Glossary of terms

 

3x1 & 2x1 Weave: 3x1 and 2x1 refer to the number of weft threads per warp. The picture below shows a 3x1 weave and you can see the warp travels over three weft threads before it goes under one. The patter for a 3x1 is always over, over, over, under, over, over, over, under, etc. Similarly, a 2x1 would be over, over, under, over, over, under, etc. 'Summer' jeans can even been found in a 1x1 pattern to keep them very light weight. See example below

                                  

Broken Twill: Denim that is woven to BOTH the left and right creating the zig-zag pattern you see as opposed to a uniform right or left. This denim was first used by Wrangler and was created to eliminate the twisting that happens in the yarn (once thought to be a defect) when jeans are woven in just one direction and washed over many years.

 

Left Hand Twill: Denim that is woven to the LEFT. LHT tends to be softer and will fade differently than RHT because the yard is typically spun to the right yet woven the the left in these jeans. These jeans tend to be easy to spot because they weft goes up and to the left as opposed to the right which is most common. Look closely and you can see the top of the cuff as well as the leg run from right to left going from bottom to top.

Image courtesy of: www.blueowl.us

Open Ended Denim: Denim that is made from only open ended yarn. See Open Ended vs Ring Spun below for photo.

Raw Denim: Not necessarily synonymous with selvage, raw just means the denim has not been washed or treated once made so it is much stiffer and deeper in color than whats normally seen.

Right Hand Twill: Denim that is woven to the RIGHT. RHT feels a bit rougher and is thought to be stronger because both the yard is spun to the right and the denim is woven right. Notice below the white seems to run to the left but at the top of the cuff the blue runs right. This happens only because the white inside will show an inverse to how the twill is actually woven.

RingxRing Denim: Denim in which both the warp and weft are ring spun yarn.

Rope Dying: Rope dying involves twisting multiple strands of yarn into a rope like structure then dipped into the dye. This is usually done multiple times to acquire the depth of color desired.

Selvage: Also spelled selvedge, is a type of denim where the the cross thread or yarn is one continuous thread rather than using individual threads. These jeans are made on old or old-style shuttle looms as opposed to the projectile looms used for most jeans today. One tell tale sign of Selage denim is the white strip that runs along the inside of the leg stiching. This strip usually has a single colored thread running through it which is used to denote what company the jeans are being made for since most denim producers make jeans for multiple companies instead of just one.

Single Ring Denim: Denim in which only the warp is made from ring spun yarn.

Staple: Refers to the length of cotton fiber. The longer the staple length, the stronger and more durable the cotton thus giving stronger, longer lasting jeans. The photo below shows some cottons staple length relative to others but not to scale. The cottons below are as follows in decending order: Sea Island (1), Egyptian, Pima, American Long, American Short, Asian Short (6). For reference, Egyptian cotton (2) has an average staple length of 1.5 inches but can be reacha max of about 2.25 inches.

Warp: Warp threads are the main, indigo dyed threads seen in jeans.

Weft: Weft, or filler threads resemble diagonal threads on the surface of the denim. these are typically an off white but are sometimes bleached.

Yarn: Open Ended vs. Ring Spun: Ring spinning yarn is one of the oldest forms of yarn production dating back over 150 years. RS yarn is produced by taking an entangled mass of cotton and sending it through a series of operations in which the fibers are made into a rope-like structure then twisted to help bind them together.

Open Ended yarn is produced quite differently. In the production of OE yarn, the cotton mass is disassembled into individual fibers then put back together via air stream and rotor. The forming of this yarn is an on going process as new yarn fibers are peeled off the side of the rotor and added to the open end of a previously formed yarn. The fibers are then partially pulled from the rotor to create twist which forms the yarn. As more is pulled out, some of the loose fibers found in the rotor chamber catch themselves in the yarn as it is being extracted. Because the yarn is already twisted partially, the loose yarn which catches on has a high potential to wrap around the circumference of the yarn. Notice the two photos below.

                   Open Ended Yarn                                Ring Spun Yarn

                                      

image courtesy of WikiCommons

Yarn: S twist vs. Z twist: S twist yarn is yarn that is twisted to the left as opposed to Z twist which is to the right. See below.