The Flat Head
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Ran home for lunch and blasted the DnD. Almost a perfect fit now!
Thanks for the advice y'all!
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Also got a lot of tailoring done on my heavy short sleeve chambray IH by doing a scalding soak for a half hour and an air dry. It didn't seem one-washed to me, fits perfectly now.
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If anybody want FH gear rakuten is giving free international shipping till tomorrow. Get Fh tees for $68!!! And flannels less the $200
My new diamond & dots shirt just came in
Got a 44 because my 42 of an older FH wabash is a bit too tight. I think a 43 will be ideal. Anyone tried shrinking one of their denim shirts? It's pre-washed but pretty sure I can blast it down to size, would be interested to hear if anyone has done the same.
I ve done it three times. No shrinkage at all. Sry mate!
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I ve done it three times. No shrinkage at all. Sry mate!
Interesting–I wonder if your washer or dryer isn't high temp enough? I blasted it once for 27 minutes alone and inside out in the washer set to whites, dried it on high for 45 minutes, and it got the job done.
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I dont even use the dryer just a hot wash on high spin air dried and get plenty of shrinkage.. Have a front loading HE washer if that makes a difference…
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Yeah. As mentioned I used a utility sink and feckin hot ass water for a 30 minut hot soak of my IH as chambray and air dried that. A supposed minimal shrinkage garment that was a tad large now looks bespoke.
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Didn't Paula have one?
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Agreed, in that pic the B stands for Badass
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You should pull it out of the closet more often.
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At the request of a forum member, a quick fit pic of my native check workshirt:
It's draping a bit oddly in this shot but whatever…
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Very nice!
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thanks a ton kyle:
@Kyle@TFH:
Okay guys, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. I had the privilege of visiting Kojima, Okayama prefecture, where I saw firsthand how Flat Head creates their jeans. As far as I can tell, none of this has ever been documented in English before, and there are virtually no other companies that make jeans this way.
Even among the high-class Japanese brands, most jeans are cut and sewn in a single factory. Flat Head, however, is unique in that they do not make their jeans in a central factory; rather, they have about half a dozen different locations in the Kojima area, each dedicated to a different stage of producing jeans.
Because this is somewhat sensitive information, I can’t give out too many names or details concerning exactly how Flat Head does this, nor the names of the company or their employees. However, you can get a never-before-seen look into the unique ways we make our jeans. This is a lot of information, so I’ll be taking several posts to write about all of it.
Part One: The City, The Office
Kojima (now technically a part of Kurashiki) is located in western Japan. The area is best known for the massive Great Seto Bridge connecting Japan’s main island Honshu to Shikoku (which is the only place in Japan where indigo is produced.) The region is a center for heavy industry as well as an important international port. But more importantly for us, Kojima is also the heart of Japan's denim production. Many companies are headquartered here, ranging from beloved enthusiast brands to mainstream jeans that can be found in any store in Japan.
Kojima has capitalized on its denim heritage, with a denim museum (where you can make your own denim items and accessories), a tour bus connecting popular destinations, and a Jeans Street, where many clothing stores and denim-related shops are located.
However, Flat Head’s activity in Kojima is far from the typical tourist destinations. Our journey into the heart of Flat Head’s denim production takes us far from the city’s factories and mills and into small, winding neighborhoods where you would never expect to see jeans being produced.
First off, we visited the main office of the sewing company. They’ve been in business for over twenty-five years; a love for denim runs deep in their veins and they’ve been doing this for longer than almost all of our favorite brands have even existed. Their workers have many years of experience that predates the manufacture of jeans, but they’re also training the next generation of skilled workers to inherit these techniques.
They make jeans for at least one other Superfuture-familiar brand, and have made for others in the past, but it’s clear that their closest relationship is with Flat Head. The CEO (and our tour guide) was dressed from head to toe in Flat Head apparel.
I asked him many questions about the company – their history, the other brands they’d worked with, and so on. He said that Flat Head jeans are by far the most difficult for them to make because of the unique processes and time-consuming methods we use which differ from that of other brands.The office is where the company tests out machinery and techniques, cuts patterns, and works with new fabrics. This is also where samples (such as my 4002 prototype jeans) are made. It has a variety of vintage sewing machines and tools on hand.
Next time we’ll take a look at the first stop in the creation of Flat Head’s jeans!
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Glad you enjoyed it, I'm posting the next part as soon as SuFu's back online!
