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Fashion & Textiles vocabulary · Fibres & Fabrics

Denim

Meaning in fashion & textiles, with examples

/ˈdenɪm/nounCore term

In fashion & textiles, denim means: A strong cotton twill fabric, traditionally with indigo-dyed warp yarns and white weft yarns, used mainly for jeans and jackets.

In Turkish: denim, kot kumaşı

How it is used

Denim is described by weight in ounces, stretch, colour (rinse, mid blue, light blue, black) and finish. Raw denim is unwashed; selvedge denim is woven on traditional shuttle looms. Washing and laundry processes give jeans their final look.

Example sentences

  1. We're using a 12 oz rigid denim for the straight-leg jeans.

  2. The denim mill can offer a version with 20% recycled cotton.

Common collocations

  • stretch denim
  • raw denim
  • selvedge denim
  • denim wash
  • denim mill
  • cottonA soft natural fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, and the yarn or fabric made from it; the most widely used natural fibre in clothing.
  • weaveThe pattern in which the lengthwise warp yarns and crosswise weft yarns are interlaced in a woven fabric, such as plain, twill or satin.
  • wovenMade by crossing two sets of yarns at right angles on a loom, which usually gives a firm fabric with little natural stretch, like denim or poplin.
  • topstitchingA row of stitching sewn on the right side of a garment, close to a seam or edge, for decoration or to keep the seam flat.

More terms: Fibres & Fabrics

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