Glossary
a
Atari: A Japanese term describing the selective fading of the ridges in creases. The most common areas for 'Atari' are along side seams, on the front and back of the knees, the upper thigh, along the hem, on belt loops and along pocket seams.
b
Back Pocket Flasher: This is a cardboard card or swing tag attached to one of the back pockets of a pair of jeans that lists brand, price, sizing and care info. Belt loops: A standard feature added to jeans when belts replaced suspenders as the preferred method of holding up pants. A regular pair of jeans has five beltloops, two at the front either side of the tack button, one on each side in line with the outseem and one centre / back. Baking: Treating jeans with a resin, then putting them in an oven so chemicals can merge with fibers to add color, stiffness, and make creases permanent. Bar Tak: A stitch that creates a band or bar that is used to reinforce tension points on jeans such as corners, edges of pockets, seams and buttonholes. Bar Taks can be used in place of rivets. Bolt: A Bolt is a unit of measurement normally used for materials stored on a roll. Bolts come in common sizes and widths. Our selvedge denim comes on 1000 yard bolts with a width of 30-32 inches. Boot Leg: A popular jean style cut wider from the knee down to accommodate a pair of cowboy boots underneath. The front belt loops are space wider to allow for a big belt buckle and the back pockets are deeper to stop your wallet slipping out when riding on the saddleBroken Twill: Combines the left and right-hand twill fabric weaving processes which results in a zig-zag pattern to create more texture and help the fabric retain its shape.
Buttons: Jeans normally use one of two types of fasteners in the fly to secure jeans, zippers or buttons. We're not convinced zippers belong on jeans. Button flys all the way!
c
Chain Stitch: A series of looped stitches that form a chain-like pattern. Chain-stitching pulls the denim at slightly different tensions on either side, causing the distinctive 'roping' that really shows the beauty of worn indigo-dyed denim. Chain-Stitching is a common stitch used in vintage and premium jeans. Cinch Back: Inspired by the cinch (girth) of western saddlery the back cinch was a rear buckle used to adjust and tighten the fit of jeans before belts became prominent accessories. Abandoned for the most part in the mid 40s, cinch detailing has become more commonplace with the rise in popularity of vintage styled denim.Crock: A term used to describe how dye rubs off fabric on skin or other fabric. Cross Bar Tak: Is the same as a regular Bar Tak except there are two Bar Taks created to form an X which creates an even stronger reinforcement point. Cut: This describes the shape of the pattern used to create the jean.
d
Denim: This is one of the greatest fabrics in the world. Denim is a twill fabric that consists of a warp and a weft that are weaved together by a loom. Denim was traditionally dyed with natural indigo from the indigo plant but nowadays quite a lot of denim is dyed with synthetic indigo. Phable denim uses only natural indigo. The word Denim comes from a super strength fabric called "Surge" which was originally made in the French town of Nimes. This fabric was often referred to as surge de Nimes and over time has been shortened to Denim. Distressing [see sanding/emersing]: Distress marks are left in the denim by the body from regular wear and tear. Distress marks are common around the crotch area, thighs, behind the knees and around the leg opening. Distressing can be accelerated by hand with sandpaper, tools and even chemical treatments. Double Needle: A seam commonly used in jeanswear where a sewing machine stitches two threads side by side for strength at one time. A single needle is a singular stitch commonly used on hems. Dungaree: Comes from the Hindi word used to describe the trousers worn by sailors from the Indian port of Dungri many years ago.
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Enzyme Wash: Enzymes are organic substances that speed up natural processes. An Enzyme Wash is a common wash process in the jeanswear industry which replaces the stone washing process as a more environmentally friendly alternative.
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Fit block: The pattern each designer uses to create his or her signature silhouette. Five Pocket Style: This describes the common number of pockets found on a pair of jeans. Two front pockets, two rear pockets and a "fob" or "coin" pocket inside the front/right pocket is the most common pocket configuration. Flares: Sit low on the waist and are slim through the thigh and knee, though they have a wider flare than the boot cut. These jeans spread out dramatically toward the ankle. Fob/Coin Pocket: The small square pocket located in most right/front jean pockets is called a fob pocket. It was commonly used to store a mans fob watch in the late 1800/s, early 1900s. Today it is used as a coin pocket. We think its a great pocket to store your smart phone in.
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Grading/Grades: Grading is the process of increasing the scale of the block pattern by certain units and translates into the various sizes that the garment will be manufactured. Greige [grey]: Describes fabric that is fresh off the loom. The fabric is woven but unfinished in any way. Guttering/Gutters: This is the look of rolling up the bottom of ones jeans to alter the length or to expose the Selvedge line of the denim. GWYPF: "Get What You Pay For". Premium jean labels use only the best Japanese selvedge denim, custom trims and construction techniques. There is a reason one pair of jeans is higher then the other....quality.
