Sanforizing

Sanforizing, a process first used widely by Wrangler, reduces shrinkage rates from 5-10 percent to less than 1 percent by slightly moistening, stretching, shrinking, and drying the denim to fix it at its new size prior to sewing it into the finished product.Sanforizing denim is a method of stretching and manipulating the cloth in the factory prior to any washing so that any shrinking during future washes will be minimalized. It is important to note if your raw jeans are sanforized or not before determining what size to buy, non-sanforized jeans will shrink 7-10%, while sanforized jeans will shrink 1-5%. It is often advised to give non-sanforized jeans a warm soak before wearing them to get the shrinking done before you create wear marks on the jeans.

What does Sanforization mean?

The process of pre-shrinking a fabric so to a limit the residual or further shrinkage of the fabric to less than 1%. This sanforization process involves the stretching of the fabric before it is washed, which helps to prevent shrinkage. Fabric that doesn’t undergo sanforization and is considered raw is likely to shrink up to 10% on the initial wash and continue to shrink up until the third wash. In the world of denim, un-sanforized denim is referred to as raw denim.

Rawr Denim explains Sanforization

Sanforization is a process that stabilizes the fabric before it is cut by stretching and shrinking it. Named after its inventor, Sanford Lockwood Cluett, it was patented in 1930. In 1936, Blue Bell (now Wrangler) began using the method for its Super Big Ben overalls. During the sanforization process, the material is fed into a sanforizing machine and moistened with water or steam to promote shrinkage. It is then stretched through a series of rubber belts and cylinders before it is finally compacted to its final size. Sanforizing ensures that the fabric will not shrink during production or wear.

Additional Resources

Here is an example of the sanforization process:

Here is the sanforization machine process:

Distressed Your Denim !!

Destroyed your denim, is the one way to make you look cool with your denim. Not easy and not difficult to make your denim has its own character as torn, scratched, and eroded.

Dying to get in on the distressed jean trend, but not willing to shell out major cash for ripped designer duds? Here's how to turn even the oldest, most unfashionable pair of jeans into bohemian-chic attire.

Nothing beats the look of a pair of your favorite worn-in jeans. Of course, wearing in a pair of jeans can take years, so why not cheat a bit? Here's a super easy way to get those designer-distressed jeans without spending a cent!

Steps

1. 1
   If making distressed shorts, cut them into shorts first.
   
   
2. 2
   Place a block of wood (or some other solid surface that you don't mind possibly damaging) within the pant leg or denim region you want to distress, so that you don't ruin the other side of your jeans.
   
   
3. 3
   Rub a steak knife, cheese grater, or scissors vertically or horizontally against the area of denim that you would like to distress. Rub gently for mild distress; rub longer and more vigorously to create more visible distress (such as holes and tears).
   
   
4. 4
   Take scissors or knife and go up over the vertical hole you made to have the "distressed look". Do not cut holes with scissors. This creates an un-frayed, and consequentially un-stylish bland hole.
   
   
5. 5
   Fray jeans by rubbing sandpaper around pockets, knees, hemlines, or any other area of denim that you would like to have a soft, worn appearance.
6. 
   
7. 6
   Dampen a sponge with bleach and rub it around the outer edges of holes for a "distressed look".
   
   
8. 7
   Tear off a back pocket.
   
   
9. 8
   Wash your jeans.
   
   
10. 9
    Wear your newly stylish distressed jeans.
    
    

Alternative Methods

• Take the nail file and start filing away at one area. Some jean "lint" will come off, and it can get quite annoying. Peel it off the nail file as well as the jeans every couple of seconds. Keep filing until you get the desired size of hole. After a little bit, the white threads will appear. Once this happens, do not file the white threads. This will result in them ripping and then you are left with a complete hole and not a wear mark.
• Another great way to make your jeans look distressed without completely ripping them to shreds is to use a cheese grater around areas that show the most wear and tear (knees, behind, around the pockets, etc). Do this with a light hand, or else you might go through the fabric.
• Also think about different stains; paint, oil, and bleach work well. Don't go overboard on the stains. This is one area where less is more.
• Own and wear a regular pair of jeans for a couple years. You'll find that they become distressed naturally, and this way you can out-cool all the trendy kids because your jeans are authentic.
• Afraid of ruining your jeans? You can buy jeans that already have small rips, and rub a knife or cheese grater around the edges of the rips until you're satisfied.
• Use a rotary tool with a sanding disc to distress seams and edges. Also, you can use sandpaper to get great looks too.

