Denim

Denim
For other uses, see Denim (disambiguation).
Denim as used for blue jeans, with a copper rivet to strengthen the pocket.
A high-resolution image of black denim.

Denim (French town of Nîmes, from which 'denim' (de Nîmes) gets its name) is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two (twi- "double") or more warp threads. This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim has been in American usage since the late 18th century.[1] The word comes from the name of a sturdy fabric called serge, originally made in Nîmes, France, by the André family. Originally called serge de Nîmes, the name was soon shortened to denim.[2] Denim was traditionally colored blue with indigo dye to make blue "jeans", though "jean" then denoted a different, lighter cotton textile; the contemporary use of jean comes from the French word for Genoa, Italy (Gênes), where the first denim trousers were made.

Contents

Dry denim

Dry denim can be identified by its lack of a wash, or "fade". It typically starts out as the dark blue color pictured here.

Dry or raw denim, as opposed to washed denim, is a denim fabric that is not washed after being dyed during its production. Over time, denim will generally fade, which is often considered desirable. During the process of wear, it is typical to see fading on areas that generally receive the most stress, which includes the upper thighs (whiskers), the ankles (stacks) and behind the knees (honey combs).

After being crafted into an article of clothing, most denim is washed to make it softer and to reduce or eliminate shrinkage, which could cause an item to not fit after the owner washes it. In addition to being washed, non-dry denim is sometimes artificially "distressed" to achieve a worn look.

Much of the appeal of factory distressed denim is that it looks similar to dry denim that has, with time, faded. With dry denim, however, such fading is affected by the body of the person who wears the jeans and the activities of his or her daily life. This creates what many enthusiasts feel to be a more natural, unique look than pre-distressed denim.

To facilitate the natural distressing process, some wearers of dry denim will often abstain from washing their jeans for more than six months, though it is not a necessity for fading.

Selvage denim

Selvage on a pair of jeans

Selvage denim (alternative spelling: selvedge denim) is a type of denim, which forms a clean natural edge that does not unravel. It is commonly presented in the unwashed or raw state. Typically, the selvage edges will be located along the out-seam of the pants, making it visible when cuffs are worn.

The word "selvage" comes from the phrase "self-edge", the natural edge of a roll of fabric. As applied to denim, it means that which is made on old-style shuttle looms. These looms weave fabric with one continuous cross thread (the weft) that is passed back and forth all the way down the length of the bolt. As the weft loops back into the edge of the denim it creates this “self-edge” or selvage. Selvage is desirable because the edge cannot fray like denim made on a projectile loom that has separate wefts, which leave an open edge that must be stitched. This advantage is only realized on one edge of the fabric, however, as the fabric has to be cut to shape and anywhere it is cut the self-edge is lost.

Shuttle looms weave a narrower piece of fabric, and thus a longer piece of fabric is required to make a pair of jeans (approximately 3 yards). To maximize yield, traditional jean makers use the fabric all the way to the selvedge edge. When the cuff is turned up, the two selvedge edges (where the denim is sewn together) can be seen. The selvage edge is usually stitched with colored thread: green, white, brown, yellow, and (most commonly) red. Fabric mills used these colors to differentiate between fabrics.

Most selvage jeans today are dyed with synthetic indigo, but natural indigo dye is available in some denim labels. Though they are supposed to have the same chemical makeup, there are more impurities in the natural indigo dye. Loop dying machines feed a rope of cotton yarn through vats of indigo dye and then back out. The dye is allowed to oxidize before the next dip. Multiple dips create a deep dark indigo blue.

In response to increased demand for jeans in the 1950s, American denim manufacturers replaced the old shuttle style looms with modern projectile looms. The new looms produced fabric faster and wider (60 inches or wider). Synthetic dying techniques along with post-dye treatments were introduced to control shrink and twist.

Selvage denim is one of the more expensive denims because of its durability, and self-edge that will never fray.

Stretch denim

Stretch denim usually incorporates an elastic component (such as elastane) into the fabric to allow a degree of give in garments. Only a small percentage is required within the fabric (approx 3%) to allow a significant stretch capacity of around 15%.