H
Hand: The feel of the denim to the touch, from soft to coarse.
i
Indigo: Indigo is a deep blue dye originally produced from the Indigofera Plant of China and Indian origins. Indigo does not bond strongly to denim fibres and wears off after numerous washes which constantly changes the shade of blue that remains in the denim. This is why Indigo is often referred to as the "Living Colour". Inseam: The measurement of the seam from the crotch down to the leg opening of the jean. This is commonly used to describe the length of the jean.
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Left-Hand Twill: Fabric woven to the left, a more intricate process that produces a more supple product than right-hand twill.
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Mercerization: This is a finishing process that uses caustic soda so that the dye appears only on the surface of the yarn to increase luster and density.
o
Outseam: The measurement of the seam from just below the waistband down to the leg opening of the jean.
p
Patterns: These are the blue prints of master pieces! A pattern is made by referencing a designers technical drawing or "flat" of a garment and is a "to scale" representation of all the individual parts of the garment and include markings for all seems, stitches and cut lines which will be used by a maker to assemble the final product. Patina: This is the gradual change from one colour to another as it fades or dilutes over time. Leather patches and denim form great patinas over time through wear and distressing. Projectile Loom: Projectile looms are the ugly step sister of the glorious Shuttle Loom. A Projectile Loom creates a much wider bolt of denim than a Shuttle Loom but at the price of thinner denim with no natural edge which can lead to the fabric un-weaving itself. As it is more cost effective to make fabric from a Projectile Loom, most mass produced twills are manufactured this way.
r
Right-Hand Twill: Fabric woven to the right. More common and easier to manufacture, but often not as soft as left-hand twill. Rinse Denim: Raw fabric that has no washing procedure and is simply rinsed before arriving at the store; produces the toughest jeans. Rise: The length of fabric from the crotch seam to the top (or, depending on the maker, sometimes the bottom) of the waistband.
Rivets: Rivets are metal studs used to re-enforce "tension points" on the jean such as pocket corners. Rope Dye: This is one of the best known yarn-dying processes for indigo fabrics in which the yarns are twisted into a rope before being dipped into the indigo dye.
s
Sanding/Emersing: A fabric finishing process where fabrics are sanded with real sandpaper to make the surface soft without hair. It can be performed before or after dying. Sanforized: A process for preshrinking fabric that limits residual fabric shrinkage to between 3-5%. Developed in the late 1920's by the sanforize Co. the process was used on the garments in Wranglers first jeans line in 1947. Sanforization is now a Cluett Peabody and Company trademark. Selvedge: or "Selvage" refers to the type of denim produced by a shuttle loom, now considered a vintage production method. Denim produced on a shuttle loom is much narrower than denim produced from a projectile loom which means more denim and more labour is required to make a pair of selvedge denim jeans. The word Selvedge comes from the phrase "Self-Edge" as the shuttle loom takes the weft right to the edge of the bolt and then loops it back on itself creating a neat and finished edge unlike a projectile loom which cuts the weft at the end of the bolt. This technique also strengthens the fabric. As more denim is needed to create a pair of Selvedge denim jeans, designers usually use as much of the denim as possible including the selvedge line itself which can often be seen by guttering the jean. Skinny Leg: A shoe horn may be needed to apply o pair of these bad boys , as the name says...there skinny and taper all the way down the leg. Slubby: A term applied to cotton yarn that is less smooth, more textured with nubs and character. Stitch Count: The number of stitches per inch on the jean's seams; 12 stitches per inch takes longer to sew and uses more thread than, say, 8 stitches per inch, but makes the seam stronger. Straight Leg: This cut tapers slightly to the knees but remains straight from the knee down to the leg opening. They fit quite comfortably and have a classic look and feel.
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Tear-and-Repair: An aging technique that involves taking a screwdriver or other tool and tearing small holes in the jeans then sewing them closed. Top stitch: A commonly used straight simple stitch used on the outside of the jean. This stitch is normally bold and presented in a highlight colour on most jeans. Twill: Twill fabric is a cloth in which the warp and the weft are woven in such a way to produce diagonal lines in the fabrics surface. Needless to say, denim is a twill fabric.
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Warp: The lengthwise, vertical yarns carried over and under the weft yarns. Warp yarns generally have more twist than weft yarns because they are subjected to more strain in the weaving process and therefore require more strength. Weft [Filler]: Weft threads are normally bleached. The weft is visible mostly on the underside of the denim but resemble diagonal stripes on the surface. They are woven in and out of the warp threads horizontally to create the denim twill. Weight: The lightness or heaviness of the denim. Approximately 8 ounces is on the lighter side, 14 ounces is on the hefty side. Whiskers: The flattering wrinkles around the crotch of the jeans. Sometimes behind the knees, too; called a 'moustache' in Europe.
y
Yoke: The Yoke of a jean is the "V" shaped piece of fabric sewn on the back side of the jean, under the waistband and above the back pockets. The Yokes function is to allow the angle of the leg sections to be sewn in a way that allows the leg to contour to the body and allow for the natural curve of the buttock without contorting the jean.