Denim Fabric Types
Denim comes in a variety of fabrics, washes, colors and styles. Stores stock shelves filled with bootcut, flared, skinny and straight styles of jeans in the hopes of appealing to the right buyer. Cotton is a popular textile for denim because of its lightweight, arid qualities. However, denim fabric comes in a few varieties.
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Raw Denim
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Untreated denim fabric is known as raw denim. The qualities of raw denim make it super stiff, as it has not been treated or washed with chemicals. Raw jeans are very stiff when first worn but can be broken in by wearing it frequently until it loosens and molds to your shape. One of the most important factors of raw denim is laundering. You cannot wash raw denim for at least six months, since it is still conforming to your shape. However, it can be dry cleaned during this this time.
Organic
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Denim comes from cotton, but that causes damage to the environment, since 7,000 to 29,000 liters of water are used per kilogram of ready fabric. Cotton fields also use 25 percent of all insecticides worldwide. This is why some denim producers have taken to making organic denim from 100 percent organic cotton and blended yarn. The spinning, dyeing and other processes for denim are also eco-friendly.
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Ring Denim
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In the past, ring-spun denim was very popular, particularly with the 1970s bell bottom jeans. In ring-spinning, cotton moves around a ring, producing yarn that often has soft yet imperfect qualities. Usually denim yarn comes from open spinning. As vintage-style jeans have resurfaced, ring-spun denim has been used more for its edgier looks due to the imperfections. In fact, most current jean stores sell ring-spun denim, such as Levi Strauss and Company, Calvin Klein and Abercrombie and Fitch. Jack Matthews, president of American Cotton Growers (ACG), states that an estimated 15 percent of ACG's denim production goes to ring-spun denim.
Silk Denim
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There are variations in silk denim types, such as mulberry silk made from denier and organzine. Silk denim is a lighter fabric, yet still provides softness and strength that most cotton denim provides. Silk is often mixed with rayon fabrics in denim to create a stretchier pant. In addition, when mixed with cotton, silk denim tends to have a shinier finish.
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References
- Men's Flair: Raw Denim Jeans
- Nudie Jeans Co.: Organic Denim
- Discovery: Where Can I Find Affordable, Organic Denim?
- Plains Cotton Cooperative Association: Relocation of Ring Spinning Lowers Costs
- Fibre2fashion.com: Silk denim - A new generation fabric By : Shankar S. Kotrannavar, P.M. Damodhar Rao, G. Srikant, Dinakar Bhat, T.H. Somashekar
Resources
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