As I was shopping, I saw descriptions of clothing that used terms that were unfamiliar to me, all seemingly related to weights of fabric.The one fabric I do understand is their Fire Hose canvas. They promote it well and I own a couple pairs of Fire Hose jeans.
I thought I need to make a list!
THE EVIDENCE
Here are the varieties of fabrics and weights in the printed Oct '09 catalog and online:- 14.3 oz. "hulking" cotton/polyester
- 14.0 oz cotton denim
- 13.7 oz. cotton terry
- 13.4 oz. Fire Hose
- 12.7 oz. Fire Hose
- 12 oz. Fire Hose
- 12 oz. cotton denim
- 10.9 oz. Fire Hose
- 10.7 oz. Fire Hose
- 10.5 oz. Fire Hose
- 10.0 oz. Fire Hose
- 10.0 oz. cotton/polyester blend
- 9.0 oz. cotton chamois
- 8.4 oz. cotton twill
- 8.0 oz. pre-washed cotton canvas
- 8.0 oz. cotton twill
- 7.6 oz Fire Hose
- 7.5 oz. cotton
- 7.5 oz. cotton/spandex pique
- 7.0 oz. cotton pique knit
- 6.5 oz. waxed cotton canvas
- 6.5 oz. polyester
- 6.5 oz. cotton knit
- 6.4 oz. cotton denim
- 6.2 oz. nylon/cotton
- 6.0 oz. pre-washed cotton twill
- 5.9 oz. polyester
- 5.9 oz. cotton jersey
- 5.7 oz. CoolMax
- 5.6 oz. cotton twill stripe
- 5.6 oz. nylon
- 5.5 oz. cotton/hemp blend
- 5.5 oz. flannel
- 5.3 oz. cotton interlock
- 5.3 oz. polyester
- 5.0 oz. polyester/nylon microfibre
- 5.0 oz. ripstop polyester
- 3.5 oz. cotton/nylon
- 2.5 oz. rayon/polyester
- 265 gram polyester fleece
- 160 gram nylon-lined insulation
- 140 gram synthetic insulation
- 100 gram insulation
- 80 gram Thinsulate
- 40 gram Thinsulate
THE ANSWER
Based on a few clues in some of the Duluth descriptions, I decided the weight figures should indicate the weight of a square yard of fabric. I hope that's right.MORE UNITS
Other non-clothing synthetic fabric items contained additional unknown units:
- 2000-denier nylon/polyester
- 1680-denier ballistic nylon
- 1200-denier polyester
- 1000-denier polyester
- 600-denier polyester
- 500-denier nylon
- 300-denier polyester
- 150D x 600D nylon
- 5000-lb. tensile strength 1.2 mm polyester
- 16 mm polyurethane
Denier is a fabric industry term that describes the heaviness of fibers in a fabric. It's calculated by weighing the mass of 9000 meters of thread or yarn. A measure of 1 means weight of 1 gram for 9000 meters of thread. The larger the number, the thicker the fiber.NOTE: this is not the term used for someone who denies (the Holocaust, for example).
Many man-made synthetic fabrics are also rated by tear strength (ability to resist the start of a tear) and tenacity (ability to resist additional tearing once a rip has started). Tenacity is indicated in grams per Denier and ranges from 2.0 grams (weak) to 9.5 grams (very strong). Other qualities include hydrostatic resistance to water being forced through the fabric, and color-fastness in bright light.
EVEN MORE UNITS
And just a few more, for you miscellany specialists! I haven't the time or space to define them all. And I've intentionally omitted the trademarked fancy fabric names (sunblocking, stink-stopping, tree-hugging, etc.)
- 550-fill-power goose down
- sharkskin
- waxed cotton
- anti-microbial wicking
- 100s fleece
- 21 oz. #4 cotton canvas
- 20 oz. cotton twill
- #10 cotton duck canvas
Could there be a few too many choices? A little too much information (TMI)?
In general I am in favor of choices. But not choices that mean nothing to me - the consumer. I did not know what these terms meant in general, or what they meant to me. As a wanna-be hard-working man, I could stand a bit more education on the subject.
I went to the Fashion Incubator blog, for some background on fabric weight and conversions. I hate to admit it, but there I also found TMI. But I had an enjoyable visit. That site is right up my alley when it comes to using math.
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