Pure Blue Japan | The return of the "Aizome" Selvedge Jeans

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

The coveted "Aizome" Selvedge Jeans by the Slub Masters makes its return to OD after a lengthy hiatus. Absolutely worth the wait - seeing each run of these makes us truly appreciate the level of tedious craftsmanship that goes into a single pair. From the get-go - with the creation of the Natural Indigo dye right up until the final sewing of the jeans, the production is bar-none the most specialized specialized in the Japanese Denim industry. The resulting fabric celebrates variegated hues of Indigo, kicked into overdrive thanks to the streaky and slubby Denim. One notable trait of Natural Indigo dyed denim is the extremely slow fading process which results in a much more balanced aesthetic of color over time. If you want to enjoy one heck of a journey from a single pair of jeans, look no further.

Hank dyeing is a tedious process of hand dyeing the individual cotton threads in a rope-like fashion. The entire process is conducted and regulated by the Tokushima Indigo Artisans who have been recognized as intangible cultural treasures of Japan. Natural Indigo dyeing practices date back nearly 800 years with each generation of shokunin (Japanese for Artisan) honing their craft over decades of training. Continue below to follow the process of creating this coveted fabric.

Creating the Natural Indigo dye

Indigo leaves are grown in Tokushima. Each batch is dried and processed for a year prior to becoming part of the Sukumo for the Natural Indigo dyeing process. Pictured here we not only see the dried indigo leaves and branches of the Indigofera plant, but also the root and soil of the plant.
All of these components are added to the indigo bath to create a thicker consistency in order to help the Natural Indigo Sukumo bind to the cotton yarns.
The different elements help create a balanced dye which must be mixed before and after each time the yarns are Hank dyed by the shokunin, in order for the indigo to effectively penetrate the yarn.
Here we see a sample of fabric which was briefly dipped and agitated in the indigo vat to demonstrate the process of oxidation once removed. As soon as the fabric is removed from the vat you can see the intense deep green color as a result of the oxidation. However after a rinse, you are able to see the beautiful lighter hue of indigo.
Bonus pic! Here are Master Shokunin Bando-san's boots that he wears everyday in the factory. Note the complete difference in color between the top and bottom halves. Maybe we can ask him if he's interested in auctioning off his pair for charity?

Hank dyeing

Displayed on the wall of the dyeing factory, we can see the different hues of indigo which are the result of the increasing number of dips in the dye to achieve the ascending darker colors.
For the Hank-dyeing process, the shokunin will slowly dip, twirl and finally ring out the yarn bunch. This process is repeated multiple times. Following this, the yarns enter the rinse process which is conducted on custom-made machines produced for the dyeing factory. The water itself is not discarded after use but filtered and recycled to be used again for the rinse process. The shokunin will then ring out the yarns after they have been rinsed in water.
The yarns featured here have all gone through approximately 12-16 rounds of dyeing and will now be re-spun onto the wooden bobbins through the spinning process, in order to be weave-ready for the shuttle loom to produce the fabric.

Spinning the yarns

Pictured here are one of many machines responsible for spinning the yarns into bobbins which will then need to be individually and strategically fed into the shuttle looms.
While the majority of the machines are occupied by the Natural Indigo yarns for the warp and weft of the fabric, a few are reserved to produce the Selvedge ID. In this particular case, we can see the undyed yarns on the right which will form the white part of the Selvedge. Meanwhile on the left, pink yarns are being spun to form the eye-catching ID color.
And here is the fruit of the machine's labor. Each bobbin of Natural Indigo dyed yarn contains approximately 125g of thread. In order to make one roll of fabric measuring 50m, we need 20kg of natural indigo dyed yarn. Doing the math, that is 160 bobbins of yarn for one roll.

Weaving the fabric

And this is where those bobbins eventually end up. Here we see the several meter high racks where the bobbins are first placed by hand. These racks are responsible for holding the thread while it is being wound into the feeding machine of the loom.
Unravelling the mysteries of the Universe would seemingly be easier than having to strategically and manually guide each thread into the machine we see below. Without the skill and experience of each individual worker, milling this fabric would be nigh impossible.
The placement of the yarn is done in eight seperate parts to complete the approximate 36 inch width (most Selvedge Denim's width). There can be anywhere from 2000-5000 individually placed yarns on the shuttle loom to create the fabric. This is undoubtedly the most tedious and time-consuming aspect of the weaving process, and that's considering the actual weaving hasn't even begun yet...
Here we see a worker placing a bobbin into the wooden shuttle which is reponsible for forming the weft of the fabric. While the fabric is being milled, the shuttle moves back and forth along the width of the loom to carefully weave the Sashi-ori(刺織) fabric. The rapid movement of the shuttle is estimated to go back and forth approximately 70-75 times a minute. Yup, it's fast AF.
Slow and steady is the key to producing an intensely textured fabric that will get the stamp of approval by the Slub Masters. In order to produce enough fabric for a handful of pairs, it takes one 8 hour working day shift. That is, if the machines are able to continually output fabric without breakdowns!
Bonus pic. PBJ founder Iwaya-san inspects each shuttle loom producing PBJ's coveted AI Selvedge fabrics. The Rampuya factory in Tokushima is a crown jewel of manufacturing in the region, being literally the only factory left in the prefecture that can both skein dye yarns and weave said yarns into an array of fabrics under one roof.

The Slim Tapered Silhouette

PBJ's Slim Tapered -013 cut is aesthetically one of the most eye-pleasing silhouettes, period. Thanks to PBJ's keen eye on client feedback, the cut has seen numerous updates over the years to ensure that the silhouette doesn't cross the border into the "Skinny" realm.

Sizing

The Regular Straight Silhouette

That being said, if you still yearn for that 20th century American workwear look - grab yourself a pair of the -003s.

The true classic of PBJ's silhouette lineup, the Regular Straight combines a roomy and straight leg with a lengthy inseam so you can show off that Supacuff™ with attitude.

Sizing

Pure Blue Japan | The return of the "Aizome" Selvedge Jeans

The Slim Tapered Silhouette

The Regular Straight Silhouette

The PBJ "Aizome" Selvedge Jeans restock drops on 1/25 @ Midnight (JST)

Subscribe