Studio D'Artisan 103 - Advice Required

[dognobbler]

I have just received my first pair of Studio D'Artisan 103 jeans and I would like some advice. I have searched and browsed through this message board and the posts I have found regarding these jeans have given somewhat conflicting advice.

The jeans I have bought are waist size 34 and fit me correctly around the waist at the moment whilst being about 4 inches too long in the leg. I would be grateful if anyone that already has a pair of these jeans could answer the following questions

1) Is is better to wear these jeans for 6 months before washing them or should I soak them immediately

2) If I should soak them immediately how much can I expect them to shrink in the waist and leg.

3) Will the jeans stretch before or after I have washed them.

4) When is the best time to have them hemmed, currently they are 4 inches too long for me which is too much to turn up.

Many thanks for any help you can provide.

Andy

[horriblyjollyjinx]

Soak Now Warm

2

After

[poly800rock]

are they raw or onewash? if they're raw, you wanna soak em.

[mizanation]

soak now, using the various prescribed soaking methods

depending on how long and how hot your soak is, they will shrink up to 1 to 1.5 inches in the waist and 1.5-2 inches in the length.

they will stretch if you soak them, they will stretch if you don't soak them.

hemming is better before washing, but having them hemmed after one wash won't kill ya.

[tigger]

I have also just got a pair of SD 103, size 32, my usual size in SC 1947. They are a perfect fit but a bit too long so i will cuff 'em and wear raw. Great denim. If I want them shorter I will have to get a 34 and wash them, but got so much raw denim I need to wear these in.

[greentea]

they will be super tight after the soak. i recommend cold soak for quick 30 minutes. then wear it around untill it adjust to your waist for a little bit. then after it has loosen up to the waist then you could warm soak it to full shrink the lenght.

[drgitlin]

hemming is better before washing, but having them hemmed after one wash won't kill ya.

Uh, what? If he has them hemmed before they shrink, then the new hem is going to be 2" higher up than planned.

Don't have the length altered until the jeans have finished shrinking.

[mizanation]

dr. jonboy, some people like to get the "roping effect" that happens when the material in the hem shrinks. if you hem them after they are fully shrunk, you won't get this--however you will get a more accurate length.

if you hem them before you wash, but allow for shrinkage of about 2 inches, you will still get the "roping effect" and it will be the right length.

but some people just aren't that picky about their denim.

[horriblyjollyjinx]

you'll get that with wear. anyway, you can just soak them after hemming.

[mizanation]

yeah, hemming after one-wash will still give you the effect, but it won't be too pronounced.

you guys are right, it's not a big deal for most if the hem is flat...

[HEWSINATOR]

You would think so until you don't have it. On my post shrink hemmed jeans, they do seem a bit "off", but like you said Miz, not anything that most people will not get over.

I for one am not overly picky about length. There is a range they need to be in, so I hem pre-wash such that they will fall within this length after.

[mizanation]

hewsinator, i agree with you completely about the range of length. as long as they aren't too short, the length will usually take care of itself. bunching and hemming is usually adjustable enough to make it work. as long as they're not super-duper long.

[mortimer]

I also bought 34" sda-103 which fitted me perfectly before any soak. I soaked them for about 2-3 hours,inside out, in the hottest water that came out of the tap of my bath. They shrank quite a bit. After letting them drip dry for an hour or so, I wore them when damp until almost dry. I then had them hemmed. They fit just about perfectly now. It's a slightly more skinny regular fit - if that makes sense?

Also, after I had them hemmed, I dipped the hems of the jeans in boiling water for about 30 seconds - it gives them a kind of roping effect.

[horriblyjollyjinx]

Also, after I had them hemmed, I dipped the hems of the jeans in boiling water for about 30 seconds - it gives them a kind of roping effect.

yup, that's what I do too.

[andrewfuncrew]

are they raw or onewash? if they're raw, you wanna soak em.

curious why you suggest the immediate soak?

[old viking ring]

My advice - turn them inside out and put them in the washing machine on delicate, no detergent, with an extra soak on warm/warm. Then, hang them outside to dry. The inseam will shrink to about 33".

[dognobbler]

Thanks for the advice.

Andy

[poly800rock]

curious why you suggest the immediate soak?

well it depends on the safonization factor, if they're raw and safonized, then no worries, but why wear a pair of jeans for a long time and wash them and have all your wear go up 2 inches?

[truestorytravis]

My advice - turn them inside out and put them in the washing machine on delicate, no detergent, with an extra soak on warm/warm. Then, hang them outside to dry. The inseam will shrink to about 33".

This worked for me too. The inseam on mine shrunk about 2" to a 34 and the waist shrunk to the tagged size 33. Others have said it, but be aware that they will shrink in the waist no matter how you soak them. If they fit perfectly now, you'll have a tough time buttoning them and in my own experience they do not stretch very quickly. Not that this should stop you from a short cold soak, but just be prepared for a possible ball crushing. I've been rotating my 103s with two other pairs for about 2 months and I still hurt myself if I cross my legs the wrong way.

[thelion1856]

You want to soak raw jeans BEFORE you wear them, like the dude said a few posts up, all the fades & honeycombes will go up about 2 inches and it will look off if you do a soak after wearing them for a long time.

Now the question is how much you want them to shrink the 1st time you wash/soak them? If you want them to get their fullest shrinking then wash them in warm or hot water. I'd recomend a warm wash just to make sure you dont shrink them too much. But remember that the next few times you wash or soak them they will continue to shrink.

[bryo]

Im thinking of getting some sd-103's. But im not sure about the sizing. My RRDS are 30 but stretched to a 32 and fits comfortably. What size should i get?

[greentea]

read the studio d'artisan thread for detailed info.get your normal size

[poly800rock]

Im thinking of getting some sd-103's. But im not sure about the sizing. My RRDS are 30 but stretched to a 32 and fits comfortably. What size should i get?

30, exactly the same boat as you 30 rrds and 30 in these, these are perfect