TEKSTIL VE KONFEKSIYON, vol.19, no.3, pp.248-254, 2009 (SCI-Expanded)
The aim of this study was to investigate the ergonomics of jeans. In the study, a questionnaire was prepared in order to investigate the ergonomics of jeans, and to discover what problems subjects had while using them, and using the results, to propose design changes to the ergonomics of jean patterns. The questionnaire was conducted on 1170 university students, of whom 614 were female and 556 were male, whose heights ranged from 160cm and below to 181cm and over, whose weights ranged From 50kg and below to 76kg and over, of whom 430 preferred low waist jeans, 705 chose normal waist jeans, and 35 preferred high waist jeans. In addition to collecting this data, the questionnaire focussed on four factors: "the discomforts of tightness" (Factor 1), "the discomforts of stepping lip stairs" (Factor 2), "the discomforts of strain" (Factor 3), and "the discomforts of opening waist on the back" (Factor 4). In the factor analysis, the following results were observed that women, 170cm and below. 60kg and below, and the participants preferring low waist jeans experienced the discomfort of opening waist on the back (Factor 4), 66-70kg, 76kg and over experienced the discomfort of tightness (Factor I), and the participants preferring high waist jeans experienced the discomforts of tightness (Factor 1), stepping up stairs (Factor 2), and strains (Factor 3). These results clearly showed that there exists a real problem in the waist area of most jeans. Finally, some suggestions for jean patterns have been made in order to solve the problems found and to produce jeans more ergonomically.