Plate No. 023 · fabric

Denim

Denim is a warp-faced cotton twill: an indigo warp floats over three white weft picks and under one, so the face reads deep blue while the underside stays pale. That construction explains nearly everything people like about denim, from the diagonal wale to the way it fades, since abrasion wears the indigo off the crowns of the floats and exposes the white core of the yarn. The cloth took its name from Nîmes and its fame from the riveted work trousers of the American West.