Denim Manufacturing Process, Types

and uses [updated]

What is Denim?
Denim is a special type of fabric made from 100% cotton fiber or sometimes denim is
blended with spandex and polyester. Denim is manufactured by twill weave. Jeans’
products are made from denim fabric. It is highly used for long-lasting usability,
comfort, and style.

Many people ask me what is denim fabric and what is the difference between denim
and jeans. In this article, I will discuss 24 different types of denim manufacturing
process. Actually, denim is a special type of fabric made from 100% cotton fiber but
sometimes denim is blended with spandex and polyester. Denim is manufactured by
twill weave. The blended denim fabric has a very good stretchability, comfortable
wear. The denim fabric was introduced by Levis Strauss.

Basically, denim is used for making jeans (pants, jacket). Blue indigo color is
normally used for coloring denim. The popularity of denim products is increasing day
by day. Because denim is fashionable and comfortable to wear. Teenagers prefer
denim as a part of their commonly used garments.
Lots of research and development has been done on denim and now you are getting
world-class fashionable, stylish denim jeans, and jackets. It will give you a classic
look. You may eagerly want to know how denim fabric is made and what are the steps
involved. The difference between denim and jeans is, the fabric used for making jeans
is known as denim.

You can also have a look at our another article on Features of Denim Fabric, Parts of
Jeans Pant

Denim Manufacturing Process

The denim manufacturing process starts with using cotton and finally get denim fabric
which actually passes the quality check. The process is as follows: Cotton, Blending,
Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving, Coating & Shrinkage, and Quality Control.
Collection of Cotton

The route cotton comes from fields all over the world. The length of cotton fibers
determines the toughness of the denim fabric. However, the length of the fibers is
different from one bale to another.

Blending the Cotton

To ensure consistent quality the cotton is blended the layer scraped off each bale and
drawn into the mixer. Here all impurities such as seeds and weeds are filtered out. The
pure blended cotton fibers are then combined and poured into a thick rope called a
sliver. Now cotton is clean and consistent but not very strong.

Spinning of Cotton

Six cotton slivers are stretched and combined creating one strong yet slimmer sliver.
This sliver is then pulled and twisted into a strong thread. For stretch denim elastase
which is a kind of rubber is twisted into the thread creating a thread with stretching
ability. The threads are collected on large barrels to prepare it for dyeing.
Dyeing or Coloring of Thread

Most jeans are colored in the characteristic blue indigo color. Indigo is among the
oldest dyes used for textile dyeing and originates from the Indigo Ferrer plant. The
threads are dipped in large tubs with indigo color and pulled up in the air on large
drums when indigo reacts with the oxygen it turns blue the threads are dipped
repeatedly until the cotton threads have an intense dark blue color. The color creates a
coating around the thread. The thread is still white inside giving denim its
characteristic faded white look when worn.

Weaving of Denim

In this stage, colored threads are weave to make denim. If you look closely at your
own pair of jeans you can see the twill pattern of blue and white threads the blue
threads called the warp is pulled up and down on the loom and a white thread called
the weft is shot back and forth from the entire length of the loom creating the denim
pattern.

The most common weave is a three by one meaning that three warp threads are visible
for every weft thread that is why the weft is more visible on the backside of the fabric.

Another type of weaving is Salvage used in RDD collection, salvaged denim is made
the original way on old shuttle looms dating back to the 1950s. The production speed
is much slower than modern looms reducing the tension on the yarn creating a softer
feel and more durable fabric. These old looms require more skilled workers and are
only produced in Japan and Italy because of their long tradition and jeans
manufacturing.

Coating and Shrinkage of Denim

To prevent the fabric from twisting after it’s sewn into jeans its softened and
stretched. The denim is also heated and shrunk to make sure the jeans stay the same
size after it’s sold.

Quality Control of Denim

Before the denim leaves the fabric mill it undergoes a strict quality control here any
defects or variations of color and the fabric is detected at consistent quality denim is
necessary to jack and jones quality in jeans.

Hopefully, after reading this you understand what is denim and how denim is made. If
you have any confusion then please let me know.

24 Different Types of Denim

After researching around the web, we have found 24 different types of denim used for
different reasons in the world. Actually, these types are the detailed breakdown of the
different nature of denim fabric.
 1.  Cotton Denim/100% Cotton Denim
2. Raw Denim/Dry Denim
3. Cotton Serge Denim
4. Colored Denim
5. Stretch Denim
6. Selvedge Denim
7. Ecru Denim
8. Waxed Reverse Denim
9. Crushed Denim
10. Printed Denim
11. Sanforized Denim
12. Washed Denim/Acid Wash Denim
13. Bubblegum Denim
14. Poly Denim
15. Bull Denim
16. Thermo Denim
17. Ramie Cotton Denim
18. Ecru Denim
19. Slub Denim
20. Vintage Denim
21. Fox Fiber Denim
22. Marble Denim
23. Reverse Denim
24. Ring Spun Denim/Dual Ring Spun Denim

Different Types of Denim Product

Although denim is used for making jeans jackets, shirts, and trousers. We can see
there is various use of denim. Here is the list of denim products which are commonly
made of denim.

 Denim Shirt, Long T-shirt

 Denim Pant, Jeans, Trouser, Short Jeans Pant
 Denim Jacket, Sleeveless jacket
 Denim Skirt, Piper Skirt, Crossover Skirt
 Denim Shoes
 Denim Bags
 Denim Caps