Q
Quality - Nowadays, a "must". Consumers who can choose from a wide range are more demanding and decide in favour of a good price-service ratio. A flattering shape and the material in this order are the quality criteria applied.
R
Right hand - Original structure of denim fabric oriented towards the top right.
Right hand twill - The majority of denim is right hand twill, where the diagonal twill line rises from left to right. This was a standard weaving practice; single warp yarns were woven right hand, double warp yarns were woven left hand.
Ring aspects - See "NATURAL"
Ring denim - Traditional denim fabric, more expensive due to more complex production. The appearance of the fabric with an irregular surface is often compared with that of linen. The special effect is obtained with ring spun warp or weft yarn (a spool process). The visible thick and thin parts become even more visible during "stonewashing". "Ring Denim" is softer to the touch than ‘Open End’ denim.
Ring look - The "Ring" look is obtained by special spinning of an irregular yarn (thin/thick) in order to imitate the characteristics of "Ring Denim".
Ring Ring - Or "Double ring". The warp and weft material is made from ring spun yarn. Visually, it is difficult to distinguish this procedure from simple "Ring Denim". It is, however, softer to the touch. The Ferrari of the different types of denim.
Ring / Ring Denim - Ring/ Ring denim uses ring spun yarn for both warp and weft. This is the traditional method of denim production. It is possible to combine a ring spun warp yarn with an open end weft, to get much of the strength and look of ring/ ring denim, but at a lower cost.
Ring spun - Process of manufacturing the yarn using a ring for spinning. As a longer fibre is used, it has some thin parts and some thick parts.
Ring spun open end, and the Japanese influence
Traditionally, all denim was "ring spun" a process whereby the cotton fibres are gradually twisted together, offering greater strength, and a more "vintage" slub aspect, now highly desirable (see illustration). The process is slower and more labour intensive than the more modern "open end" spinning, and because it uses longer fibres, results in a yarn that has characteristic unevenness, which is further enhanced by laundry processing.
Due to increased global demand for denim, open end (or OE) spinning was introduced in the mid 1970'S, reducing costs by omitting several elements of the traditional spinning process, and by allowing increased capacity due to less fabric faults per yard than was commonplace with ring spun fabric (these faults are, ironically, now considered desirable, and are often deliberately engineered into modern day fabrics!). Open end denim tends to be bulkier, coarser and darker (as it absorbs more dye) and wears less well than ring spun denim as the yarns are less compacted (see illustration).
Hand in hand with the emergence of open end spinning, came about the demise of "selvage" denim. Traditionally, denim was woven on narrow, 29-inch width looms, with the selvage (the edge of the cloth) being used on the side seam of most jeans. As pressure mounted to produce more cost effective fabrics, the narrow width looms were superseded by wider 58-inch looms, allowing jeans manufacturers to reduce the fabric consumption of every jean produced quite dramatically, increasing cost effectiveness, and profit margins!
During the period of the late 1970'S through to 1984, the Japanese showed their foresight, and power of their economy, by purchasing from mills (mainly in America) all of their mothballed narrow width weaving machines. With a characteristic zeal for all things authentic, leading Japanese mills, including Kaihara, Kurabo and Nisshinbo set about replicating the fabrics of yesteryear that the rest of the westernised world was turning its back on. By 1986 the backlash had started, with fledgling brands hankering for the more authentic look and feel of fabrics no longer available from mainland Europe, and only offered in exceedingly restricted quantities from the United States.
To this day, with the head start gained during these formative years, denim from Japanese mills is generally regarded as the best in the world, and premiums and all those wishing to achieve the most authentic of looks accept long lead times.
Rivets - Small metallic parts making it possible according to the old tradition to fix the pockets to the jeans.
S
Saddler stitch - Resembles a shoemaker's stick and gives the jeans a hint of old-fashioned nobility.
Sand blasting - A process where industrial grade sand (used for cleaning rusted metal in shipyards) is blasted under high pressure on to denim garments to give a local "worn" look on front and back leg panels.
Sanded - During the sanding process, the colour is removed see "PLACED" and the denim becomes suppler; generally carried out by means of a spray gun. New techniques use a sanding fan directed at hanging and continually turning denim garments.
Sanforization - A process that shrinks and stabilizes cloth before it is cut. The process was patented in 1928.
Scraping - The manual process whereby a high density industrial abrasive, or dense grade sand paper, is used to create local abrasion effects, in particular "whiskers" or "moustaching" that emulate the crease effects found in naturally worn in denims (see example below).
Scrapping / Scarring - The manual process whereby garments are literally cut with razor blades to give local "worn and torn" effects.
Sell out - The final test or: the client's choice. Selling to the retailer is not enough, what counts are the sales at the counter, the sell out.
Selvage (or Selvedge) - The narrow woven, coloured edge of traditionally woven, narrow width fabric. It prevents the fabric from fraying, and has become synonymous with vintage jeans because it indicates the use of narrow 29 inch looms (see above). Various colour selvages have been used to identify the end customer and top class, Japanese mills offer "own colour" selvage for extra brand identification.
Serge de Nimes - Coarse, blue, plain weave fabric manufactured in Nimes, in the south of France and which has become famous under the name of denim.
Shading - The comparison of each colour with the original sample guarantees that the chosen goods are of exactly the same shade.
Shrink to fit - Before the invention of the ?stonewash? process, jeans were left in their natural state and were impossible to wear: stiff, dark and extra long. After the first wash, they were the right size (and the right colour). Some manufacturers offer them today to the lovers of "originality".
Sizes - In the trade, the smallest jeans size is 26 inches, the largest is 36 inches. English sizes are different.
Snow wash (Acid wash) - A process reputedly discovered by accident by Rifle Jeans, when a forklift truck knocked over a container of potassium permanganate onto a skip of pumice stones. The resulting wash was characterised by extreme white spots on a darker ground.
This wash is now regarded with scorn by most of the denim industry, however the base permanganate chemical is used to achieve extreme local abrasion effects through spraying and hand brushing.
Stitching - Lapped seam; visible lapped seams are a characteristic detail of jeans wear.
Stone bleaching - As with stonewashing, denim garments are washed in a large capacity industrial washing machine with pumice stones, but bleach is added to strip even more of the indigo form the garments, giving a light blue shade.
Stone washing
1 - A process of washing denim garments from which the colour is removed by a pumice stone. Depending on the length of treatment, the feel and appearance of the denim can be completely changed. To date, the longest ?stone washing? lasted 6 hours, the normal average is 90 minutes.
2 - There is much debate about who started the trend of stonewashing denim garments to give a pre distressed look by washing the garments with pumice stones in large, industrial washing machines. Japanese brand "Edwin" claims to have been the first to stonewash jeans commercially in 1975, a "secret" it kept from the rest of the world until it was publicised in 1979. Marithe? and Francoise Girbaud patented the technique in 1978, but the jury is still out as to whether they had "lifted" the idea on a research trip to Japan. Others considered to be pioneers of the process include "Big John" (another Japanese brand) Pierre Morrisset, Adriano Goldschmeid and Kurt Ulmer (of Jet Set). What is certain is that by 1982, stonewashed garments were readily available, and the "raw", or unwashed garments were considered distinctly unfashionable. (Again, ironically, the clock has come full circle, and denim purists the world over, sneer at the thought of buying processed garments, preferring to wear the products in themselves).
Sulphur Bottom - Many denim manufacturers apply a sulphur dye before applying the traditional indigo dyestuffs; this is known as sulphur bottom dyeing. The effect is generally a darker aspect, but can also be used to create grey, green or yellow "vintage" casts.