HOW IS DENIM MADE?

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The history of denim and how denim is made.

Denim is a woven fabric that is commonly made with a blue cotton warp yarn and white cotton filling yarn. Originally denim was made into work clothes like overalls and jeans, but today it is used for everything from purses to skirts and other fashionable clothes. The filling yarns run the width of the fabric and interlace at 90-degree angles with the warp yarns, which also run the length of the fabric. The pattern caused by the interwoven yarns is actually a series of diagonal lines referred to as "twill weave".

Types of Twill Weaves

LHT or Left Hand Twill: In this type of twill weave the weave runs diagonally from right to left. This denim is softer than RHT.

RHT or Right Hand Twill: In this type of twill weave the weave runs diagonally from left to right. This denim is flatter and smoother.

Origins of the Name

There are various theories about the origin of the term "denim". The most common theory is that the fabric was originally produced during the Middle Ages in Nîmes, France, under the name of "serge de Nîmes". In the 1800s, America shortened it to "denim". Another theory claims the fabric originated in England.

The term "jeans" or "jean" is also synonymous with the name "denim". Jeans actually originated in Genoa, Italy, and were made from fustian (a cotton, linen and/or wool blend) and not denim. Denim was slightly more expensive than jean and was woven from one colored thread and one white thread (jean was woven from two threads of the same color).

Levi Strauss is credited with making the first denim jeans. Strauss was a young German immigrant who went to California in 1853, during the gold rush, to sell a rough canvas to make tents and wagon covers. Prospectors complained that what they really needed was pants that were strong enough to last in the mines. Strauss made his first jeans from the rough canvas and then began using denim when the miners complained that the canvas pants chafed.

The official birthday of “blue jeans” did not come until 1873, when Strauss and a Nevada tailor named David Jacobs co-patented the idea of using rivets to add strength to the jeans.

Denim Fabric Treatments

Pre-washed: Repeated washing by the manufacturer to make the denim softer.

Stone-washed: The original method involved pumice stones, but today ceramic balls, enzymes, sand, and other methods are used to give the denim a natural appearance.

Sandblasted: Denim is sprayed with sand or chemicals during the wash process to create a worn-out appearance.

Sandwashed: Sand or other abrasive substances are used in the wash bath to soften the denim and give it a faded appearance.

Vintage/dirty: Vintage denim shows wear patterns. Dirty denim is usually created with brown filler yarns.

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