime, and Samurai.

btw. great jeans! Worn them yet? How did you find the waist measurement? I found it smaller than average maybe due to the thickness of the denim at the waistband. Oh, I have done the Levis treatment on them and it is fine, and with the thickness, very minimal bagging at the knees.

[takashi]

Hi T4phage,

Yes, I noticed your jeans over on the Style forum -- very nice indeed! [but I would say that, wouldn't I? (**)]. I see yours are number 141/250. I assume the colour is somewhat different than photographed, because of a flash perhaps (?)

These are actually my girlfriend's jeans, not mine (although I got them for her...), and 29 fits her fine -- a little loose perhaps, but that's they way they wear them these days I suppose (more of a 'hip-hanger' look).

She likes them and has worn them quite a bit, but they haven't been washed yet. They are unusual jeans, no question about it. It will be interesting to see how they change over time. They have certainly piqued my interest in natural indigo (which as you may know is called "ai" in Japanese, or sometimes "ran" depending on the context --- this is the kanji: 藍 ; often you see it as 正藍 "seiran" -- i.e. true or natural indigo)

The shop included some "additive free laundry detergent" for them. I wasn't planning to use soap for awhile, but may try it when the time comes, as per the "How to Wash" section of the Samurai website.

Best Regards,

takashi

[T4phage]

Hi Takashi!

You are indeed correct that the flash is the cause of the lightened photo. The closest representation is probably the last picture.

I'm surprised that your GF likes the jeans! My wife considers me mad for wearing my raw denims, she thinks I must be a masochist!

Regards,

T4

[solelifik]

im planning to get some 501xx's should i wear them until i like the fade and then wash? does the wash hold the fade? and how should i wash them so they fit to my size?

[lilodxd]

You do whatever you feel like doing.

When washing, turn your jeans inside out.

[DENIMDUDE]

I have been going over some of the posts here and think maybe I can help with some of the questions.

[lilodxd]

Question:

Has anyone ever seen/heard of/bought/worn/something.. Guess selvedge jeans? Supposedly, they make selvedge jeans but I've never got a chance to see them in person.

[DENIMDUDE]

A selvage is on the sides of the denim as it is being woven.This is classifyed as waste cut-off.Not all twill lines use a selvage to hold the denim in line.But if you have worn a basic pair of jeans you have worn a pair of jeans with selvage in the construction.

[johninger]

Hey you guys should check out Imperial Brand Clothing if you like all that vintage shuttle loomed denim. They source all their denim from Kaihara, Kurabo, Nisshinbo and Cone in the US. I think they guy who owns it is a bit denim madman.

They only sell it raw though so you better want to break it in be able to break them in yourself.

www.imperial.st

[lilodxd]

Quote: Has anyone ever seen/heard of/bought/worn/something.. Guess selvedge jeans? Supposedly, they make selvedge jeans but I've never got a chance to see them in person.

[johninger]

Never heard of anything like this, however, a lot of brands are jumping on the shuttle-loomed selvage bandwagon.

My favourite have got to be Levi's original redline ie. 1960-70's (very expensive to get these day) or Imperial Brand Clothing "Duke" two season ago made with Japanese 13.75 oz double indigo dyed (ie more than 14 dips) ring ring (finest grade supima warp denim).

I got a pair ive worn in now for nearly a year only washed twice. Probably the nicest wash jeans ever. Even if I do say so myself.

Pity is only stocked in Australa, rumour BEAMS may be picking them up for spring/summer 2006, fingers crossed. I got mine sent out to Japan from Australia via their website. Company is so small that if you email their contact email on the website the owner/founder emails you back haha.

kl

www.imperial.st

[powerglov]

I'm really liking the looks of Imperial!

[johninger]

Cool

Did you get a chance to check out their site. This new one they've just put up is not fully working yet i don't think. Interesting menu system I think though, with the jeans opening up to reveal menu buttons.

lol

[darknworn]

interesting...kinda nudie-ist...

"God is Dead" - Nietzsche

"Nietzsche is Dead" - God

[johninger]

Yeah I guess, do you mean the site or the jeans...

[pclife]

2 of my red ear selvedge.

Edited by pclife on Sep 18, 2005 at 08:15 PM

My fav selvedge jeans - Evisu,Levis,Lee,wrangler n sum japanese denim.

Edited by pclife on Sep 18, 2005 at 08:23 PM