Corduroy is produced introducing extra yarns in regular row intervals that are cut and brushed, creating the brushed rows, or 'wales' The rows are always produced in the warp direction, so the nap direction must also be considered in garment design and production (see Velveteen, page 102).
The number of wales in a corduroy fabric helps determine its appeatance and use. The fewer wales per inch, the bulkier the fabric. The more wales per inch, the finer the wale and the lighter the weight of the fabric. There is a great variety of corduroy wale design, the most common are:
8-10-wale: outerwear, jackets and casual trousers.
16-wale: most common corduroy; trousers, jackets, skirts, waistcoats.
21-22-wale, sometime called 'pinwale' used in shirts and dresses or soft-silhouette skirts; it often has a lustrous wale.
Although most frequently used in casual clothing that has a soft, comfortable hand, corduroy garments are washed for further softening before retail distribution. The washing process can be simply laundering for a little softness or a more proprietary 'recipe' washing for a specific appearance.