-Akhil Tyagi Moumita Maity Neha Pandey Pulkit Mishra

Denim (which gets its name from the French town of Nmes (de Nmes)) is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two (twi- "double") or more warp threads. In a twill weave, the fabric is constructed by interlacing warp and filling yarns in a progressive alternation which creates a diagonal effect on the face, or right side, of the fabric and has a surface of diagonal parallel ridges. In some twill weave fabrics, the diagonal effect may also be seen clearly on the back side of the fabric. Due to the denim's right-hand twill construction, one color predominates on the fabric surface. Also, because of this way of weaving the threads to make the fabric, the fabric is very strong and durable.

Denim fabric is unique in it's connection with one color - blue. The blue, or indigo, yarn in denim fabric is the "warp thread" The white yarns are the filler thread or "weft thread". The warp yarn is traditionally dyed with the blue pigment obtained from indigo dye. Indigo was the most significant natural dye known to mankind until the introduction of synthetic dyes, at the end of the 19th century. The durability of indigo as a color and it's darkness of tone made it a good choice, when frequent washing was not possible. In 1890s, indigo was no longer needed synthetic dye processes were perfected.

The yarns have a very hard twist for durability, but this construction feature affects color also. The yarns are twisted so tightly that the indigo dye doesn't always penetrate, leaving the core of the fabric white. As the fabric abrades or wears away during use, the white cotton yarn surface appears, giving denims a lighter or medium blue color.

Contemporary or modern-day jeans are sometimes dyed in the fabric stage. These jeans have colored yarns in both directions and tend to retain their deeper color throughout the life of the garment.

 Most

jeans are made from 100% cotton or a blend of 50% cotton and 50% polyester. Other blends of cotton and polyester are available. Nylon is sometimes blended with cotton for reinforcement and durability. Spandex yarns are added for stretch and comfort.

 The

presence of cotton contributes absorbency and comfort. The fabric also tends to soften with wear and laundering, giving the feel of well-worn blue jeans.
contributes durability, stability or shrink resistance, and wrinkle resistance. Ease of care in laundering, as well as shorter drying times result from the presence of polyester fiber. Many dyes used with polyester are very stable and retain the rich blue/black color through repeated washings, more so than dyes used for 100% cotton.

Polyester

 Mechanical washes Stone wash Microsanding Sandblasting Machine sanding Hand sanding Chemical washes Denim bleach Enzyme wash Acid wash

MECHANICAL WASHES

In order to stone wash jeans, the original way, they are washed with pumice stones. Since the pumice stones have a rough surface they scrap off a layer on the denim so that some of the white threads from the cloth become more visible, causing the jeans to appear naturally worn. In the process of stone washing, freshly dyed jeans are loaded in washing machines with pumice stone or volcanic rock.

Stone-washing the denim with pumice stones has some disadvantages. This method is very hard on the denim fabric, as stones could cause wear and tear of the fabric, also it creates the problem of environmental disposition of waste of the grit produced by the stones.
High labor costs are to be borne as the pumice stones and their dust particles produced are to be physically removed from the pockets of the garments and machines by the laborers. Denim is required to be washed several times in order to completely get rid of the stones.

The process of stone-washing also harms big, expensive laundry machines.

Water pollution during disposal of used liqour.

A new process of stonewashing has been introduced called Perlite. Perlite is the form of naturally occurring silicon rock. It has the distinctive property of expanding to 4 to 20 times its initial volume when heated at a particular temperature.

This happens because the raw perlite rock consists of 2-6% of water content in it. The crude perlite rock when heated at the temperature above 870C, it gets swollen up and tiny glass sealed bubbles are formed.
Its original color which is black or gray changes to grayish white else white. This heated form of perlite is used for stonewash purpose. It gives throughout uniform worn out and old look to the denim.

A fabric finishing process where fabrics are sanded (real sandpaper) to make the surface soft without hair. Can be performed before or after dyeing. In this fabric treatment process, a series of cylindrical rolls in a horizontal arrangement, either wrapped with an abrasive paper or chemically coated with an abrasive are used to create a soft, sueded hand. The denim is pulled over the face of the sand rollers creating a raised surface finishing.

