So What is Selvedge Denim, Anyway?

So what exactly is selvedge denim? An honest question, one that we get asked a lot in store. Often, we get so carried away with the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of our favourite mills and makers that we forget to address the basics. Consider this our attempt to remedy that with our very own Rivet & Hide beginner’s guide to selvedge denim.

It’s not an exhaustive guide, by any means. But it should serve as a handy primer for the curious and the confused alike. So read on for our easy-reading guide to the science of selvedge denim.

Let’s start with the word “denim”. In its purest and most basic form, denim is a hardy and hard-wearing cotton twill fabric. It’s made up of criss-crossing warp and weft threads, with the indigo-dyed weft typically passing under two natural warp threads. This twill weave structure is important; it produces denim’s instantly recognisable, cross-hatched texture and reassuringly robust hand. It’s also one of the main factors in denim’s unique fading potential.

The term “selvedge” is a portmanteau of “self” and “edge”. It refers to the narrow, white, self-finished band on either edge of a run of denim fabric. This self-edge, or selvedge is what stops the denim fabric from unravelling once it's woven. These finished edges meet at the outseam of a pair of denim jeans. They are typically placed on display by denim enthusiasts with a penchant for cuffing their jeans.

Selvedge was originally left white, but years of denim production saw the addition of coloured yarns - traditionally red - to the selvedge line. This was to aid with identifying higher quality denim. Over the years, this ‘selvedge ID’ has become both a marker of quality and an identifier of particular brands and denim mills. A mark of pride in both production and provenance. 

You can see the ways contemporary denim brands like Samurai, Momotaro, and 3sixteen have chosen to flex their fabric credentials with subtle (and not so subtle) selvedge ID modifications with silver lamé threads, double red lines, and peach pink accents respectively.

Selvedge denim is woven in small quantities using traditional shuttle looms. The shuttle loom process is relatively simple: the weft yarn is loaded into a wooden shuttle that is fired horizontally back and forth across the warp. This process weaves the denim and creates a self-sealed edge along the length of the fabric. This is where selvedge denim gets its name.

Old-school and downright artisanal by today’s standards, authentic vintage shuttle looms are in very short supply. Those still in operation produce extremely small amounts of narrow fabric. Many of our Pure Blue Japan and Studio D’Artisan jeans are woven using original G3 Toyoda looms - some of the very first looms to be used in Japan.

Raw denim refers to denim that is unwashed and untreated after the dying process. While regular denim is often subject to washing and distressing in order to give it an already worn-in look, raw denim lets you do the legwork yourself. Think of raw denim as a blank canvas - free to fade and evolve in its own unique way over time. No two pairs of raw denim will ever look the same.

Unlike most mass-market jeans, our selection of raw denim is typically rope dyed. Much like the shuttle loom process, rope dyeing is a slow, laborious method of adding indigo hues to your jeans. The yarn is twisted into ropes before being quickly dipped into baths of indigo dye. The yarn is then given time to dry out before being dipped again, and again, and again. The brief but repeated contact between yarn and dye allows the indigo to accumulate on the surface of the fabric whilst leaving the white core intact. With wear, this surface colour fades away to reveal the pure white centre, producing the beautiful, high-contrast fades for which selvedge is so well known.

While cheaper methods of dyeing, such as vat dyeing, can be done on a mass scale to provide a deep, characterless saturation of the yarn, rope dying is strictly small-batch. It works in tandem with the natural charm of the yarn itself to create denim of exceptional quality and character.

The primary difference between selvedge denim and regular denim lies in its quality and relative rarity. This isn’t to say that selvedge denim is an automatic guarantee of quality, though. Selvedge denim can be, and has been, mass produced with the help of modern manufacturing.

Both the vintage shuttle looming and rope dyeing processes are, however, strictly small-batch, hands-on affairs. They require the utmost skill, care, and attention from makers who are meticulous in their craft. This meticulousness can be found along every step of the denim making process, from the selection of the cotton, to the denim weaving, to the final finishings and flourishes. The result is a denim of exceptional character and quality that simply could not be replicated on a mass market scale. 

This low-yield, slow-pace method is what gives selvedge denim much of its allure. It’s harder to produce and so speaks to a more considered way of making and wearing clothes. These old-school, tried-and-tested methods of production create a workhorse of a fabric that only gets better with age. Stiff and unyielding at first, raw selvedge denim softens and moulds to the wearer’s shape over time.

The vast majority of the selvedge denim here at Rivet & Hide is sourced from Japan for the simple fact that Japan the very best at what they do. Japan’s Okayama prefecture in particular is famed for producing what can justly be considered the Single Malt Scotch of selvedge denim. Shuttle loomed and expertly constructed to go the distance, Okayama denim adheres to age-old, small-scale methods of production and champions an attention to detail that borders on obsessive.

Okayama’s denim mills pursue a level of quality and craftsmanship that’s quite unheard of in today’s fast fashion market. Their makers are driven by a low-and-slow philosophy, producing garments that will not only go the distance, but will look all the better for it.

History, geography, and the intricacies of shuttle loom production aside, selvedge denim offers a celebration of the craft and mastery that goes into the production of the garments we wear day in, day out. Rivet & Hide is proud to be a part of that celebration, and we’re happy to bring you our own, curated selection of some of the finest Japanese selvedge around.

Shop our selvedge denim collection.