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Garment Wash Finishes for Denim

Denim has been a crucial textile to society ever since twill weaving was developed nearly one

thousand years ago (Dickson). In the past, denim production was an expensive and time-consuming

process. Originally a thick and bulky fabric, denim had to undergo extensive procedures to achieve

desired serviceability (PatentStorm). Denim production and quality has improved over the past

millennium due to technological advances and new inventions. In 1989, inventors Robert Jacobs and

Edward Davis devised a new method for producing and manufacturing denim known as garment

wash finishes (PatentStorm). Garment wash finishes made it possible to produce denim fabrics that

"duplicate the look and feel of washed and tumble dried garments . . . which can be produced in a

relatively inexpensive and quick procedure (PatentStorm)."

The garment wash finish method focuses on the importance of warp yarns. According to the

textbook, warp yarns are "the group of yarns threaded through the loom in a woven fabric, parallel to

the selvage (Kadolph 489)." Jacobs and Davis discovered that if they were able to raise the warp

yarns in the denim fabric and rub them together, then the surface fibers would loosen, causing the

fabric to have a softer, laundered feel. Upon this discovery, the men formulated a series of steps to

raise the warp yarns (PatentStorm).

In first step of the garment wash finish procedure, the denim fabric is lightly singed and scoured with

a blend of phosphate esters. Then, the fabric undergoes two types of washing- open-width and rope

washing. The objective of this step is to leave the right percentage of starch and other non-fibrous

materials on the fabric. This will ensure that the denim will have desirable hand and texture

(PatentStorm). Next, rope marks and creases are removed by drying the fabric while it is placedunder great tension. The fabric is then softened and lubricated by instruments known as wetters and

softeners. Finally, the fabric undergoes compressive shrinking, a process commonly known as

Sanforizing.RTM (PatentStorm). Once the fabric finishes the previous treatments, its warp yarns are

raised and finally ready to be abraded and crimped.

In order to crimp the surface fibers smoothly, a 9-roll T-Ralph sander and fine sandpaper are used.

This specific sander and paper will abrade the fabric "without making a napped or brushed type of

finish (PatentStorm)." After sanding, the denim fabric is pre-shrunk so that it will maintain its shape

and remain in the zero to two percent shrinkage range.

The invention of garment wash finishes for denim has had a vast impact on the textile industry.

Producing and manufacturing denim garments is no longer expensive or time-consuming. Not only

does this method help companies save money and make a profit, it also provides consumers with

better quality denim at a more affordable price.

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Works Cited

Dickson, Carol Anne. "Denim." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles

Scribner's Sons, 2005. 359-360. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. UNIV OF MISSOURI

COLUMBIA. 16 Sept. 2008

.

Kadolph, Sara J. Textiles. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007. 489.

"US Patent 4863775 - Garment wash finish for denim." PatentStorm. PatentStorm LLC. 16 Sept.

2008 .

By Lindsay Schallon

Garment Wash Finishes for Denim

Have you ever wondered how one style of jeans can be made into so many different colors and

washes? One of the answers to this question is garment washing which, according to Sarah J.

Kadolph in Textiles:10th Edition, is the process of dying or finishing a garment after the garment has

been cut and sewn together. When one waits until the product is sewn together it creates a faster

response to customer demands rather than dying or finishing each individual piece separately (390).

Most clothing items that you wear, especially denim products have been finished. This idea of

finishing means that it has gone under some process to alter or enhance it. This could mean what it

looks like, how it feels, or some way that it performs such as wrinkle resistance (Kadolph 330). Many

of the denim finishes that are done today are done so that your jeans look broken in, much like what

unwashed (dry denim) denim looks like after it has been worn many times. There are two main types

of garment washes for denim: mechanical and chemical (CampusCorner.com).

Chemical washes include denim bleaching, enzyme washing, and acid washing. Denim bleaching is

a way to discolor the denim in specific places. The severity of the bleaching depends on the strengthof the bleach, temperature, and length of time the treatment is on the denim. It is usually best for the

treatment to be strong and quick. Enzyme washing is an "environmentally friendly" wash for denim.

Organic enzymes are put onto the denim and eat away at the cellulose in the cotton. Enzyme

washing produces several effects such as making seams, pockets, and hems more noticeable and a

salt and pepper color (CampusCorner). "Enzymes have opened up new possibilities in denim

finishing by increasing the variety of finishes available," says Enzymeindia.com. They go on to list

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that it is now safer to fade denim even further without worrying about damaging the product and

create a larger range of colors in less time at less cost (Ezymeindia.com). The last chemical denim

wash is acid wash. A to Z Blue Jeans explains that this process is done by soaking pumice stones in

chlorine, some other type of chemical, and then tumbling the stones with the denim to create the

effect. By tumbling the stone soaked in the chemical it wears off the first layer of color on the jeansmaking them look faded in a random pattern and broken in (atozbluejeans.com).

Mechanical denim washes include stone washing and microsanding. Stone washing is similar to the

chemical washing process of the acid wash. Stone washing also uses stones that are tumbled with

freshly dyed denim. However stone washing does not require you to soak the stones in any

chemicals. The size, shape, and hardness of the stone determines on the look of the end product.

Although the end result is for a more worn in look, sometimes the jeans may be too worn in because

the metal buttons and rivets get damaged in the process. There are three types of microsanding:

sandblasting, machine sanding, and hand sanding. The sandblasting process is the most unique and

starts by sending a very abrasive substance through a nozzle at the denim at high speed and

pressure. This allows you to have a lot of control on what gets blasted and many different patterns

can come from this (CampusCorner). Machine sanding is done by using a machine similar to one

that you would use to sand down wood furniture in your home. This would be done to do a wider

area on the denim. Hand sanding is done with a fine grain sand paper by hand. This allows you to

be very precise on what gets sanded (StyleForum).

Although many different denim wash finishes were discussed, there are still many more and different

ways are still being researched and discovered today. The next time you put on a pair of denim

jeans, you will appreciate the multiple processes it went through.