Washing "unwashed LVC 501 Dry shrink-to-fit denim" questions

[soleindahole]

Quote:

Edited by soleindahole on Sep 19, 2005 at 11:30 AM

[soleindahole]

Quote:

Both the ways you have written will work.

My suggestion would be a long cold water soak. ie. place them in a bath of cold water for 3 hours or more. Turn then inside out before soaking. Afterwards spin them in a machine to remove excess water (no heat). Then either wear them whilst they are damp until dry, or hang dry inside out.

Then wear them a lot. When you decide to wash them you could soak them in cold/tepid soapy water (simple vegetable soap, PH neutral, no enzymes, no phosphates) and rinse cold. Wash inside out, cold rinse and dry as above.

That's how I know many denimphiles wash their jeans. But there are no rules as such. Jeans are just workwear and if you want to just throw them in a machine, that's OK too.

Edited by ringring on Sep 1, 2005 at 03:50 AM

--- Original message by ringring on Aug 31, 2005 11:10 PM

hey ringing, does it matter what temp water to soak it in?I thought soaking it in warm/hot water will result in maximum shrinkage which is the prime objective.

[adsurgo]

hot water will run the indigo.

[gunpwdr]

Want to dig this thread up to clear up a couple of things. Any input is appreciated.

With STF denim, is this the ideal strategy?

1. Buy in the correct size (size it will shrink to, i.e. I am a 31, so I buy a jean labeled 31 but fits like a 33 off the bat).

2. Soak the jeans in cold water to minimize indigo loss and invoke some (a lot of?) shrinkage to the right size (31" or thereabouts).

3. Wear the jeans for an extended period of time to subject the jeans to natural wear. Dry cleaning and febreeze are two methods for maintaing a certain level of hygiene, without shrinking the jeans or causing indigo loss.

4. When deemed "ready", put the jeans through a normal warm/hot (40/60 celsius) wash (inside out of course) and hang dry (or wring out and wear damp).

Also, can anyone list a few of the "elite" Japanese brands that are STF as opposed to Sanforized? Elite being Studio D'artisan, Eternal, Warehouse, Denime, Samurai, etc. Or is there a list somewhere that details the various cuts and denim types of the much coveted Japanese brands?

[beautifulray]

I got a question about Levis 501xx STF.

K well I bought two pairs of Levis 501xx STF jeans from Robinsons May.

My first pair was a 33x34 and after I soaked them in warm water overnight, then hang dried, then washed them, they turned out WAY too small

So I bought another pair, this time 36x33. I did the same thing as last time and they turned out a little bit too big on the waist and perfect lengthwise.

Im planning to buy some Levis 501xx 1947. Should I buy 34x34, 34x36, or 36x34 (I usually wear a size 32x32)? And am I doing the right procedures for shrinking them? If not, how should I be shrinking them? And Im planning to dry cleaning them everytime instead of washing when they get dirty. Is that a good idea?

Thanks for the help

[horriblyjollyjinx]

Quote:

Want to dig this thread up to clear up a couple of things. Any input is appreciated.

With STF denim, is this the ideal strategy?

1. Buy in the correct size (size it will shrink to, i.e. I am a 31, so I buy a jean labeled 31 but fits like a 33 off the bat).

2. Soak the jeans in cold water to minimize indigo loss and invoke some (a lot of?) shrinkage to the right size (31" or thereabouts).

3. Wear the jeans for an extended period of time to subject the jeans to natural wear. Dry cleaning and febreeze are two methods for maintaing a certain level of hygiene, without shrinking the jeans or causing indigo loss.

4. When deemed "ready", put the jeans through a normal warm/hot (40/60 celsius) wash (inside out of course) and hang dry (or wring out and wear damp).

Also, can anyone list a few of the "elite" Japanese brands that are STF as opposed to Sanforized? Elite being Studio D'artisan, Eternal, Warehouse, Denime, Samurai, etc. Or is there a list somewhere that details the various cuts and denim types of the much coveted Japanese brands?

--- Original message by gunpwdr on Sep 25, 2005 08:28 AM

All of the brands you mentioned do jeans that are not sanforized, sanforized jeans are a rare finds in Levi's repros. Studio D'Artisan uses sanforized denim in a few models(the SD-20X's), FOB has a pair too and Denime might have a pair of sanforized jeans too(Denime ZXX), but thats about it.

I would soak STF's inside out in warm water to maximize shrinkage. They shouldn't lose much more indigo than from a cold soak if you keep them still in the tub or whatever you use, this way the water will only move a minimal amount of indigo from your jeans.

