~Vintage Blog & Event Information~ [WEST]

July 21, 2023

〜Vintage Blog〜

Good evening. This is Uemura from WEST.

It's been a while since my last Vintage Blog post,

and this time, I'll be talking about twill.

If you've been watching our YouTube channel,

you might already be curious about this,

"Last Resort Horizontal Expansion"

*Please check it out for more details.

Click here for the video.

Today's blog post is related to this topic.

Thank you for sticking with me.

First, before explaining twill, let's talk about yarn twist.

Generally, yarn is left-twisted (Z-twist).

In the case of plied yarn,

it's left-twisted (Z-twist) + right-twisted (S-twist),

but as mentioned earlier, single yarn is generally left-twisted.

Now, let's start today's blog post here.

Speaking of the three major American denim brands...

・LEVI'S (right-hand twill)

・Lee (left-hand twill)

・Wrangler (left-hand twill → broken twill)

are well-known, but the main character of today's blog is...

"Lee."

Let's briefly explain its history.

・Founded in 1889 in Salina, Kansas.

*It was actually a wholesale company for food and miscellaneous goods.

・In 1911, it started its own workwear business.

・In 1913, "Union All," an "ALL IN ONE,"

was adopted as a uniform by the US Army,

and the brand name quickly became widely known.

・In 1924, Lee released "Cowboy" as 5-pocket denim.

The denim fabric was produced with "left-hand twill,"

unlike LEVI'S "right-hand twill."

・In 1926, it was the first brand to adopt

the zipper fly.

This was a brief overview, but I've shared a little about Lee's history.

With the release of Cowboy in 1924, a distinction was made between right-hand twill LEVI'S and left-hand twill Lee.

At that time, LEVI'S would have been the 1922/501XX.

〜Explanation of 1922/501XX〜

The supplier changed from Amoskeag to Cone Mills,

and the main detail was that it was the first model to have belt loops,

a complete change from the previous waist overalls.

It still had a cinch back.

To get back to the topic, what kind of differentiation did right-hand twill and left-hand twill create?

In the case of right-hand twill (LEVI'S)

When weaving a left-twisted yarn with a right-hand twill, it is woven in the opposite direction of the yarn's twist. This creates tension on the yarn, resulting in a denser weave and an uneven texture in the fabric. As for how the color fades, the raised parts are prone to rubbing, which leads to a "dot fade."

In the case of left-hand twill (Lee)

By weaving in the same direction as the yarn's twist, the fabric feels softer and is more comfortable to wear. Also, while right-hand twill created an uneven texture because it was woven in the opposite direction, left-hand twill creates a flatter fabric because it's woven in the same direction. This means that while right-hand twill rubs at points, left-hand twill rubs across a surface, resulting in a distinct vertical fade. This fading style is called a "line fade."

Among Vintage Like enthusiasts, there are those who favor classic LEVI'S

and those who prefer Lee for its fading and comfort.

In that sense, the difference in twill direction

is a crucial point in denim.