Jeans are made from woven cotton fabric, and there are many different weaving techniques to achieve different expressions and qualities in the weave. In this post we will try to explain a little about which weaving techniques are common for denim fabric.
Typical of jeans is that they are woven using the technique known as twill in Norwegian, which results in the fabric twill.
Twill and twill
Twill is a weaving technique that moves the binding point for each weft. This creates a weave that looks like it is slanted. It is the direction in which the weave is slanted that determines whether it is "right hand twill" or "left hand twill".
This way of weaving gives the fabric elasticity without the fabric containing elastin or other stretch materials. A straight weave will resist your movements to a greater extent and will therefore be less comfortable, will mold less to your body and will wear out faster. In addition, when it does wear out, it will unravel more easily.
Levi's, Lee and Wrangler
Whether you like the weave to be slanted to the right or left is mostly a matter of taste. While Levi's weaved to the right, Lee chose to weave theirs to the left. The third iconic brand, Wrangler, chose to weave theirs in both directions, broken twill, and thus got a third expression.
It's not easy to switch jeans brands when there are such distinct differences in the weave. Switching from Lee to Wrangler is like switching football teams in the middle of the season - completely impossible!
