INDIGO
Indigo has a rich history within work clothes and uniforms. Because the dye needs to oxidise to turn blue, only the outer surface of indigo dyed yarn holds colour. When the fabric rubs against other surfaces during wear, the lower layers of undyed fibre are exposed, giving worn indigo fabrics their characteristic contrasting white and blue fades.
Tender’s 16oz blue-line selvage denim is produced in Japan from ring-spun unbleached American cotton, rope dyed with 25 dips of pure indigo. Complementing this fabric, the same indigo warp yarn is used to make smaller runs of original fabrics in the UK.
Cross Weave denims are refreshed by weaving at right-angles to a normal construction- the indigo yarn is used as the weft (across the fabric) rather than the more usual warp (along the length of the fabric). As the weaving setups used here do not follow normal denim practices, garments cut from these cloths will develop unique character as they are are worn and washed – even more than a standard denim.
Because it has not been pre-skewed, indigo yarn used for knitted garments unwinds with washing, causing the clothing to twist like a well worn pair of jeans.
