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SIMKHAI · Men's Pre-Fall 2026

Walt Dad Jean

426-4178-MEN · Denim · Men's · Technical Development

Rigid denim fights back: it shrinks in the wash, stretches under the operator's hands and drifts off spec between every sample round. The Walt was developed from the proven pattern block of style 126-4019-MEN, then corrected round by round: leg opening, rises, yoke geometry and pocket shapes, with the pattern adjusted for wash shrinkage before production. Every correction was photographed, pinned and annotated so the factory could act on it without a translation call.

Style #
426-4178-MEN
Fabric
Rigid denim, 70% organic 30% recycled cotton
Wash
Garment washed indigo
Factory
TRIO
Size range
28–40 · 33" inseam
Development
Aug 2025 → May 2026
TOP fit sample of the Walt dad jean in washed rigid indigo, front view on the fit model

Design intent

From proven block to new fit

Development started from the PPS pattern of an approved block style, sewn in a rigid indigo quality the mill sourced to counter Candiani, then garment washed. The digital pattern carries the target measurements the factory grades from.

Design reference, front
Design reference, side
Digital pattern piece with graded measurements

Development timeline

Five rounds against rigid denim

Each round below is the actual dated comment package from the tech pack. Rigid denim moves with every wash, so half the work is telling the pattern from the workmanship.

  1. Aug 27, 2025

    Development handoff

    First proto cut from the PPS pattern of block style 126-4019-MEN.

    • Sewn in rigid indigo quality, Trio sourced to counter Candiani, garment washed
    • All sewing construction and fit follow the block style
  2. Oct 17, 2025

    Proto review → SMS

    Proceed

    Silhouette tuned and the trim package locked.

    • Leg opening reduced −1" circumference, blending to 0 at the knee
    • Fly and J-stitch lengthened +¾" with fly buttons respaced; back rise +½"
    • Trim color updated to brushed nickel, metal finish TO-134
    • Protos were missing the debossed Simkhai logo; placement matched to the block style
  3. Dec 29, 2025

    SMS review → PPS

    Proceed

    Fit corrections split from workmanship faults: the yoke needed pattern work, the pockets needed operator discipline.

    • Back yoke height at side seam +1", revised to 1¾"
    • Back yoke seam puckering and curved; tension improved and seam straightened
    • Waistband gapping at CB; +¼" added to top of yoke as the height came back to spec
    • Front pocket openings and waistband stretched in sewing; workmanship corrected, not the pattern
  4. Mar 19, 2026

    PPS review → TOP

    Proceed

    The wash was pulling the garment about ½" off target across circumferences, so the pattern absorbed the shrinkage.

    • Pattern adjusted for wash shrinkage across all circumference points
    • Leg opening +¼" at outseam to straighten the curving outseam
    • CF J-stitch revised to 7¼"; front pocket width to 4½" with reshaped opening
    • Yoke comment from SMS not implemented; re-flagged with measured photos
    • Wash highlights at thigh and knee brighter than SMS standard; adjusted for TOP
  5. May 13, 2026

    TOP review → bulk

    Approved to bulk

    Final housekeeping before production: bulk reduced from the belt loops, pressing evened, packaging locked.

    • Side seam belt loops +1" from target; reduced for bulk
    • Outseams pressed ⅜" further forward at hem than waistband; pressing evened
    • Bulk shipped on correct hangers, UPC sticker top right of poly bag

Annotated corrections

Fit comments a factory can't misread

Every correction is pinned on the sample, measured and annotated directly on the photo: what is wrong, by how much, and what to do about it. These are the actual comment images from the pack.

Front pocket opening stretched in sewing; workmanship callout
Back yoke height and puckering, pinned and remeasured
Outseam curving at leg opening; +¼" correction mapped
Belt loop bulk reduction for production

Sample room

On the body, in the wash

TOP fit, front
TOP fit, back
Button fly and waistband interior
Debossed Simkhai logo, back right pocket

Bill of materials

Fabric, hardware and branding

Self

Rigid denim, Trio countered Candiani quality

ISK63411 · 70% organic 30% post-consumer recycled cotton · indigo

Wash

Garment wash

New wash standard issued to the factory

Pocketing

Cotton twill SI-63-WE

100% cotton, natural

Hardware

Simkhai tack buttons JA-S159

Brushed nickel TO-134 · 27L at CF, 24L × 4 on the button fly

Hardware

14L Simkhai logo tack rivets BR-S067 × 6

Coin pocket corners and front scoop pockets, brushed nickel

Thread

A&E D-Core, Tex 105/60

Golden brown allover topstitching · 8–9 SPI

Branding

Debossed Simkhai logo, 1⅜" × ⅞"

Center of wearer's back right pocket

Branding

Leather denim patch BEL-7931

2½" from outseam at wearer's back right waistband

Labels

Main woven label, size/COO, care label

Plus security seal, hangtags and disclaimer tag per label sheet

Graded specification

Graded across ten waist sizes

The production spec runs 27 points of measure across waists 28 through 40. Circumferences grade with the size; pocket geometry steps in groups so the proportions hold.

27 points of measure · inches · tol ±

DimPoint of measureTol ±28293031323334363840
AWaist along edge½3031323334353637½3940½
BWaist at seam½30½31½32½33½34½35½36½3839½41
CHigh hip, 3" below WB seam (3-point)½3536373839404142½4445½
DLow hip, 6" below WB seam (3-point)½37½38½39½40½41½42½43½4546½48
EThigh, 1" down from crotch¼23½2424½2525½2626½27¼2828¾
FKnee, 14" down from crotch¼18½1919½2020½2121½22¼2323¾
GCalf, 20" down from crotch¼16¾17¼17¾18¼18¾19¼19¾20½21¼22
HLeg opening¼14½1515½1616½1717½18¼1919¾
IFront rise to WB seam1010¼10½10¾1111¼11½11¾12
JBack rise to WB seam13¾1414¼14½14¾1515¼15½15¾16
KInseam¼33333333333333333333
LWaistband height01⅝1⅝1⅝1⅝1⅝1⅝1⅝1⅝1⅝1⅝
MHem finish and width0
NJ-stitch length¼77
OFly J-stitch width to outer stitch0
PBack yoke height at CB
QBack yoke height at SS
RFront pocket width along waist seam555
SFront pocket length along SS33
TBack pocket width at opening777
UBack pocket width at bottom666
VBack pocket height at center77
WBack pocket height at sides666
XBack pocket from CB seam1⅝1⅝1⅝1⅞1⅞222
YCoin pocket width33
ZCoin pocket distance from SS¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾
AACoin pocket below waist seam¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾

* base size; grading radiates from 32

Source document

The original tech pack

This opens the working Excel file exactly as it was issued, in its original format.