Today, denim is the most popular material. Any things are made of it and all of them are distinguished by durability, convenience and practicality. However, this is not always the case, the fact is that there are different types of jeans and good products can be sewn only from high-quality ones - those very rough trousers and jackets with a large pattern. But this is a slightly different raw material - denim fabric. What it is and what it is made of - we will tell in this article.

History of textiles

Denim is a dense, stiff twill weave with visible diagonal ribs and ridges. It was from it that the American industrialist Levi Strauss sewed the first denim pants in the 19th century, before that it was used as canvas on ship masts.

This story began in 1848, when the young businessman Strauss traded in textiles, which were made by his brothers. During the gold rush, a flood of miners poured onto the West Coast of America, and Strauss came after them to sell his goods.

Gold miners liked his products so much that they were sold out even before the ship entered the port and only sails remained on board. A smart businessman ordered a tailor to sew pants from them, which were subsequently successfully sold out.

After that, Strauss opened a haberdashery shop and set up a large-scale production of durable, comfortable trousers with metal studs, but made of softer textiles than the canvas, which he bought in the French town of Nimes. This is how the name “denim” appeared, that is, brought from Nîmes (serge de Nîmes).

What is denim in clothes?

So, this is a type of jeans made from pure cotton, the front side of which is blue or blue, the wrong side is white.

The density and quality of the material depends on the manufacturer, more precisely on the country supplying raw materials. For example, American cotton is considered the most durable and things from it are good for cold weather, softer products are obtained from African.

Positive qualities of things:

1. They look simple but elegant. You can go out in them, attend any party or theater;
2. They are durable, thanks to the dense weaving they are difficult to tear and frequent washing is not terrible;
3. Do not lose their shape even after drying and ironing;
4. They sit well on any figure due to elasticity and rigidity, hide flaws and show advantages.

Thus, clothing made from the above-mentioned fabric is a top-class product, but of course it also costs a lot. However, the price is justified by the quality, having bought a thing, you do not demolish it, but rather give it away because you are tired.

Denim jeans: what is it?

In stores on the shelves there are stretch denim jeans or light summer options, is this possible given the roughness of the material? Yes, maybe it's the impurities. Thanks to the addition of threads, different types of textiles are obtained:

• Chaumbra- lightweight version, made of thinner threads of different shades. This is a real paradise for fashion designers, as chambray is easily processed and has a delicate soft texture; not only trousers are sewn from it, but also shirts, sundresses and even bed linen;
• Stretch- obtained by adding elastane fibers, such pants tightly fit the figure, emphasizing its harmony, and if necessary, slightly correct;
• Gin- a budget option, here part of the cotton fiber is replaced with polyester and viscose;
• And for tailoring summer clothes, silk is added to coarse threads, “breathable” pants and shorts, skirts and blouses are obtained.

So, if you want to buy denim pants, and they say that they are stretch - this can be, but it is better to buy them in trusted stores that deal specifically in jeans, for example, Levi's or Wrangler.

How to take care of the fabric?

This material is wear-resistant, but in any case care is needed, it depends on how long the thing will last, including:

• The fabric tends to shrink, do not wash it in hot water, a suitable temperature is 40 degrees;
• When choosing a detergent, make sure that it does not contain bleach, otherwise you will irrevocably ruin the color, it will blur in spots;
• Do not overdry, when you need to dry a thing, put it on a towel in the room or hang it, refuse to tumble dry. Dry - become even rougher, they are difficult to smooth out;
• You need to iron inside out, if ironing from the outside, use a damp cloth;
• Since the clothing contains a large number of metal fasteners and buttons, do not soak it for a long time otherwise rust marks will remain.

And of course, care information can always be found on the label, and incomprehensible values ​​on it can be deciphered.

Selvedge denim: what is it?

According to professional terminology " selvage"- the edges of a textile fabric treated with a special thread from unraveling ("own edges", if we translate the concept literally into Russian).

Pants made using selvedge technology can be distinguished by the inseam, tuck them at the bottom and look, all edges should be neatly hemmed, tucked and stitched with colored thread. It is pleasant to look at the inside of such a product, it immediately gives the impression that you are holding a quality thing in your hands.

And this is true, selvedge is the best quality material, because it is made on shuttle looms, the edges are tightly overcast and will not bloom. But ordinary denim is sewn from textiles made on microshuttle looms, which are able to work with greater productivity, but with worse quality. Such machines cannot process the edges, so over time they become loose and begin to bloom.

But not necessarily jeans made on microshuttle looms will quickly lose their appearance. Recently, many brands have appeared that produce denim items without “own edges”, but very solid ones. Thus, any buyer can buy good jeans for himself, because selvedge is not available to everyone.

So, we talked about the fabric that is popular today - denim, described what characteristics it has, how to care for it, and even sorted out its types and production technologies. This information will be quite enough for you to buy clothes to your taste and good quality.

Video about making denim

In this video, technologist Boris Sokolov will show the process of making denim denim, how the process goes: