The beauty and strength of denim accounts for it's popularity. Denim blue jeans shape to your body, slightly stretching for comfort. The indigo dye slowly fades revealing vintage looking blue jeans that are coveted by so many. And the ruggedness of the fabric makes for long lasting jeans. Denim for America has become a way of life. Comfortable and fun to wear, denim jeans dominate the marketplace in all colors and styles.
There are two types of twill fabrics, Left Hand Twills (LHTs) and Right Hand Twills (RHTs). The LHT weave runs diagonally from right to left in a northwesterly direction.
The RHT weave runs diagonally from left to right in a northeasterly direction. The main difference between the two is this: LHTs denims are softer (fluffier, so to speak) and RHTs denims are smoother and flatter (a more uniform surface texture). Why? Well, the Swift Denim experts explain it best...
1. Open End denim
The denim most people are familiar with is "Open End Denim". The term Open End Denim describes the yarn that is used to weave the denim. About 17 years ago, a process was developed that was more economical and produced a more consistent yarn thickness. For the jean purist, this denim is considered too refined and does not posses the unique character or strength of the denim of the past.
2. Ring Spun denim
This is the denim of the past. Ring Spun Denim is more rugged and is a less refined yarn. This yarn adds character to the denim because of the "slubs" running throughout the yarn. Slubs are tiny knots of cotton, and these slubs are found randomly throughout the yarn. All in all, ring spun is stronger and will last longer than normal Open End Denim.
Single Ring Spun Vs. Double Ring Spun
Q: What's the difference between Single Ring Spun denim and Double Ring Spun denim?
A: A denim's weave has yarn running both lengthwise and widthwise. Most Ring Spun Denims are woven with Ring Spun yarns running lengthwise and Open End yarns running widthwise, this is called a Single Ring Spun Denim. A Double Ring Spun Denim is made with pure ring spun yarns woven into the length and the width of the weave. Our Cheyenne fabric boasts Double Ring Spun qualities.
These types of denim are woven from smooth, uniform yarns. RHT denims are noted for their rugged durability.These denims consist of fluffier, softer yarns. Resulting in a luxurious hand uncomparable to any other. The best part about these denims is that they are not mechanically altered to attain this softness, which means they will last longer than jeans that have been brushed or stonewashed.
The fabric weight is also important. The weight of the denim is in ounces of fabric per yard. Most jeans are made out of a 12oz. denim, this is considered a medium-weight fabric. We offer jeans from 10oz. to 14 oz. (light-weight to heavy-weight) so you may select jeans that will be most comfortable in your climate, and you can order jeans to wear for different seasons.
Pure Indigo - The manner in which the fabric is dyed and finished is important to the color of the denim. Most people do not know this but sulfur is used in many indigo (dark blue) denims to help them fade faster after you buy them. However, sulfur makes faded jeans look slightly gray as they age. If you want a pure indigo color then select our "Pure Indigo" fabrics. These are fabrics made with pure indigo with no sulfur added. Jeans made from fabrics without sulfur added tend to fade slower, but when they do, you don't have a gray cast that makes some faded jeans look dirty.
Colored Denims - Our Monaco Collection and our Softline Collection are woven from colored yarns in both the length and the width. Jeans made from these fabrics will have a deep, lasting color that won't show any white at points of wear. We recommend washing your color jeans in cold water, so the color will last longer. It is inevitable that the color will gradually wash away. The color will lighten adding an aged look to the jeans. Our other color denim, Chino is woven with white yarns in the width giving a softer color that will wear through white, like indigo denim does.
If you are creating a pair of work jeans for everyday wear, choose a heavy-weight denim such as our Cheyenne and Old Rebel. Please see our recommendations for the type of denim that might be right for you.
Denim, because it is so durable, has the ability to be worn tightly. Tight jeans tend to hold parts of your body in place sometimes making your body look better than it is. Flattering jeans such as these stretch slightly adding a comfort factor without adding bagginess. If you want a pair of jeans like this we suggest the Neat Fit. They fit snugly without pinching or looking like they were painted on. However, we do not recommend choosing the Form Fitting for denim, they're really tight and take some time to stretch out to a comfortable fit (a day or more). This style is perfect for stretch denims and fabrics that we will be introducing at a later date. The Relaxed fit gives you roomier jeans, with no tightness anywhere and the loose fit are even more baggy.