 There

are 3 ways for this technique:

Sandblasting Machine sanding Hand sanding or hand brushing

Based on blasting an abrasive material in granular, powdered or other form through a nozzle at very high speed and pressure onto specific areas of the garment surface to be treated to give the desired distressed/ abraded/used look.
Although the purpose of this is generally for aesthetics, this process also loosens the fibers in the denim, making the denim fit more comfortably and move more easily. However, it is very labor intensive to sand finish denim, therefore a pair of jeans that has been sand finished will usually be slightly more expensive than one that has not. It is a water free process therefore no drying required.

 Sandblasting

can be extremely damaging to workers health if performed without suitable protective equipment. The large amounts of silica dust generated during the process can cause silicosis, a potentially lethal pulmonary disease, as workers inhale of tiny particles of silica.

Control on the abrasion Different look on the garment can be achieved. All are dry process. Economical, ecological and environmental friendly.

Manual Brushing Machine

Robotic brushing machine

 Whiskering

Water jet fading Super stone wash Ice wash Thermo denim Laser technology finish

 Whiskering Crease lines around the crotch. Also used for 'knee

whiskers' (whiskers on the sides of knees) and 'honeycombs(crease marks on the back of the knee)
Water jet fading Hydrojet treatment involves exposing one or both

surfaces of the garment throughhydrojet nozzles.

Super stone wash Prolonged stonewashing, up to six hours or more. Ice wash Ice washing in denim fabrics is done to remove

more than half the dye during washing. Achieved by dry tumbling with pumice stones soaked with bleaching agents to produce a 'snow pattern effect on denim.

 Thermo

denim

Also called double denim. A

lightweight fabric (either plain, fancy or colored) is glued to the denim. The glue comes off after washing and the trousers look like they've been lined
Laser

technology finish

It is a computer controlled process

for denim fading. This technique enables patterns to be created such as lines and/or dots, images, text or even pictures. Also called spray painting in denims.

CHEMICAL WASHES

In this process, a strong oxidative bleaching agent such as sodium hypochlorite or KMnO4 is added during the washing with or without stone addition. Care should be taken for the bleached goods so that they should be adequately antichlored or after washed with peroxide to minimize yellowing. When desired level bleaching reached the time span available to stop the bleaching is very narrow. Due to harshness of chemical, it may cause damage to cellulose resulting in severe strength losses and or breaks or pinholes at the seam, pocket, etc.

 An

enzyme is a biological chemical compound that reduces complex organic compounds to simpler compounds. This is important to the enzyme wash because one of its main selling points is that it is different from other types of denim finishes because it is organic and non-harmful to the environment. A reason that enzyme washing is so ecologically friendly is the natural origins of enzymes biodegrade rather than lingering in the water supply in the environment

Enzymatic treatment ensures the same result with minimum amount of water, waste, time, volume and damage to machines.
Cellulase Treatment: As jeans are made up of cellulosic fibres, the use of cellulase enzyme is successful in giving the stone wash look. This enzyme breaks down the surface cellulose fibres and removes them without causing harm to the jeans.

In cellulase enzymatic wash, the denim is given an enzyme bath. Here certain amount of indigo dye and cellulose fibres are removed from the surface of the fabric. As enzymes are like yeast in nature, they eat the cellulose present in denims. When the jeans get the preferred colour, enzymatic reaction is stopped by changing the alkalinity of the bath or else the water is heated. Thereafter, the fabric undergoes rinsing and softening process. The number of rinsing process after enzymes treatment is less than pumice stonewashing. There is reduced amount of waste produced and overall costs for stone-washing is also less.

 Cellulase

enzyme is classified into two

classes:
Acid Cellulase: It works best in the pH range of

4.5-5.5 and exhibit optimum activity at 50. Neutral cellulase: It works best at pH 6 however its activity is not adversely affected in the range of ph 6-8 and show maximum activity at 55 C.

 An

acid wash finish treatment creates significant contrasts in the color of the denim material. As the randomly faded, acid washed style came into vogue in 1980s, the process of treating denim in such a way began to become increasingly refined.

