Denim sanforization

[mintonsport]

Does the sanforization process have anyting to do with indigo? That is, if a raw selvage jean is non-sanforized, will the indigo bleed all over one's legs if worn rigid? I have a pair of Nudie raw selvage that I've worn for months, with no indigo bleeding. Just wondering if the LVC selvage rigids will bleed if worn rigid, as they are non-sanforized.

thx

[b e]

what does 'worn rigid' mean?

[ringring]

Sanforizing is just a method to stabilise shrinkage. Sanforized jeans are basically pre-shrunk rather than shrink to fit. It has little bearing on the indigo bleeding or not.

[The Norwegian Vote]

As Ringring writes, sanforization is a mechanical process to shrink the jeans where the cloth go through huge rubber cylinders, and the cloth is then fixated to keep the shrinked form. Nearly all jeans are sanforized except shrink-to-fit jeans. The sanforizing process does not affect the color or any other aspect of the denim.

If there aren't any dumb questions, does stupid people get smart just in time to ask a question?

[ringring]

Actually sanforization is quite rare these days.

The reason is that most people buy jeans that have been pre-washed. So all the shrinkage takes place in the industrial laundry. So sanforizing would be a waste of time and an unnecessary extra cost.

[The Norwegian Vote]

Hmm...are you sure? Don't most premium jeans brands sanforize the jeans anyway? I was under the impression that unsanforized jeans would shrink anyways when washed at home even though they are washed in industrial laundries? I suppose I could be wrong about that one, but I do know that at least a lot of the premium jeans brands sanforize jeans.

æLÆn

If there aren't any dumb questions, does stupid people get smart just in time to ask a question?

[ringring]

Yeah I'm sure.

Have a think about it. Sanforization takes place when the denim fabric is being finished, it's an extra cost in both time and money.

When jeans are washed in an industrial laundry, they may go through several wet washes (eg, stone, enzyme, neutralizing, rinse wash etc..) as well as dried in big industrial heated tumblers. These washes will shrink the jeans, just like if you put them into your machine at home. (and probably more so, as washes can be longer and more severe ).

So it would be a waste of money to buy sanforized denim if the pre-shrinking was done in the laundry. You'd be paying for something to be pre-shrunk twice.

Unsanforized jeans will shrink at home if they are made from 'dry' denim (unwashed) or to a smaller extent one-wash denim (which has usually undergone just a brief cool rinse - so shrinkage hasn't fully taken place).

A light coloured, heavily washed pair of jeans will hardly shrink at all when you wash them at home. Note that even sanforized jeans will shrink a little in the wash (usually under 3%).

Does that make sense?

[moreno]

Dear Friends,

I would like to clarify the sanforization process.

Most of all denim fabrics ( made in Europe ) are sanforized today( pre-shruked ), this is because when you buy a pair of jean, it will not shrink anymore after your home washes.

If you buy a pair of raw denim no-sanforised (it rerefers to few japanese looms )after your home washes it will shrink about 20-30%, with all the fitting and look consequences.

If you buy a pair of raw denim sanforized, after your home washes it will shrink not more than 3-4%.

If you buy a pair of whased jeans, it will not shrink anymore.

Ciao

Moreno

[jdavis]

as well, i think its important to remember that sanforization as such isn't a process at all, but rather a set of industry standards governing preshrinking (owned by Cluett and Peabody). If a jean is sanforized the design team has to pay licensing fees to use the name - thats another reason why it isn't really done anymore.

[Phrederick]

Could anyone explain exactly what happens in the sanforization process? How does it shrink the fabric?

[wild_whiskey]

ringring, it doesn't make logical sense to me that most companies do not sanforize their jeans. If they didn't sanforize them, all the jeans you'd see in stores would have twisted seams, no?

[moreno]

It Is a mechanic process.

The denim roll it goes, in the end of the process, between two rubber roll which are running in the opposite direction then the fabric.

[ringring]

Quote:

ringring, it doesn't make logical sense to me that most companies do not sanforize their jeans. If they didn't sanforize them, all the jeans you'd see in stores would have twisted seams, no?

--- Original message by wild_whiskey on Sep 10, 2005 01:06 PM

JDavis hit it on the head. Sanforizing is a licensed technology that controls shrinkage to a very high degree (real Sanforizing almost eliminates shrinkage). Most modern denims are stabilised (ie pre-shrunk) in some manner, but the shrinkage control may not be rigorous as the Sanforizing technique. This is because most companies do not need to reach the standards of real Sanforizing, because it would be an expensive cost to add to a garment that would be pre-washed before it reached the customer.

For example, you could stabilise a denim so that the shrinkage was only 5%. This would not meet the standards set by Sanforization, but would be cheaper and easily controllable enough to eliminate problems in jeans production.

You could make an analogy with Goretexâ„¢. It's the most famous gas permeable fabric technology out there - but there are many other makes of gas permeable coatings and laminates that do a similar job, (maybe not as good) without having to pay for the Goretex certification.

Does that make sense?

Edited by ringring on Sep 10, 2005 at 01:26 PM

[wild_whiskey]

Yes, it makes sense, but I knew that much - I assume when most people are referring to sanforizing, they are talking about any method of stretching the denim to combat shrinkage/twisting. I thought you were saying that most denim makers do not do anything to combat shrinkage - they just pre-wash them, which didn't make sense to me because if you did nothing, the seams would be twisted.

[sir_tantrist]

does anybody know why wavy selvages appear after sanforization...and is there any technic to solve this problem while the denim goods is sanforizing?