About Denim Fabric
Blue jeans, which are primarily made from cotton denim fabric, are part of most wardrobes today. Denim fabric was first woven in Nimes, France, and was introduced to the USA by Christopher Columbus. According to "A Dictionary of Textile Terms," this soft cloth was "first brought to America by Columbus...as the sails on the Santa Maria." The fabric, which was referred to as denim de Nimes, as well as Serge de Nimes, was generally used for heavier weight items, and later was introduced into the fashion industry.
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Construction
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Denim is a twill weave fabric, and has a visible left- or right-hand twill weave on the face. The weave construction is produced by the filling yarns passing over and under warp yarns, such as a two-up and one-down or three-up and one-down weaving pattern. The interlacing forms diagonal ridges across the fabric, referred to as wales. The wales run from the upper left to the lower right, or from the upper right to the lower left of the fabric.
Denim Weight
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The fabric is available in a variety of weights, such as 6 oz. for shirts and tops, 9 to 10 oz., referred to as bull denim, for bottoms and 12 to 13 oz. for jeans.
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Stretch Denim
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Denim is an integral part of the fashion industry. Stretch denim re-introduced the possibilities of the fabric by adding a percentage of Lycra/spandex into the cotton denim blend. It contours to the body for a form fitting silhouette, and is also comfortable.
Color
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Although denim is available in a variety of shades and textures, it is generally recognized by the indigo-blue color warp and the grey or white filling within the twill weave.
Texture
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The twill weave fabric is also available in textures, such as cross hatch and rain. The textures selected during the design development process for upcoming seasons are chosen with the wash treatment in mind, such as enzyme or acid. Once the denim is treated, it produces a different fabric appearance.
Stonewash
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Light, medium and dark stonewashes are a finishing treatment manufacturers apply to finished garments for a worn appearance. The achieved stonewashes are made by washing the garments in industrial machines with pumice pebbles or stones. The friction caused by the pebbles wears down and abrades the denim fabric, producing the stonewash effect.
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References
- Photo Credit denim background image by Adam Borkowski from Fotolia.com
