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LEVELED READER • M The The

Story Story of of

Jeans JeansThe Story of Jeans A Reading A–Z Level M

Leveled Reader • Word Count: 720

www.readinga-z.comWritten by Elizabeth Austin

www.readinga-z.comThe rea! Thing...

The Story of JeansWritten by Elizabeth Austinwww.readinga-z.com

www.readinga-z.com

85718 AZ Tucson, #121 Road River E. 1630 Page Learning

reserved. rights All

Inc. Page, Learning © TM ReadingA–Z

Tom Darcy by Illustrations Powers M. Heidi by research with Austin Elizabeth by Written Inc. Page, Learning 2003 © Reader Leveled M Level Jeans of Story The

Images. Archive/Getty Hulton 9: page Congress; of Library 7: page Archives; Co. & Strauss Levi Courtesy 12: 11, 6, 5, pages page, title cover, back cover, Front Credits: Photo

Table of Contents

Introduction.........................................................................................

4

History .................................................................................................

5

Changing Fashions.............................................................................7

How Jeans are Made........................................................................12

Conclusion.........................................................................................1

7

Glossary .............................................................................................

18

off. took fashion the how and them invented who wonder may you

common, so are Jeans shoes. denim of pair a or shirt, jacket, jean

a have might you Or now. right pair a wearing be may You pairs.

seven about owns American average The do. probably You jeans?

of pair a see you Do drawer. clothes or closet your in look a Take

clothing. of kinds all

into

made is Denim Introduction

Introduction

34

History

Jeans were invented by a German man named Levi Strauss. He went

to the U.S. in 1847 and followed the Gold Rush to San Francisco.

He carried many kinds of fabric to sell to dry goods stores. Business

was booming in California during the Gold Rush. Levi quickly

became a successful businessman.

Levi Strauss founded Levi Strauss & Co.

overalls.

waist loved 1880s the in miners California popular.

became quickly they and called, were they as overalls,” “waist the

loved miners The fasteners. metal strong are Rivets seams. the into

sewn rivets copper with pants denim tough made Levi and Jacob

Davis. Jacob named tailor a with partners became Levi 1873, In

ripped. pockets the and heavy, was metal the But pockets. their in it

carried they ore, or gold found they When pants. their with problem

a had California in miners The

561

Changing Fashions

Levi’s® jeans were work pants. Male workers wore them all the time.

But a gentleman wouldn’t think of wearing jeans. Women didn’t

wear pants at all. But this changed when Western movies became

popular. All the cowboys

Cowboys and a cowgirl sport denim pants.

wore jeans. People thought the cowboys looked tough and cool. But

jeans still weren’t proper for places like school, stores, or offices.

II.

War World during Asia and Europe in popular

jeans made soldiers American name.

the changed officially company the “jeans,” pants Levi’s called people many so Eventually, confused. became names the and alike, much very look

They indigo. with blue dyed are fabrics both But linen. and cotton of made fabric weaker thinner, a is Jean fabric. all-cotton strong a is Denim fabrics.

different two are denim and jean But “jeans.”

pants denim call we Today, Denim? or Jean

countries.

other many in America of symbol a became They pants. American

casual tough, like seem jeans made They jeans. wore soldiers

American off-duty II, War World During

87

A typical teenager of the 1950s wears her “rebellious” pants.

shows. fashion of runways the walk jeans Designer

Back in the U.S., fashions changed. Movie stars wore jeans in their

films. Teenagers everywhere loved them. Some schools banned

jeans because of their “rebel” image. But casual clothing, including

jeans, became popular for more and more occasions.

Eventually, jeans were so common that it became okay for anyone

to wear them. You can even find pictures of the president wearing

jeans.

clothing

1980s, the In 9 10

$3,715.00. for jeans of pair a sold Gucci designer Italian the 2000,

In flared. and stretchy, baggy, them made They jeans. out) (wore

stonewashed and decorated, bleached, They styles. new made

designers

Jeans are dyed every color of the rainbow. Denim is used to make

almost everything, including jackets, hats, skirts, shoes, and wallets.

Antique, or old, jeans are also popular. You can find them in thrift

stores for a very low price. Or you can find them in specialty stores,

where they are very expensive.

These Levi’s jeans from the1930s are very valuable.

11

Made

are Jeans How 12 yarn. called thread thin long, a into stretched and

twisted, pulled, is rope The rope. thick a into lint the twist Machines

pocket. your in lint the like

factory

a at lint, called are fibers The jeans

sewing women showing poster Levi’s early An them.

untangle to combed are fibers the Then removed. are seeds the

and picked are bolls The bolls. called puffs in plant cotton the on

growing fibers as begin jeans Most

Do You Know? You may have noticed that many blue jeans are sewn with orange thread. This is unusual. Most clothing is sewn with thread the same color as the fabric. The orange threadmatches the copper rivets. Many kinds of jeans use two stitches side by side to make the orange show up.„i

Making Blue Jeans Blue

The original jeans were dyed with indigo, which comes from special plants. The plant leaves are first soaked in water. Then the water is stirred, in order to mix in oxygen. This changes the plant mixture from orange to yellow to green to blue. But indigo is very expensive. For many years, jeans makers used dye from coal or oil. But these dyes cause pollution. Some jeans makers have found special bacteria that make blue dye. The next time you buy a new pair of blue jeans, bacteria may have dyed them!Bolts of denim. Unlike many fabrics, denim is dyed before weaving, rather than after.

14 jeans. of pair one sew to thread of m.) (195 yards 213 takes It

steps. sewing different 37 through goes jeans of pair One together.

sewn and sizes many into cut is cloth The once. at cloth of layers

120 through cut saws Electric jeans. adult-size of pairs 60 make can

It kg.). (227 pounds 500 weighs denim of bolt One bolts. called are

fabric of Bundles

pocket. your in it wash accidentally you if apart fall doesn’t money

why That’s money. paper some in used is it that sturdy so is fabric

The pattern. diagonal a in woven is Denim through. showing

threads white the see can you rip, or out wear jeans your When yarn.

white and blue both from made is denim Blue denim. into woven is

it before dyed is Yarn

13

1

Round bobbins pull and twist lint into yarn.

4

The cut fabric is sewn together to make jeans. 15openingleg

perfectly.

you inseam

waist

even can people Now,

jeans

Custom-made fit to pair a make

thigh

will

They company. jeans custom a to hip

measurements your all send can You jeans. custom-made order

measurements. your of all fit perfectly will

2

Looms weave the yarn into strips of cloth.

3

The fabric is cut into patterns and sizes.

16V H.

Conclusion

Today, all kinds of people around the world wear jeans. People wear

them everywhere. Designers have even made denim tuxedoes for

the most formal occasions. Jeans are popular today for the same

reasons they were popular when Levi Strauss first made them. They

look good, they last long, and they are comfortable. That’s probably

why you own a pair or two, or seven, yourself.

A denim tux, complete with vest and tie

1718

6)

(p. 14) (p. angle an at slanted; diagonal together

things hold

from

made dye a indigo old

and valuable antique

Glossary

16) (p. person that

metal of bits rivets one for specifically made custom 6)

(p. it in metal 8) (p. formal not relaxed; casual precious

with rock 8)

(p. flax called ore 14)

(p. fabric of strips

rolled-up wide, bolts plant a from made

fabric

light thin, a linen 12) (p. cotton of puffs bolls 8)

(p. color blue dark 9) (p. allowed not banned deep,

a also, plants; 11)

(p.