From the Levi's Archives || Selvedge Denim & Vintage Loom Repair || Levi's

For over a century, Levi’s® 501® jeans were made from denim woven on shuttle looms that created a selvedge finish. Levi Strauss & Co. sourced denim in 1873 for the first 501® jeans from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, NH. Around 1915, LS&Co. began sourcing its denim from Cone Mills in Greensboro, NC. But in the 1980s, modern looms eliminated selvedge denim and one of the visible features of vintage Levi’s®.

Join Levi’s® Historian Tracey Panek as she explores the rich history of Levi’s® selvedge denim, the textile mills that created the denim, and the recent refurbishing of a vintage shuttle loom–one of the largest artifacts in our Archives.