We have just gotten hold of some gorgeous Cone Mills Denim – ready to be turned in to some rather nice aprons

Cone Mills Corporation was a world leader in textile manufacturing of corduroy, flannel, denim and other cotton fabrics for most of the 20th century. The company was based in Greensboro, North Carolina and its mills were mostly in North and South Carolina. The company was known as the world’s largest producer of denim. It was disestablished in 2004

WHAT IS SELVEDGE DENIM?

Selvedge denim is denim woven using old-fashioned denim-weaving techniques; preferably on old looms. Selvedge looms were popular in denim weaving until the mid-to-late 1900’s. As demand for denim grew world-wide and in the United States, mills began modernizing their machinery to speed production. For these mills, that were focused more and more on increasing output, the use of old selvedge looms became unwanted, making the looms obsolete due to their slower and less consistent production.

Selvedge is often characterized by having a tighter, denser weave than non-selvedge. The higher density gives the denim a sturdier hand. The use of the older selvedge loom technology also creates variations on the denim surface (due to inconsistencies in the weaving process) compared to denim woven on modern looms. These variations make the denim visually unique and highly desirable.

What we love about Selvedge is that as well as being super strong and a cut above the rest on looks and texture, it harks back to an era when fabrics were made to last and last.