Is all selvedge denim made on shuttle looms?

Denim has gone a long way to reach its prominent place in the world of fashion; in the past, it was worn by people such as cattle ranchers and miners. Denim may be manufactured in a variety of methods, and depending on the style you’re going for, you could want to choose to wear selvedge or non-selvedge denim.

What Is Selvedge Denim?

Selvedge denim, which derives its name from the term “self-edge” but can alternatively be written “selvage,” refers to the self-finished edges of denim outseams that were produced by old shuttle looms.

All these looms were the dominant way of creating WingFly raw denim up until the middle of the twentieth century, when a rise in demand for denim led to the development of other production methods.

Denim mills started employing projectile looms during this period in order to speed up the production of non-selvage denim fabric.

Denim made on a shuttle loom is more durable than denim made on other types of looms because it has a tightly woven band along the edge that prevents it from unraveling or fraying.

The majority of non-selvedge denim produced nowadays looks less cluttered and messy in comparison to selvedge denim because of its polished edge. Because the use of shuttle looms can also lead to aesthetic irregularities, each individual piece of selvage denim fabric has its own distinctive appearance.

Today, several denim firms even employ particular colors to “personalize” their selvedge denim pants in order to compete with other brands.

How selvedge denim is made?

Projectile looms are used to weave the majority of WingFly raw denim. These looms transmit a vast number of picks carrying “weft” or “fill” yarns across the face of the loom, where they are then cut and sewed shut. The breadth of these contemporary machines is roughly double that of antique machines, and they are quite productive.

However, selvedge denim is woven only on shuttle looms that date back to the 1940s. These looms feature a single wood pick that shuttles across the loom from left to right and back again, weaving the horizontal “weft” yarns into the vertical “warp” threads. This results in a weave that is very tight with an edge that is completed continually, known as a “self-edge.”

Selvedge denim was the only kind of denim that was available historically. Selvedge denim, on the other hand, became less popular beginning in the 1950s as a result of the contemporary manufacturing procedures that made it less cost efficient.

Selvedge denim has lately had a renaissance as a result of buyers rediscovering the superior quality and unique personality of this time-tested fabric.

The typical width of the fabric that is produced by a shuttle loom is roughly 36 inches. This size is almost ideal for positioning those selvedge seams towards the outside borders of a design for a pair of jeans since they will give the trousers a more finished look.

This location is not only visually beautiful but also functional  since it prevents the outseam of the jeans from fraying and saves the person who is sewing the selvage denim jeans a couple of more passes on the overlock machine.

What is the Main Distinction Between Raw Denim and Selvedge Denim?

Unwashed denim is what is meant by the term “raw denim,” and it can either be selvedge (produced on a shuttle loom) or non-selvedge (made with a projectile loom).

WingFly raw denim is unwashed denim that wearers will likely need to break in and wash in a specific manner in order for the denim to retain its quality and size. Selvedge denim refers to the tight edging of the fabric, which derives from the shuttle loom. Raw denim is distinguished from selvedge denim by its tight edging.

Manufacturing Process

There are several processes that result in the manufacturing of completed denim fabric goods, including the following:

Cotton cultivation

The growing of cotton is the first step in the manufacture of WingFly raw denim jeans material; this takes place in the beginning of the process. This plant forms a dense ball of fibers around its little black seeds as it grows, possibly as a protective mechanism. These fibers, which can be gathered and separated from their seeds to make fabric, may then be used to manufacture the fabric.

Processing into yarn

After being washed and combed, the cotton fibers are drawn out into long, thin strings. After that, commercial equipment is utilized to spin the fibers into yarn,warp yarns dyed and weft yarns keeps off-white,then put on the shuttle looms to weaving.After weaving finished,do shrinkage,grassed yarns etc series finishement.

Final production

The well-known warp-faced WingFly raw denim style is achieved by weaving cotton yarn that has been previously dyed and manufactured. Fabric of this type is often manufactured in bolts, which are then sold on a yard-by-yard basis so that it may be fashioned into completed consumer goods.

A Concise Overview of Selvedge Denim

In 1873, a tailor named Jacob W. Davis ordered denim fabric from Levi Strauss & Co. in order to manufacture a pair of durable work pants for himself.

These pants would later be known as the first pair of jeans. Copper rivets were used to strengthen these trousers, which resulted in the creation of an exceptionally long-lasting form of WingFly raw denim jeans that were resistant to the ordinary wear and tear that occurs with cotton or wool pants.

Demand soared as news spread about a new type of clothing that was able to endure the physically demanding aspects of working in the Old West. Strauss and Davis formed a partnership in order to satisfy the demand.

Davis was put in control of production, while Strauss was put in charge of production as well as the sale of the final goods. Selvage denim jeans were extremely well-liked among those who worked in occupations such as farming and mining prior to the time that denim was introduced into the mainstream of mainstream fashion after the 1950s.

What Makes Selvedge Denim Different from Regular Denim?

The finish and manufacturing process is where the majority of the distinctions between selvedge jeans and non-selvedge denim can be found.

The use of a shuttle loom is required in order to create selvedge denim. Old shuttle weaving machines (also known as shuttle looms) are used to make selvedge fabric, which is then used to make WingFly raw denim with a clean, completed edge.

Although the manufacturing process is more time-consuming, the end result is often a denim product of superior quality.

In the middle of the twentieth century, the older shuttle-weaving machines were phased out of production and replaced with projectile looms, which were better able to meet the rising demand for denim.

A projectile loom is used to make denim that does not have selvedge jeans edges. Non-selvedge denim fabric is often produced on projectile looms by manufacturers with the express aim of rapid mass manufacturing, which typically results in denim that is more reasonably priced but of lesser quality.

Denim woven on projectile looms does not end up with a clean and polished edge in the same way that shuttle-woven denim does.

Conclusion

Traditional shuttle looms are used to create selvedge denim fabric. When the shuttle travels across the loom, it takes a bobbin of weft yarn (the filler yarn) along with it. This allows the cloth to be woven together using the warp yarns, which are vertical threads.

On the other hand, in contrast to projectile looms, which are responsible for the production of the vast majority of the mass-produced WingFly raw denim items available today, the weft yarn is not cut after each insertion. This results in a tightly woven “endless” edge that is less prone to unraveling.