 The

method uses salts hypochlorous acid, which are also known as hypochlorites. Sodium hypochlorite is the most commonly used salt and is created by taking sodium hydroxide solution passing chlorine into it. Another method exposes sodium chloride to electrolysis. The resulting solution of hypochlorites are used as bleaching agents in household cleaners, disinfectants, and especially in the textile industry due to the strength of their oxidizing and whitening properties.

In order to create the random, irregular, patched and shaded, acid wash look, the dry denim cloth is first bleached. The material is then put into a rotating drum in close proximity with granulated pumice soaked with the prepared hypochlorites. This process fades the cloth both chemically, through bleaching, as well as mechanically, as the rough granules scrapes the fiber. After tumbling together for some time, the granules are removed and the cloth is washed and dried in order to neutralize any left over hypochlorites. Acid washed, indigo dyed denim has a tendency to yellow after wet processing. The major cause is residual manganese due to incomplete neutralization, washing or rinsing.

 Rinse

wash Ozone fading Snow wash Flat finish Over dye Sun washing Super dark stone

 Rinse wash Chemically bleaching jeans so that the color fades

away Breaks down the fibers of jeans and creates white streaks or spots on denim
Ozone fading Bleaching of denim garment is done in washing

machine with ozone dissolved in water. Indigo dyestuff tends to fade or turn yellow due to ozone reaction.
Snow wash Denim treated with a variation of acid wash that

imparts bright white highlights

Flat finish An even wash down effect and very clean surface

originally by using liquid ammonia, but now by mercerization plus calendering processes to achieve the flat surface.

 Over

dye

Dyeing over the fabric or jeans to add another

tone of color Most often used is a 'yellowy' overdye to create a 'dirty' look
Sun

washing
dark stone

A very light shade by bleaching and stoning Looks as if the sun faded the fabric
Super

Commercial term for an extra dark indigo color.

Results from a double-dyeing technique

Teflon is part of advanced stain repellent technology that provides excellent protection against liquid spills and stains. Teflon, also known as Polytetrafluoroethyhlene, was discovered in 1938 by the DuPont Company in their Jackson laboratory and is at the forefront of stain resistant innovations.

The molecular make-up of chemicals binds around the individual cotton fibers instantly repelling oil and water based stains and releasing ground in dirt and natural stains during the laundering process. The molecules that make up Teflon are hydrophilic or water loving and they attract water and detergent into the fabric, liberating the stains into the wash leaving the fabric looking bright and clean. This new technology for repelling stains uses "nano-whiskers" that are adhered to the individual fibers and cause liquids to bead or roll off of the surface of the fabric. The stain does not adhere with the fibers and therefore soiling is minimal.

Storm Denim is a technology that was created to use as a garment finish on denim that would make the fabric water repellant. Water repellant apparel has already been heard of, however on those pieces of apparel water repellant technology has only been used as a fabric finish. This means that is was a chemical finish that was first applied and after that process may have gone through other garment finishing processes. The unique design of Storm Denim lets its technology be the last finish to the denim allowing it to show its features in its highest ability.

Inadequately organized garment sector Lack of technical Know How ,scarcity of trained labour , unavailability of superior machineries High dependency on manual operation affecting the production ,labour cost and quality standards Batch to Batch variations and garment to garment variations Poor process control ,prioritizing the cost over quality , low training imparted to workforce and poor quality standards been adopted . Requires technological knowledge and artistic skills Top Loading machines v/s Front loading machines in terms of utility consumptions Outsourced dry finishing v/s Inhouse dry finishing & Automation v/s manual operations Environmental issues recycling of waste water, recovery of Indigo Sampling v/s bulk dyeing and finishing

In todays scenario, most industries have done away with pumice stones and conventional sand blasting, all effects are achieved by appropriate recipes of chemicals and enzymes, in large laundering machines, followed by drying in powerful hydro extractors. Smoothening out the denims manually to imitate a human form with sandpaper after sewing is common practice. Brands carefully guard their recipes as trade secrets.

 http://pautextile.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/de

nim-washing-process/ http://blogspot.com/2010/09/swagger-bleachdenim-jacket.html http://katiechutzpah.blogspot.in/2010/05/marni -and-vivienne-westood-collaborate.html http://www.selectism.com/news/tag/teflon/ Project report on Denim Washes by Preston University