An interesting question popped up in our community about raw denim which we wanted to explore in a post of its own.
There is an entire sub-culture surrounding raw denim. When you choose to make a pair of jeans out of raw denim, you’re not just making another item of clothing, you’re appreciating textile history and a long tradition of artisanal craftsmanship: you’re essentially creating a future heirloom.
Raw denim, in its true state, comes straight from the loom and hasn’t been pre-washed or pre-treated in any way. Generally raw denim is stiffer at first but has the potential to soften beautifully over time, a process that is often likened to breaking in a pair of leather boots. Raw denim has environmental creds: it’s tightly woven, which equals durability and longevity, and is less chemically processed than other denims. The charm of raw denim is that it can develop a unique fade pattern moulded to the wearer’s body.
For sewists like us who enjoy curating the entire process of a garment, raw denim can especially appeal because it serves as a blank slate which will evolve over to time to tell its own authentic story: it will bear the hallmarks of the wearer’s unique body shape and lifestyle habits–are you a mum with young kids who spends a lot of time kneeling on the floor to play building blocks? Those distinctive fade patches on the knees, crinkling behind the knees (called ‘honeycombs’) and creases around the crotch (called whiskers or hige) will be a hallmark to the time spend with your little one.
Handmade clothes tell the maker’s story and raw denim provides a wonderful canvas for artistic expression. But, this breaking in process can take months. And if you want to achieve high contrast fade patterns you’ll need to abstain from washing, which in the world of small kids, might be impractical! Frequent washing will result in a more even, all-over fade. Regardless of how often you wash them, always do it inside out and avoid fast spin cycles or tumble drying or you might end up with those annoying vertical crease lines.
Which leads us to shrinkage rates. Raw denim can shrink much more than pre-treated denim– up to 10% in length! This could equate to your finished garment ending up 2 sizes too small if you’re not careful. Shrinkage that significant Is going to require some serious pre-soaking or pattern adjustments to compensate. BUT! It’s also worth noting that most raw denim fabric isn’t truly ‘raw’.
The majority of ‘raw’ denims will have likely been pre-treated to minimise shrinkage. Enter 'Sanforization', a process which involves steaming to dampen the fibres making them ready to shrink, feeding the fabric between two hot rollers on a stretchy rubber belt and when the rubber contracts the fabric compacts and is dried to lock in the shrinkage. Sanforized denim will only shrink around 3% so it’s essential to know if your raw denim or sanforized or unsanforized before sewing your jeans.
If you’re unsure, make a 10x10cm test swatch to assess the shrinkage rate of your fabric's width and length. Here’s a table to help you figure out the percentages.
For further reading you can check out this fountain of knowledge: https://denimhunters.com/
Have you ever worked with raw denim? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!