• If you use razor blades, wash the jeans, then run over it with a nail file it will look like an old snag, in a fashionable way.

Video

Tips

• Work on a less visible area of your jeans (such as the bottom hem) until you get the hang of the process.
• Work outside to minimize bleach odor and mess.
• To make a very white bleach spot squeeze the sponge lightly over the area you want to bleach and let the bleach drip off the sponge.
• If you don't have any old jeans to work with, you can find cheap pairs of brand name jeans at Goodwill for about $5.
• You can splash paint or put cloth on them to make them look cooler.
• Mark where to distress the jeans as you are wearing them+ so the lines look more natural and aren't just three straight lines of white.

Warnings

• Be careful with sharp objects.
• Always wear gloves and other appropriate attire when working with bleach or other stains.
• If you choose to work on the jeans while you are wearing them, go carefully so you don't cut yourself on the cheese grater or sand paper.
• Use caution with liquid bleach.
• Never mix bleach with ammonia or vinegar. These create a potentially lethal gas.
• Don't bite the jeans to make the rips, especially after acid use.

The Selvage which make your denim look fancy!!

Selvage denim

Selvage on a pair of jeans

Selvage 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 trousers, 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 sulfur 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.

This is an "Indigo" which is exist on your denim after at least 8 months of usage

Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive blue color. Historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from plants, and this process was important economically because blue dyes were once rare. Nearly all indigo dye produced today several thousand tons each year is synthetic. It is the blue of blue jeans.

USES

Natural indigo
Plant sources.A variety of plants have provided indigo throughout history, but most natural indigo was obtained from those in the genus Indigofera, which are native to the tropics. The primary commercial indigo species in Asia was true indigo (Indigofera tinctoria, also known as Indigofera sumatrana). A common alternative used in the relatively colder subtropical locations such as Japan's Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan is Strobilanthes cusia . In Central and South America the two species Indigofera suffruticosa ) and Indigofera arrecta (Natal indigo) were the most important. In temperate climates indigo can also be obtained from woad (Isatis tinctoria) and dyer's knotweed (Polygonum tinctorum), although the Indigofera species yield more dye.

Extraction

The precursor to indigo is indican, a colorless, water-soluble derivative of the amino acid tryptophan. Indican readily hydrolyzes to release D-glucose and indoxyl.Oxidation by exposure to air converts indoxyl to indigo. Indican was obtained from the processing of the plant's leaves, which contain as much as 0.2 – 0.8 % of this compound. The leaves were soaked in water and fermented in order to convert the glycoside indican present in the plant to the blue dye indigotin. The precipitate from the fermented leaf solution was mixed with a strong base such as lye, pressed into cakes, dried, and powdered. The powder was then mixed with various other substances to produce different shades of blue and purple.

Cultivation

The demand for indigo in the 19th century is indicated by the fact that in 1897, 7000 square kilometers were dedicated to the cultivation of indican-producing plants, mainly in India. By comparison, the country of Luxembourg consists of 2,586 square kilometers.

In literature, the play Nildarpan by Dinabandhu Mitra is based on the indigo slavery and forceful cultivation of indigo in India. It played an essential part in the Bengali indigo revolt of 1858 called Nilbidraha.

Direct printing

Two different methods for the direct application of indigo were developed in England in the 18th century and remained in use well into the 19th century. The first method, known as pencil blue because it was most often applied by pencil or brush, could be used to achieve dark hues. Arsenic trisulfide and a thickener were added to the indigo vat. The arsenic compound delayed the oxidation of the indigo long enough to paint the dye onto fabrics.

Pot of freeze-dried indigo dye

The second method was known as china blue due to its resemblance to Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. Instead of using an indigo solution directly, the process involved printing the insoluble form of indigo onto the fabric. The indigo was then reduced in a sequence of baths of iron sulfate, with air-oxidation between each immersion. The china blue process could make sharp designs, but it could not produce the dark hues possible with the pencil blue method.

Around 1880 the glucose process was developed. It finally enabled the direct printing of indigo onto fabric and could produce inexpensive dark indigo prints unattainable with the china blue method.

Since 2004 freeze-dried indigo, or instant indigo, has become available. In this method the indigo has already been reduced, and then freeze-dried into a crystal. The crystals are added to warm water to create the dye pot. As in a standard indigo dye pot, care has to be taken to avoid mixing in oxygen. Freeze-dried indigo is simple to use, and the crystals can be stored indefinitely as long as they are not exposed to moisture.