Weave - Fabrics are woven with interlacing yarns. The yarns interlace at 90 degree angles. The filling yarns are the ones that run across the width of the fabric, and the warp yarns run the length of the fabric. Traditional indigo denims are made with white filling yarns and indigo warp yarns. When jeans fade you are actually seeing the white yarns show through the indigo yarns. The type of fabric weave depends on the way the yarns interlace. Denim, a type of fabric, is technically a twill weave. If you look closely at a pair of your jeans you can see the pattern (diagonal lines) created from the weave of the fabric. These diagonal lines are the pattern of the twill weave. There are two types of twill weaves, a left hand twill and a right hand twill.

LHT - The LHT, left hand twill, weave runs diagonally from right to left in a northwesterly direction. Denims made from a LHT are softer, fluffier fabrics.

RHT - The RHT weave runs diagonally from left to right in a northeasterly direction. RHT denims are smoother and flatter which is a more uniform surface texture.

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.

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 are found randomly throughout the yarn. 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.

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.