best way to shrink jeans

[Guest umhaha84]

^what he said

[Casablancas]

I know this have been asked and answered before, but i think this might be different.. probably isn't though but you never know

I just bought a pair of April 77 Joey Overdrives in size 32, and since I'm a regular 32 these fit a bit big on me and will only get bigger so i know i should have sized down a size or two, but what's done is done

Theyre 98% cotton and 2 % elasthane which means theyre a bit stretchy (and you can tell)

do you guys think that if I wash and dry them hot they will get smaller or should i just leave them alone? I don't think there will be any fading since these don't fade much (so I've heard) but what do you think?

Help me out guys, I love these jeans and want to make them perfect

[beatle]

jeans with stretch components won't shrink a lot - or will always stretch back easily. might as well just wear them

[rob1031]

I understand that when you hot soak jeans the starch will come out and the jeans will become less stiff. Is it true that if the jeans are stiffer the creases, and so the honeycombs and whisker fades will be more defined?

Of course, they'll still fade if the jeans arent hard as hell, but I have a pair of new LVC 1947s, and don't know if I should super hot soak them or just warm-warmhot soak them. I want proper shrinkage, at least 2", but don't want them to get too soft (unless you guys can tell me that theres no point of having them so hard!)

Thanks!

[chambo2008]

my skulls get crispy after a wash (maybe 11) but get soft within a day, you can also add startch if you like i guess, spary it in the area's like lap and back of knee's, but i wouldn't worry to much about it and just wear them

[bod]

I understand that when you hot soak jeans the starch will come out and the jeans will become less stiff. Is it true that if the jeans are stiffer the creases, and so the honeycombs and whisker fades will be more defined?

Of course, they'll still fade if the jeans arent hard as hell, but I have a pair of new LVC 1947s, and don't know if I should super hot soak them or just warm-warmhot soak them. I want proper shrinkage, at least 2", but don't want them to get too soft (unless you guys can tell me that theres no point of having them so hard!)

Thanks!

Chuck them in the washing machine and do a hot cycle (60 degrees) without detergent, that will get the shrinking done. Not all the starch will come out on the first wash anyway so they'll be crisp if your worried about that.

[BIGBERTHA]

my skulls get crispy after a wash (maybe 11) but get soft within a day, you can also add startch if you like i guess, spary it in the area's like lap and back of knee's, but i wouldn't worry to much about it and just wear them

My skulls got a hot soak last night. Threw them in the dryer this morning for about 30 mins. The fit is as good as I'll get without starting over with a new pair sized down. My question is, if I give them another soak, will I get the crispiness back that I lost post-dryer?

[shinobi2000]

My skulls got a hot soak last night. Threw them in the dryer this morning for about 30 mins. The fit is as good as I'll get without starting over with a new pair sized down. My question is, if I give them another soak, will I get the crispiness back that I lost post-dryer?

Probably but fro my experience even that won't last long not to mention what happens to the creases -- you may not get them back in the same spots

[Future Denim]

Has this happened to anyone else? I tried to shrink down one of my pairs and it seemed like the legs got tighter but the but and crotch area didn't shrink as much. This could be a unique problem but does anyone have a fix? Thanks

[madstaxbro]

^Could just be the proportions of the cut.

[soundsounds]

pair of pbj xx-007s are arriving in a couple days

I wanna get the most shrinkage out of them

would you guys recommend a hot soak (which I usually do with my jeans), or the whole hot wash/dry deal?

[mylo0]

Hey guys, so i got a pair of FH 3001 and when i bought them i got them perfect for size. however now i need to wash them and i know that FH are known to shrink quite a bit, the guy even told me to size up 1 or 2 when i first bought them so that when i soak them for the first time they will shrink to my size. but i didnt listen to him and just bought my true size at the time so i didn't have to soak., so here i am, wondering how to wash them without them shrinking excessively.

Also just to clarify this, fades are independent on wether i pre-soak or dont pre-soak my denim yes?

[Paul T]

How can this thread have grown to 11 pages?

Minimum shrinkage: soak and hand-wash cold. Stretch while drying if necessary.

Maximum shrinkage: machine-wash at 90 degrees celsius without detergent before wearing.

Now we can lock the thread, right?

[beautiful_FrEaK]

can we?

found this information from a guy on the Facebook "Japanese Denim" group:

Warm water generally loosens the weave and makes them stretch after you put them on. I always use a cold water soak. Make sure they are inside-out before you throw em in the bath.

It's from personal experience in textile weaving, and working with the Japanese denim industry for a few years. Water tightens the weave, warm water relaxes the cottons, cold water preserves it. That's why when you dye anything you use cold water.

Well you'll get slightly different shrinkage depending on the length of the soak and the temperature of the water. Really hot water is going to shrink the denim more but will end up harming the dye by basically striping it off. All warm water really does is soften the fibers more than cold water . So cold water will hold its shape better than warm water. The differences are small but over several soaks and several years cold water is just better. The way they washed denim during the goldrush is probably the best. Ice cold glacial water, inside out, hang dry.

please discuss!

Edited December 15, 2011 by beautiful_FrEaK

[tropicalbird]

So because this information is in a "Japanese denim" group suddenly makes this nutjob credible? Tread carefully, cuz you're losing it

[beautiful_FrEaK]

did i state somewhere that this above is the one and only truth?! no i didn't...

i just posted it here to get his points discussed and either disprove or approve his statements by this community.

[moykky]

I had a talk with a chemistry professor some years ago, concerning shrinking, I've also posted my notes here:

http://supertalk.superfuture.com/index.php?/topic/10622-the-flat-head/page__st__4680__p__2083608__hl__polymer%20chains__fromsearch__1#entry2083608

Couple of posts up is where it started.

