This is how jeans are made

There is an extensive production process behind each garment in a shop. In the series “From the needle to the thread”, Fashionunited speaks with an expert: inside about how everyday clothing and accessories are created. This time: the production of jeans, explains from Imogen Nulty-Verstraeten.

Nulty-Verstraeten is an experienced denim specialist: in more than 18 years of experience in design, development and merchandising in the casualwear, men’s fashion and denim industry. At Scotch & Soda she led the denim department for over 13 years. It is active in the Denim community, including via the Future Fits Forum on the Kingpins Show in Amsterdam and as a co-founder of the Denim Deal. She has been a design manager since February 2025: in Pepe Jeans.

This is how jeans are made

There is a lot of care and attention to produce good jeans, emphasizes Imogen Nulty-Rstretet: “You need a lot of quality control points-when weaving, washing the fabric, when sewing and finally trying on different body types. Good communication with the supplier is crucial. If everyone is on a line and track the same quality standards, you get a nice end.

Large brands often have an internal technical team. At Pepe Jeans, for example, we have a team of specialized cutting makers: inside that deal full -time with fit and sizes. This is really a luxury and makes an enormous difference.

For fashion -conscious consumers: inside it is important to read how denim products are made. It is good to take care of the origin of the materials on the washing label by default. If you cannot find any information on the product, business or on the website, this is often not a good sign.

Incidentally, the country of production doesn’t say everything. The main thing is how something is made, not where. Of course, some countries are known for their quality – like Japan or Italy – but even there things can go wrong. It completely depends on how much attention is paid to the process.

The weaving of the yarn

Everything starts with the fabric. The base material for jeans is mostly cotton. This cotton is spun into yarn and the yarns are then woven into fabric. A: E clothing manufacturer: In the case of selected supplier: inside: inside.

As a rule, the fabric consists of two types of yarns: an indigo-colored yarn (the chain) and a white yarn (the shot), which together form the typical denim fabric. The structure, color and the type of tissue can vary.

The fabric arrives on large roles and must first be ‘relax’ – in other words, rolled out and ventilated. This helps to avoid shrinkage and deformation when cutting. Each role can be something different: in color, yarn or shrink percentages.

Cut and sew

After relaxing, the fabric is stacked in layers and digitally or by hand tailored to individual parts of the pants – such as the legs, the waistband, the bags, the bags, etc. Each section receives a label so that the employees: Inside in the factory you know what you need to do.

Then all these individual parts go to the sewing department. There they are composed by workers: inside, each specializing in a certain activity: one person puts on the pockets, someone else makes the pants slit and another person attaches the waistband. In small factories, a person sometimes takes several steps, but in larger factories the process is often divided into an efficient workflow.

The dry and wet treatments

After sewing, the ‘dry’ process, such as rubbing or attaching signs of wear, comes. In the past, this often happened by hand, for example with sandpaper on a window of a shop.

Some factories are now very progressive. They imitate the effect of worn denim, without water or chemicals. For one of our suppliers: Inside in Tunisia, a robot hangs the jeans, uses a laser to create effects, and put them back on the assembly line – fully automatic.

This is followed by the ‘wet’ process: washing. Chemical treatments such as bleaching or the use of potassium perpetrators make the jeans brighter. Stonewashing – in which pumice stones are literally added to the wash cycle – is the traditional way of producing a lighter color. Nowadays, these stones are often replaced by more environmentally friendly alternatives.

In the past, up to 7,000 liters of fresh water were sometimes used for jeans. Nowadays, this water can be recycled and cleaned in special systems within the factory. You can’t drink it, but it can be reused in the next production process.

There are now alternative methods that no longer use water or chemicals, such as e-flow technology-in air instead of water-or ozone machines that clean denim without harmful substances.

The manufacturers: remain innovative inside, especially in the area of ​​sustainability and efficiency. Companies such as Jeanologia and Tonello are pioneers: inside in sustainable washing and finishing techniques. They are constantly looking for new paths to make the production process less stressful for the environment.

Last step: refinement and packaging

After washing, the jeans are checked well. Any errors are then fixed. Then all extras are added, such as labels, rivets, buttons and the leather or jacron patch on the back. These details are only attached after washing so that they are not damaged during the washing process. Finally, the jeans are properly packed. “