Textile and Apparel Science

Characterizing Denim Shrinkage

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Abstract

The fit of denim jeans is a recurring problem. Fit is controlled by specifying garment dimensions, but it is difficult to consistently manufacture jeans with the correct dimensions. An experiment was conducted with three denim fabrics and four washes. The purpose of this study was to understand denim shrinkage using loglinear variance models with fabric and wash as mean and variance effects. The goal was to aim for a target dimension (32 inch waist) with minimum variability (+/-0.5 inches). Past fit studies used fixed effects models. However, those models do not minimize the variance and mean simultaneously. The 100% cotton fabric treated with a rinse was the least likely to present quality control issues while the cotton/polyester bi-blend fabric with cold bleach posed issues in both the warp and fill directions. One production suggestion is to wash a bi-blend product with cold bleach before cutting due to the variance.

Keywords: Denim, Shrinkage, Loglinear Variance, Product Quality

How to Cite:

Weispfenning,, D., Rothenberg, L., Khairnar, A. & Hergeth, H., (2022) “Characterizing Denim Shrinkage”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15979