Blue Denim Fabrics

Introduction

Easy care fabric for leisurewear covers a major preparation of the total production of textiles. Not only classic and basic denim in twill were in demand but also medium and higher qualities in twill and chambray in demand. They are used for leisurewear, shirts, blouses, and jackets. The original dark blue indigo- colors have changed and cover all shades from super blue to black, light blue, light grey to brown.

History of Denim

As early as 1873 denim was produced by Bavarian Levi Strauss who emigrated to the USA. He manufactured trousers from heavy cloth. He soon realized that this type of fabric was ideal clothing for mine workers, farmers, and cowboys.

The production of denim has developed into a major part of the world textile industry. Word “denim” comes from fabric “serge de Nimes” made in France city of Nimes from where it originates. It has been used in America since the late 18th century, colored blue with indigo dye to make blue “jeans”, a type of cotton pants.

Jeans come from “Genes” – a name given by French to Genoa and the people from Genoa where the cotton trousers were made. In the 1800s, in the time of the Gold Rush, American gold miners needed clothes that were strong, lasted longer and did not tear easily.

Levi Strauss, a businessman, and Jacob Davis, a tailor, supplied miners with denim pants that were made from durable material and reinforced with rivets at the places where pants tended to tear which prolonged life of pants. This marked the beginning of the legend of jeans and brand Levi Strauss is still hugely successful today.

Denim was first used for clothes worn by workers because of its high durability. Then it became widely popular in the 1930s when Hollywood started making cowboy movies in which actors wore jeans. With the beginning of World War 2, production of the jeans drops but world meet denim when American soldiers started wearing them when they were on the leave.

When the war ended, other companies that made denim started appearing like Wrangler and Lee.

Young people started wearing denim in the 1950s a mean of rebellion. This fashion was also inspired by Hollywood with by Marlon Brando with his 1953 film “The Wild One” as well James Dean’s movie “Rebel Without a Cause” from 1955. Some public places like schools and theaters banned jeans because of what they symbolized.

Denim crossed from counterculture to fashion in the 1960s and 1970s when manufacturers started to make different styles of jeans. Fewer jeans were made during World War II, but ‘waist overalls’ were introduced to the world by US soldiers, who sometimes wore them off duty. By the 1960s, both men’s and women’s jeans had the zipper down the front. Historic photographs indicate that in the decades before they became a staple of fashion, jeans generally fit quite loosely, much like a pair of bib overalls without the bib. Indeed, until 1960, Levi Strauss called its flagship product “waist overalls” rather than “jeans”.

After James Dean popularized them in the movie Rebel Without a Cause, wearing jeans became a symbol of youth rebellion during the 1950s. During the 1960s the wearing of jeans became more acceptable, and by the 1970s it had become a general fashion in the United States for casual wear. However, the acceptance of jean to becoming casual wear is still relatively low in Japan.

Examples of intentional denim distressing strictly to make them more fashionable can be seen as early as 1935 in Vogue’s June issue. Michael Belluomo, editor of Sportswear International Magazine, Oct/Nov 1987, P. 45, wrote that in 1965, Limbo, a boutique in the New York East Village, was “the first retailer to wash a new pair of jeans to get a used, worn effect, and the idea became a hit.” He continued, “[Limbo] hired East Village artists to embellish the jeans with patches, decals, and other touches, and sold them for $200.”

In the early 1980s, the denim industry introduced the stone-washing technique developed by GWG also known as “Great Western Garment Co.” Donald Freeland of Edmonton, Alberta pioneered the method, which helped to bring denim to a larger and more versatile market. Acceptance of jeans continued through the 1980s and 1990s. Originally an esoteric fashion choice, in the 2010s jeans may be seen being worn by men and women of all ages. Denim is popular for long-term use and is a fashion fabric for casual wear. General features of the denim fabric are as follows: Cotton or cotton-polyester blended, durable and heavy-weight twill-weave. Maybe napped or printed, made with spandex or other stretch yarns, or otherwise modified for fashion. Dec 13, 2018.

Origin of Denim

Denim is a type of cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. Warp threads of denim fabric are dyed in indigo while weft threads remain plain white. Denim was first used for clothes worn by workers because of its high durability.

If you are in doubt whether the fabric is dyed with Indigo, Rub the yarn on a white piece of cloth, it should leave some particles on the cloth.

With the rope dying system, the core of the yarn usually remains white. This ensures the fading of the colors after multiple washing. It should slowly become lighter. Denim is a type of cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. Warp threads of denim fabric are dyed in indigo while weft threads remain plain white. That is why denim is blue on the one side and white on the other. When used for jeans, denim is turned blue on the outside and because of the way it is made it fades in a characteristic way.

Original denim was dyed with dye from plant Indigofera tinctoria. Modern denim is dyed with synthetic indigo. Denim is often dyed with indigo and dried many times over to get a stronger color that will not fade quickly. After the denim is made into clothing it as most often washed to make it softer and to reduce or eliminate shrinkage. Denim that is not washed is called dry or raw denim.

Denim fades in time and gets a worn outlook which is often desired as a fashion detail. Some denim is artificially distressed so a worn-out look can be got even before wearing. Denim that is not made of pure cotton but also has an elastic component (most often elastane) is stretch denim. Beside indigo dyeing, denim can be colored with sulfur dyeing which is used for dyeing of denim in colors other than indigo.