SOME GIRLS ARE BIGGER THAN OTHERS

[Homesicker]

3 months past... i'm still working on them, i think i'm gonna wash them in jan or feb (because i didn't soak them enough last time i remember i had soaked them in early of sep, but they still not fit enough for me. so i wanna let it shrink much more next time, btw i had soaked them in cold 3 hours only, so i recommend u guys soak them more)

well, for beautifulray: i bought them by length 34 waist 32 though i wear 29 or 30 in waist normally.... (for STF, levi's co. mentioned they be shrunk by 2 inches in waist , 2-3 inches in length most during frist 3 washes)

i think before u wear them , u'd better soak them in cold for long time , ringring suggested last over night so that get maximum shrinkage.....

[beautifulray]

Hey Homesicker,

You used the soak them in cold water overnight right? How did your jeans fit after the 1st wash (Both waist and length wise)?

[Homesicker]

nope i just soaked them in cold just 3 hours. i felt they are not fit enough.

so i recommend u soak more ......

[homi29]

post some pics of ur STFs when u wash em !

[Homesicker]

when i wanna post already could not find this topic haha

[AmericanTemplar]

I'd like to have a few things clarified here. I'm planning on getting a second pair of 1947's. The pair that I currently own are my exact size, and have only been dry cleaned. I'm planning on getting another pair that I'd like to shrink to fit. Some people say that you should buy your exact waist size, as they will stretch back out. I like tight pants, but not total nut huggers. Others are saying that it's better to by a couple of sizes up--don't want saggy shit pants either. Which do you all reccomend?

Second question: Is there any way to get maximum shrinkage just by soaking, or are they always going to continue to shrink over the coarse of the first 10 washes? If I were to soak them in cold water for 8 hours as ringring mentioned, would they fully shrink down?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Seething Tortoise]

Quote:

I'd like to have a few things clarified here. I'm planning on getting a second pair of 1947's. The pair that I currently own are my exact size, and have only been dry cleaned. I'm planning on getting another pair that I'd like to shrink to fit. Some people say that you should buy your exact waist size, as they will stretch back out. I like tight pants, but not total nut huggers. Others are saying that it's better to by a couple of sizes up--don't want saggy shit pants either. Which do you all reccomend?

Second question: Is there any way to get maximum shrinkage just by soaking, or are they always going to continue to shrink over the coarse of the first 10 washes? If I were to soak them in cold water for 8 hours as ringring mentioned, would they fully shrink down?

Thanks in advance for any help.

--- Original message by AmericanTemplar on Jan 6, 2006 08:46 AM

Hey.

Just wanted to bump this thread since I have the same question as the guy I just quoted.

Cheers.

[obsessis]

the answer is no.

[Seething Tortoise]

Just noticed that the second question wasn't something I wanted to ask. I was more curious about the sizing.

[giantreptile]

on LVC get two inches on the waist, and about 3-4 on the length. so if i'm a 36X34, i would buy 38X38. then, turn them inside out and do a permanent press wash (warm), and then an hour or so on a low heat dry. in other words, wash and dry before you wear. that should take care of all future shrinkages, and will fit beautifully. sometimes though the seams will twist a bit in the leg. but that's the way it goes.

[Seething Tortoise]

Quote:

on LVC get two inches on the waist, and about 3-4 on the length. so if i'm a 36X34, i would buy 38X38. then, turn them inside out and do a permanent press wash (warm), and then an hour or so on a low heat dry. in other words, wash and dry before you wear. that should take care of all future shrinkages, and will fit beautifully. sometimes though the seams will twist a bit in the leg. but that's the way it goes.

--- Original message by giantreptile on Jan 18, 2006 02:41 PM

Cheers.

So, since I normally wear 32x32, 34x36 would be the ideal size.

[scoleo]

why turn them inside out before soaking? by the way, do I have to add soap in the water??

[Seething Tortoise]

Quote:

why turn them inside out before soaking? by the way, do I have to add soap in the water??

--- Original message by scoleo on Jan 21, 2006 04:49 AM

To prevent the indigo from bleeding too much?

I guess that's entirely upto you.

[Roland]

The Samurai Jeans website does a good walkthrough. I learned to treat the patch with a leather conditioner, after the soak, which was something that never occured to me.

The link translates the page to English.

http://www.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.samurai-j.com%2Fsamurai%2Fshopping3.html&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8