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Denim fabric guide

Denim Windbreaker Design with AI

For a denim windbreaker, most mills quote rigid denim at 340 to 470 g/m²: a classic pairing.

Of the 12 cloths this guide lists for this cut, it sits between bouclé tweed and wool melton in weight.

Next to bouclé tweed, it is heavier, cooler to wear and easier to care for.

Windbreaker in rigid denim, on a model in a studio
Rendered in the studio for this page

Denim Windbreaker at a glance

Cloth to ask your mill for
Rigid denim
Typical weight
340 to 470 g/m²
Drape
Structured, holds its own shape
Stretch
Slight
Breathability
Medium
Warmth
Neutral
Care
Machine wash cold, inside out
How common
A classic pairing
Typical cloth price
$8-30/yard

Typical trade ranges, not one mill's figures: confirm them with your mill.

The windbreaker, in numbers

Typical length
68 to 76 cm, from the high point of the shoulder
Defining details
Hood with toggles, half or full zip, mesh lining, packable pocket
Cloth needed
about 1.8 to 2.2 m of 150 cm cloth, roughly $16 to $72 of cloth at typical prices

Typical figures for an adult size M. The pattern tier is set from the real piece count when you order.

How denim behaves on a windbreaker

In a windbreaker it holds a strong shoulder and a straight front almost without help from the canvas.

At this length a structured cloth holds the shape of the pattern from top to hem.

It is neither warm nor cool, so it works across most of the year.

Wash it cold and inside out to keep the color.

It fades where the body creases, and rigid denim shrinks unless it is sanforised, so the mill's shrinkage figure belongs on the spec sheet.

About denim

Denim is a cotton twill woven with indigo-dyed warp yarns and an undyed weft, which is why it is blue on the face and pale on the back. Its weight, in ounces per square yard, decides how it wears.

Selvedge denim from narrow shuttle looms is a specialist product, made notably in Japan, Italy and the United States; most denim comes from wide looms in Turkey, Pakistan, India and China.

It is almost never lined; seams are flat-felled or bound so the inside looks finished.

Cutting, sewing and color

A 100/16 or 110/18 jeans needle and a heavier thread; flat-felled seams and bar tacks at the stress points.

Indigo is the classic dye, and washes from rinse to bleach change the shade after the garment is sewn.

Its surface is matte, so it photographs evenly under flat light.

A description to start from

A windbreaker in rigid denim, 340 to 470 g/m², with a structured drape and a matte surface, for most of the year.

If denim is not quite right

Also: how the studio works, prices and questions and answers.

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