Color denim

Denim fabric dyeing is divided into two categories; indigo dyeing and sulphur dyeing. Indigo dyeing produces traditional blue colors or shades similar to blue colors. Sulfur dyeing (also called color denim) is used to create specialty black colors and other colors like pink, grey, rust, mustard, green, and red.

Uses

Jeans

Main article: Jeans

Denim clothing

Besides trousers, denim can also be made into:

Denim jewelry

  • Silver jewelry that incorporates accents of denim.

Furniture

  • Sofa covers
  • Bean bag chairs
  • Director-style chairs
  • Lampshades
  • Hassocks

Jeans vehicles

Between 1973 and 1975 Volkswagen produced the Jeans Beetle, which had all-denim trim. They also repeated this concept in some later models.[3] AMC offered a Levi's trim package for its Gremlin and Pacer models, which was actually spun nylon made to imitate denim. Jeep has also offered Levi's trim packages.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ In 1789 George Washington toured a Beverly, Massachusetts factory producing machine-woven cotton denim. (Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities: Mass Moments[clarification needed]).
  2. ^ Bellis, Mary. "Levi Strauss - The History of Blue Jeans". About.com. The New York Times Company. http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventors/a/Levi_Strauss.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-04. ""Levi Strauss had the canvas made into waist overalls. Miners liked the pants, but complained that they tended to chafe. Levi Strauss substituted a twilled cotton cloth from France called "serge de Nimes." The fabric later became known as denim and the pants were nicknamed blue jeans." In French of Nimes or De Nimes shortened to Denim" 
  3. ^ "Jeansbeetles.com". http://www.jeansbeetles.com/accueilenglish.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-04 


External links



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Look at other dictionaries:

  • denim — [ dənim ] n. m. • av. 1973; mot angl. amér., du nom de la ville de Nîmes ♦ Anglic. Tissu sergé servant à fabriquer les jeans. ⇒ jean. Une salopette « en denim bleu » (Le Clézio). ● denim nom masculin (de toile de Nîmes) Tissu de coton en armure… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Denim — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Jeans hechos de denim, con un roblón de cobre para reforzar el bolsillo. El denim o mezclilla es un tejido empleado en la confección de ropa de trabajo. Aunque no hay unanimidad sobre el origen, diversos estudios… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Denim — Denim, eigentlich serge de Nîmes („Gewebe aus Nîmes“), ist ein sehr robuster Baumwollstoff in Köperbindung, aus dem später von Levi Strauss die erste klassische Jeans gemacht wurde. Traditionell wird für Denim ein Kettköper verwendet, bei dem nur …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Denim —    Denim is a cotton fabric from France called serge de Nimes used in 1849 by Levi Strauss to make pants that were worn by thousands of men who traveled West during the Gold Rush. By the twenty first century, denim had taken on a totally new… …   Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry

  • denim — 1690s, from Fr. serge de Nîmes serge from Nîmes, town in southern France. Application to coarse cotton cloth is first recorded 1850 in Amer.Eng. Denims pants made of denim recorded from 1868. The place name is Roman Nemausus, said to be… …   Etymology dictionary

  • denim — dènim m DEFINICIJA pamučna tkanina od tvrdo uvijene pređe kojoj je u osnovi indigo, a u potki je neobojena; džins, traper ETIMOLOGIJA engl. denim ← fr. de Nîmes: iz (francuskoga grada) Nima …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Denim — Den im (d[e^]n [i^]m), n. [Of uncertain origin.] A coarse cotton drilling used for overalls, etc. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dènim — m pamučna tkanina od tvrdo uvijene pređe kojoj je u osnovi indigo, a u potki je neobojena; traper, džins ✧ {{001f}}engl. ← fr …   Veliki rječnik hrvatskoga jezika

  • denim — /ingl. ˈdɛnɪm/ [da de Nîmes, città della Francia dove si produceva] s. m. inv. tela jeans, jeans …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • denim — ► NOUN 1) a hard wearing cotton twill fabric, typically blue. 2) (denims) jeans or other clothes made of such fabric. ORIGIN from French serge de Nîmes, denoting serge from the manufacturing town of Nîmes …   English terms dictionary

  • denim — [den′im] n. [< Fr ( serge) de Nîmes, (serge) of Nîmes, where first made] a coarse, twilled, sturdy cotton cloth used as for jeans, overalls, and uniforms …   English World dictionary

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