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This feature is a part of the five technical article-series by Apparel Resources in which A&E and Gütermann talks about how to optimise seam performance on denim.
Selecting the proper thread for denim garments is very important to minimise sewing and seam performance issues. There is an old saying – Thread only makes up a small percent of the cost of the finished product … but shares 50 per cent of the seam responsibility.
A typical pair of adult-size jeans will have threads ranging from 200 to 250 yards in them depending on the seam construction. Most major jeans manufacturers have experimented with different thread types to reduce cost but they have found that corespun threads give the best overall performance. Jeans makers put their products through various wash processes after manufacturing and some of these processes can be very harsh. The cost of these wash processes can be from 75 cents to US $ 3 per jeans depending on the chemicals, stones, enzymes and process time required. The amount of thread used in a jeans typically costs between 25-30 cents, while the wash-process can cost up to US $ 3 per jeans.
Therefore, the thread must be able to withstand all of these processes and hold the seams together for the life of the garment. When we talk about sewing denim, there are four key issues that need to be considered:
1) What is the weight of the denim?
2) How much length of topstitching thread is required?
3) What finishing procedures will the jeans be subjected to?
4) What quality issues need to be addressed?
With these questions answered, the factories will be able to produce jeans that meet the requirements for today’s variety in denimwear. From a basic 5-pocket jeans to the most creative pair of high-fashion jeans, the sewing plant can produce the desired quality for each.
The thread of choice used by most quality denim garment manufacturers for topstitching and stress seams include:
CORESPUN THREADS
Core threads are made by spinning a wrap of cotton or polyester staple around a bundle of continuous filament polyester fibres to form a yarn and then two or more of these yarns are twisted together to form a corespun thread. Generally, the core makes...