Seven senses :The Handwoven Denim

THE HERITAGE

– Craftsmanship is the quality and expertise of design in products made by hands –
India is home to the world’s most hand-skilled artisans and has a rich textile heritage. The diversity of India’s textile crafts ranges from natural dyeing through hand embroidery to block printing. One of these indigenous techniques is the mastery of India’s traditional “Khadi” fabric.
Traditional Khadi is hand-spun and hand-woven – a human process in which all senses work together. The quality difference of a thread that is formed between two finger tips epitomises a fabric’s unique character and identity. Khadi fabric can be recognised and distinguished from the uniform look of machine-made fabric by its irregularity in the warp and/ or weft; a characteristic effect resulted from the artistry of hand-spinning. Apart from its rich texture and striking simplicity, Khadi has a fascinating story –  it was central to Gandhi’s movement in the early 1920’s when a social & financial empowerment movement was begun by re-introducing the Khadi tradition in India.

THE VALUE OF TIME

The craftsmanship of hand-spinning happens in villages in North India where a few hundred artisans are involved in the process, majority of whom are women. Yarns are hand-spun and hand-crafted on box Chakras as well as NCK Chakras. Counts vary from 200 to 25, and 2 ply to 8 ply. Artisans who are skilled in hand-weaving live in villages in West Bengal and Bihar, which around 10-30 weavers and 1 master weaver are involved in the process. Weaving is performed on pit looms and constructions can vary from 1×1, 2×1, and 3×1, with weights from 3 oz to 17 oz.
The art and craft of hand-dyed natural Indigo Denim is an intense process
where hanks need to be dipped several times to define the right colour shades.
Those who experience hand-dyed Denim understands the difference
through the slow but much more beautiful fade.
A minimum of 10 spinners are required to support a single hand-operated loom.
64,000 meters of yarn needs to be spun for 3 meters of fabric.
It takes 1 to 2 days for the threading of the loom.
9 hours of hand weaving on a wooden loom equals 2 meters of selvedge denim fabric.
As a final step, finishing of the fabric is done in Bhagalpur. The fabric is first washed with natural soap nuts, after which the fabric can be finished in different ways by 3 skilled artisans:
‘Loom-state one dip’: the fabric is soaked for one night in water.
‘Calendered’: the fabric passes through two steel rolls.
‘Kundi’: is a traditional Indian method where the fabric is hammered meter by meter with a wooden mace.
To highlight the cultural and historical identity of our Social Chain,
we offer upon request silver or golden recycled Zari threads that can be woven into the selvedge of our denim fabrics.
Such human process puts a limit on production capacity, but at the same time enhances the exclusivity of every meter of the fabric. With its rich texture and personality, Seven Senses Handwoven Denim fabrics have delicate detailing and are unique for human touch.

http://www.sevensensesfabrics.com/

Alec Wagner - Womens-japanese-selvedge-denim-shirts.

About this project
Premium selvedge denim and chambray shirts for women at a reasonable price, this is the project that is near and dear to us. 
5.5 oz. Selvedge Chambray Workshirt
5.5 oz. Selvedge Chambray Workshirt
Selvedge Chambray Workshirt
Selvedge Chambray Workshirt
7.5 oz. Denim Western Shirt
7.5 oz. Denim Western Shirt
Denim Western Shirt
Denim Western Shirt
 The Details:
Chambray Collar
Chambray Collar
Front Chambray Placket
Front Chambray Placket
Chambray Cuff and Side Gusset
Chambray Cuff and Side Gusset
Denim Collar
Denim Collar
Mother of Pearl Buttons
Mother of Pearl Buttons
Denim Cuff
Denim Cuff
The Alec Wågner Tote!
The Alec Wågner Tote!
Risks and challenges
We have a passion and love for well made selvedge denim; we're fascinated by its enriched history that it holds, its timeless style, and its ability to hold up to years of wash and wear.   
Alec Wågner began with a simple realization; premium selvedge denim shirting for women at a reasonable cost was almost non-existent. We were frustrated! There are endless options for men at all price ranges but not for women. That's why we've created perfectly tailored shirts from the finest Japanese selvedge fabrics. We've worked hard on the fit so that it flatters a woman's figure but keeps the classic look and structure of a vintage shirt.
Some technical tid bits:
Our selvedge denim and chambray shirts are made from sanforized (pre-shrunk) fabric. We've also rinse washed them at our factory to ensure that they will not shrink when you wash them at home  Both shirts are sewn using 13 SPI (stitches per inch) to ensure the seams will stay together for years to come. With that high of an SPI you won't have to worry about seams unraveling, we've made these shirts to last.                                                                                                 
The denim shirt is made from a 7.5oz, 2x1 right hand twill from the Japanese Mill Kuroki.
The chambray shirt is made from a 5.5oz plain weave from the Japanese Mill Kuroki 
 The Funds: All money raised will go to production of our first line of shirts. All our fabrics, buttons, threads, labels, hangtags, and factories are lined up and ready to go.  All we need is the capital to get started.
Once funded, we will be able to expand our line in to multiple fits and washes.  Eventually we will offer a full line of affordable premium denim apparel for women.
Risks & Challenges:
With any apparel production endeavor there is always a risk of quality control and delays.
We've mitigated these risks by completing every step of the design process ourselves, along with ensuring we've picked the most reputable mills and factories the world has to offer. We've made all our sample shirts, had them shipped, and wear tested to ensure the best quality.
Between our seven years of apparel design and production experience in high end denim companies, we are ready to tackle any issue production might throw our way.

Denim Lovers & Jeans admirers, do support this promising project at kickstarter.com 
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/143721365/alec-wagner-womens-japanese-selvedge-denim-shirts

I Have Found The One Whom My Soul Loves !



Hi Guys!


It been sometime that i updated the blog, i was a bit caught up for obvious reasons!  I had my wedding to prepare for. 

It was a busy one month for me, but finally i'm married to the most beautiful girl i had ever known , my partner in crime with whom i had shared fun moments, ups & downs ...   for 10 years. We had a great one month of family gatherings, dinners and customs to be part of. I feel really happy to share our wedding shoot with everybody, all the denim lovers & my dear friends. Wish both of us good luck.  

Yes i will be back with my blogging very soon.  Love you guys ! 

I would like to quote : 

“You don’t marry one person; you marry three: the person you think they are, the person they are, and the person they are going to become as a result of being married to you.” Richard Needham





















Cheers to all Denimoholics #jeanslovers #denimdudes #jeansmakers #indigolovers.