Edited December 15, 2011 by moykky

[okisan]

so 5.5 years later, this thread is still alive. if you need shrinking instructions for clothing ask your mum. otherwise just look through the other threads - that's what they're here for.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

^dude above...I know a lot about shrinkage...don't try to teach me...i brought up a new topic/view of things. so say something useful or say nothing at all

edit: @ moykky: thanks for the link but you don't say anything about temperature and that was my question. sorry.

Edited December 15, 2011 by beautiful_FrEaK

[no-svg]

"Fabric bearing the trademark 'Sanforized' will not shrink more than 1% by the Government's standard test."

Edited December 15, 2011 by no-svg

[rnrswitch]

In general cold water is much more gentle on fabrics. If you hand wash with hose water you can never go wrong. I typically only do a machine wash when it is necessary.

Max shrinkage means use hot water, min shrinkage use cold water. Pretty basic. Also, most of the shrinkage will be lost in directions of strain anyway. So if the waist starts out bigger than your waist and it shrinks smaller than your waist, it will find its way back out to the size of your waist if given enough wear. Length doesn't really come back after a shrink, because there is not much strain lengthwise.

[okisan]

@ beautiful_freak - not sure why you think my post was directed at you, it wasn't & isn't - certainly never questioned your knowledge.

was just saying i'm just amazed that in a denim enthusiast environment such as this, there needs to be a 5.5 year old thread on how to shrink a pair of jeans - surely that's a question that's been answered by now.......

[tropicalbird]

Keep in mind there's no IQ standard to be a qualified denim "enthusiast"

[Madder_Lake]

I had a talk with a chemistry professor some years ago, concerning shrinking, I've also posted my notes here:

http://supertalk.sup..._1#entry2083608

Couple of posts up is where it started.

One of the most interesting set of posts. I think this answers b_f's quaestion as well. Given that the shrinkage is due to a chemical reaction it must be quickened by heat and distributed evenly by agitation.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

Keep in mind there's no IQ standard to be a qualified denim "enthusiast"

true...that must be the reason I rarely see a useful post from you

@madder_lake: yes it covers the shrinkage and is a nice read but doesn't tell about the stretching back (the point of my question). or I missed it

[Madder_Lake]

true...that must be the reason I rarely see a useful post from you

@madder_lake: yes it covers the shrinkage and is a nice read but doesn't tell about the stretching back (the point of my question). or I missed it

Well, this is just me shooting from the hip, but perhaps the heat from the body plus strain makes the amorphic polymer bonds break and reform again but at a higher energy state, not curled but straight. So warm water will again take out that stretch because the bonds have a natural tendency to break and reform at the lowest state. It is an accordion process with the polymers alternating between straight (stretched --- high energy/tension) and curled (unstretched --- low energy state).

This makes me wonder though what happens to raw jeans that are unwashed for months. The polymers must still be acted upon by heat and water from the body, sweat, and accidental moisture through humidity and rain and wet hands etc. The polymers ought to be breaking and reforming in such a way that the jeans come, over time, to mould to your body. So it should be the perfect way to treat jeans.

But what of sebum, the body's natural oil: does that itself combine with the polymer chains? Does it chemically react, or not react but coat the fibres in a protective oil? Or does it have a destructive impact?

My feeling is that detergent is fairly destructive of cotton fibre. But then probably so is the shit that accumulates from not using powder, so it just depends which one is more destructive. Maybe ice cold glacier water would be best. Next year in New Zealand!

Edit: One thing I have just learned is that cotton becomes brittle and loses its elasticity at temperatures over 25 degrees C. That suggests that very hot washes may alone may be detrimental, even without detergent.

Edited December 16, 2011 by Madder_Lake

[Maynard Friedman]

Couldn't get an answer to this in the small questions thread so thought I'd try here instead.

if i washed a pair of jeans at say 30c ten times over a given period, i'm pretty sure they'd stop shrinking after a few washes. however if i then washed them at 60c, would they shrink further, as much as if i'd washed them at 60c initially?

my guess is no, they probably wouldn't shrink further and if that's correct, then at what stage do they stop shrinking when washed at a low temperature and why?

[setterman]

Couldn't get an answer to this in the small questions thread so thought I'd try here instead.

if i washed a pair of jeans at say 30c ten times over a given period, i'm pretty sure they'd stop shrinking after a few washes. however if i then washed them at 60c, would they shrink further, as much as if i'd washed them at 60c initially?

my guess is no, they probably wouldn't shrink further and if that's correct, then at what stage do they stop shrinking when washed at a low temperature and why?

All raw denim has a max shrinkage it's looking to get to, and once it's reached it it's done. It's debatable whether cold, warm, or hot washes get you there quicker.... It's my opinion that agitation has a greater influence on the rate of shrinkage than water temp does (a cold regular wash will accomplish more than a hot delicate wash). And it's been my experience that regardless of water temp, four trips through the washer on regular gets all the shrinkage out.

[Maynard Friedman]

Thanks setterman, but do you think 4x machine wash at 20C would obtain the same amount of shrinkage as 4x machine washes at 90C? Maybe it would take 10x washes at 20C? I still think that repeated washed at 20C would never get the same amount of shrinkage as a handful of washes at higher temperatures.

[setterman]

Thanks setterman, but do you think 4x machine wash at 20C would obtain the same amount of shrinkage as 4x machine washes at 90C? Maybe it would take 10x washes at 20C? I still think that repeated washed at 20C would never get the same amount of shrinkage as a handful of washes at higher temperatures.

Only way to know for sure it to try! I'm putting you in charge of that experiment.