How do permanent creases stay permanent?

March 30, 2004 1:28 PM

How do permanent creases (not the sewn-in ones) in pants stay permanent?

I'm thinking specifically of my husband's work uniform slacks that have these heavy-duty, before-the-dawn-of-time creases down the front and back of each leg. The creases remain after much washing and no ironing.

How DO they do it?

posted by rhapsodie to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (4 answers total)

Based on the way they hang on the hanger, you can train pants to maintain the crease in the middle. Hanging pants can be a lot more complicated than they look.
posted by BlueTrain at 3:52 PM on March 30, 2004

I don't think rhapsodie is talking about pants that became creased over time but rather pants that started out creased and never changed. I've got a pair just like that. They're black "clubbing" pants - mostly polyester and spandex, I think - and they have a permanent sharp crease down the front that never budges. I've had them for over a year and even after repeated washings and crumpling them up on the floor, I've still never had to iron them. It's not the most comfortable fabric to wear, and it doesn't breathe *at all*, but at least I have one article of clothing that always looks sharp!

So to answer the question, I think it has to do with the inherent qualities of the man-made fabric. If only they could make it a little less scratchy...
posted by web-goddess at 4:58 PM on March 30, 2004

Best answer: Originally resin worked into the fabric; nowadays silicone, the material of choice for artificial enhancement. (A similar product is called Creaset and has been around since the 1980s.) Lately there are modern composite textiles that do it on their own.
posted by dhartung at 10:40 PM on March 30, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks, web-goddess and dhartung!
posted by rhapsodie at 11:10 AM on March 31, 2004