Known around the world for its blue tones, typically finished with distinctive orange stitching, denim is one of the strongest, most durable fabrics in the fashion industry. However, the very first jeans were made for a labourer after his pants kept falling apart.
Jacob Davis, a local tailor, purchased a bolt of denim fabric from none other than Levi Strauss. To fortify the weak points in the fabric, Jacob came up with the idea of using metal rivets on these stress points, and the classic denim jeans worn around the world today were born.
What denim fabric is made from?
The most common material used to make denim is cotton. This versatile yarn can be incredibly strong, while also being soft. To make denim, the first step is to take raw cotton and spin it into different yarn sizes. A lower size yarn indicates a thicker thread, while yarn with a higher number is finer.
More recently, spandex has been included in the making of denim. The cotton/spandex blend creates stretch in denim fabric. Similar to cotton yarn, cotton/spandex is also manufactured in various sizes, with a higher size resulting in greater stretch in the finished product.
A key shift in denim materials occurred in 2010, when a global cotton shortage (https://www.ft.com/content/7956141c-c5a4-11df-ab48-00144feab49a) pushed yarn suppliers to find alternatives to keep costs stable. This led to the innovation of polyester-based denim. Polyester denim gained popularity from 2010 onward, as it offers better stretch than pure cotton denim and is lighter in weight—making it ideal for girls’ and women’s jeans.
One of Creativetex’s best-selling denim fabrics is a cotton/polyester/spandex blend. The company has used this fabric for over 5 years to supply its Swedish customers; if you wish to learn more or request sample yardage, please contact Creativetex directly.
How denim gets its characteristic look?
Denim is generally made from a strong cotton twill weave. This describes the pattern of diagonal ribbing achieved from the way weft and warp yarn is woven in an offset pattern. To create a tougher fabric, a thicker and tighter weave is used. Conversely, a looser style of denim weave will result in a softer fabric with more stretch.
Another distinctive feature of denim is it’s darker appearance on the outside, with the inside of the fabric much whiter in comparison. This is due to the way the fabric is dyed and woven.
There’s nothing like a classic pair of blue jeans, but just what colour is denim naturally? Like most fabrics made from natural fibres, the undyed colour of denim is closer to white or beige. Blue and black remain the most popular denim colours, but designers are creating denim in a wide range of colours and printed patterns.
Raw denim yarn (the warp yarn) is coloured with either a synthetic or natural indigo dye to achieve the characteristic blue denim look, while the weft yarn is left uncoloured. The way the yarns are woven together results in the front side of the denim showing the dyed warp yarn, while the underside shows the weft yarn in its natural colour.
Understanding denim weight
The units for denim are oz. Mid-weight denim is around 8oz to 10oz, with heavy denim ranging from 12oz up to 16oz. Chambray is the lightest denim and comes in around 6oz. Designers will consider what denim weight will work best for the season and style of clothing they’re creating.
Interestingly, the weight of the fabric can change before and after manufacturers wash denim for the first time. 100% cotton denim often becomes lighter after being washed because the yarn is covered with starch to reduce the risk of breakage during weaving. Once the denim is washed, the starch washed out which makes the denim slightly lighter.
Cotton/spandex denim will often become heavier after wash due to shrinkage, as stretch fabric shrinks more easily than cotton. For example: a 9oz fabric with 10% shrinkage on the weft can be closer to 10oz after being washed. This is an important consideration to keep in mind when selecting fabric.
Choosing denim width
Denim will come in several widths, depending on the type of denim and machinery used to produce it.Some older machines will produce selvedge denim; this is denim with a woven edge, but the fabric is usually no more than 28”-30” (71cm-76cm) wide.
Most standard cotton denim fabric is around 57”-58” (145cm) wide. However, unlike selvedge denim, there are few cms of fabric that will be frayed and cannot be used. Stretch denim is slightly narrower at 52”-54” (135cm) due to the weave and shrinkage. The wider the fabric is, the more it is prone to shrink, so most mills will keep the width narrower to minimise this.
Denim finishes
Finishing the fabric is one of the most important stages. Common finishes for denim fabric include:
- Pre-shrink– this helps with garment cutting to keep patterns to a standard size. This stage also helps remove excess starch as part of the desizing process.
- Mercerise– the fabric is treated to increase it’s shine, strength and softness.
- Print or coat– fabrics can be coated with special treatments, such as metallics.
- Special effects– fabric can be treated to have a shiny, resin or leather finish.
Modern manufacturing techniques mean denim has come a long way since it first became popular in the late 19th century. Creative Textile is constantly researching and developing new methods and processes to help designers create new looks for their denim clothing and products.