My plan is to publish updates once a week. Here's the first one since the project closed.

Survey to Get Your Color and Size Choices

I will send the survey around the end of JULY.

It will include: 

• Accurate photos of the colors, to help you choose. 

• Instructions on how to measure your size. I'll show you how to measure yourself in a video we are working on now. 

In the survey, I will also gather any special instructions. For example, if you are moving on September 15th.

Pocketing Material

There are three materials I am working with for the pocketing:

Material #1 is what I originally selected, but which isn't ideal for printing. This is because it's made of nylon and has a water repellent treatment applied. We are performing a test print on it now, and it may work out. But, I may go with another option...

Material #2 is a 100% polyester that is specifically prepared for printing and which I also like quite a bit. I am going to sew them into a pair to test.

Material #3 is a 50% recycled polyester that is being developed specifically for me, and which I received a sample of last week. It looks great, but because it will take a few months to produce, is lined-up for use in future pairs.

Why would it NOT be 100% recycled polyester??? Here's why:

50% recycled, 50% conventional polyester:
Minimum order 3,000 yds at $2.50 / yd
Total cost: $7,500

100% recycled polyester
Minimum order 46,000 yds at $2.75 / yd
Total cost: $126,000

The cost per garment is roughly the same, but the financial commitment on the 100% recycled is huge. This is because the mill would have to change the base yarn already setup on the machine to be recycled polyester for the 100% version; and that change is expensive. Such is the challenge of apparel.

Printing

Regardless of what pocketing material I end up with, the images will be printed using AirDye (http://airdye.com/), a highly environmental process for dying fabrics. However, if I can't procure exactly the right materials (undyed, prepared for printing, etc.) then I won't be able to use the AirDye name with a pair of Bluffs.

Material options #2 and #3 meet AirDye's criteria.

Last week, we laid out the print image on top of the pocketing marker. This tells the printer where to print, so when the cutter extracts the pocket, they do so with the image intact.

Bluff Out in the World

I recently sent a few sample pairs out into the world:

• Matt is off to SE Asia for 6 weeks before starting medical school
• Jeremie is fly fishing in Alaska
• And Jeff is headed to a dance festival in Romania

I can't wait to see their pics and hear their stories!

Other Projects

I have a personal connection to this week's project:

Women's Felting Cooperative in Mongolia - During my campaign, Lisa reached out to me to see if they could take a pair of Bluffs to Mongolia. She wrote:

My husband and I are going to Mongolia to help get their felters mechanized. We will be helping to form women's cooperatives (incubator businesses - that will employ about 22 people per location) Felt is cloth we make from raw wool and silk, with water, soap and agitation. We could really use this product on our journey as we will be packing for a month, and shoving everything into back packs (traveling for hundreds of kms, with no roads, probably some on horseback or camel), but have to be ready and well dressed to meet the dignitaries while we are there.

I am sending them off with a pair of Bluffs for her husband Jim. But they have a small kickstarter campaign to raise the funds for his airline ticket at: http://kck.st/OSBwVj. 

Thanks everyone!

Picture from this week's pattern review.