Little tricks on how to wash stretched jeans to make them shrink

Over time, gins lose their shape and stretch. Don't rush and buy new things.

Some simple rules and tips will help you save your favorite jeans and give them a new shape.

How to wash jeansso that they shrink and become one size smaller - at what temperature of the water? How to seat only in one specific place? You will find answers to questions in the article.

Is it possible to make it 1 or 2 sizes smaller?

If you set a goal to reduce your jeans by one or two sizes, it would be a good idea to carefully study the manufacturer’s label for the composition of the denim fabric.

Detailed information will help you decide on the shrinkage method favorite jeans:

1. Denim fabric can be identified by its bright blue front side and white back. Denim trousers can be safely washed at high temperatures and actively dried in automatic dryers.
2. Soft cotton jean denim is dyed the same on both the back and front sides. Such material is difficult to shrink. Even when exposed to high temperatures, jeans shrink just a little in size.
3. Elastic stretch denim contains special lycra fibers. Washing at high temperatures or boiling stretch jeans is not recommended. Such matter stretches even more after heat treatment.
4. Light, very thin chambry jeans, unlike classic denim, very quickly lose their original appearance. After boiling and washing at high temperatures, chambry jeans items decrease not only in width, but also in length.

Shrinkage methods

By putting into practice the ability of denim to shrink when exposed to hot water, you can quickly solve the problem of stretched trousers.

In the washing machine

Washing in the washing machine at maximum degrees is the ideal way to quickly reduce your favorite jeans by several sizes.

Algorithm of actions:

1. We set the maximum temperature (90C) on the washing machine display, add powder and fabric softener to the washing compartment.
2. Place the trousers in the drum of the washing machine and start the washing cycle for cotton items.
3. After washing the jeans, dry them in an automatic dryer at maximum temperature. If you don’t have a dryer, hang denim trousers on a line in bright sunlight.

The shrinking method using a washing machine is only applicable to durable denim, which contains at least 70% cotton.

Thin and stretch denim fabrics stretch even more when exposed to high temperatures., which completely ruins the thing.

Hand wash

Hand washing in hot water will help reduce your jeans by one size. This method is most suitable for thin denim fabrics (such as shamri).

Algorithm of actions:

• dilute one tablespoon of powder in a bowl of hot water (temperature 60-70C);
• lower the jeans into the basin, first turning them inside out, and leave for thirty minutes;
• after washing the trousers as usual, they are moved to another basin with cold water for rinsing;
• Dry washed jeans on a horizontal plane in a well-ventilated area.

You can learn more about washing jeans by hand. Here.

Hot water bath

A bath with hot water will help to shrink denim trousers so that they fit perfectly on your figure.

Algorithm of actions:

• We fill the bathroom with hot water (the maximum temperature that can be tolerated);
• dressed in jeans, we dive into the bathroom (pants are buttoned, water completely covers clothes);
• lie in the bath for about twenty minutes (until the water cools down).

This method will help you quickly reduce jeans by one size.

Until the jeans are dry, they cannot be removed. A walk in the hot summer sun or rest near a heating device (in winter) will help speed up the drying process..

Unfortunately, this method is not very suitable for practice in the autumn-spring period (it can cause a cold). Also, this method of shrinking denim gives a short-term effect (with the next wash, the size of the trousers will increase again).

Alternating temperatures

A simple but very effective method to reduce jeans by several sizes is to alternate hot and cold water.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Denim trousers are placed in a basin and filled with hot water (the maximum temperature for this type of fabric is from 60 to 90C).
2. After five to ten minutes, the jeans are placed in a bowl of cold water.

Boiling

The boiling method will help you quickly reduce your favorite jeans by several sizes.

Algorithm of actions:

1. Prepare a tank or large saucepan.
2. Fill the pan with water, add a little washing powder (a few tablespoons).
3. Place the jeans in the pan and place the container on the stove.
4. After the water boils, simmer the jeans over low heat for thirty minutes.
5. At the end of boiling, remove the trousers from the water with tongs and rinse thoroughly in cold water.

During the boiling process, the jeans must be stirred periodically.

Air conditioner

You can use fabric softener to quickly reduce your jeans by one size.

Algorithm of actions:

• mix one glass of fabric softener with three glasses of clean water;
• pour the resulting liquid into a spray bottle;
• thoroughly wet the jeans (so that the fabric gets wet through) with soapy water;
• Dry the jeans very quickly (with a hairdryer or iron).

How to wash jeans to make them shrink - video tips:

Proper drying

Proper drying of denim trousers will help secure the shrinkage result.

There are three ways:

1. Jeans, after washing in hot water, are hung on the dryer bar without straightening or stretching.

   It is important that the dryer is located near a heat source (radiator or heater). Then the water from the denim will evaporate faster, recording the result of shrinkage.

2. Wet jeans are laid out on a terry towel.The fabric will quickly absorb moisture, which will help the trousers dry without losing their shape.
3. Iron drying is a good method if you need to reduce localized areas. The jeans are turned inside out and ironed in the necessary places with a hot iron. If you don't have an iron at hand, a hairdryer is a good alternative.
4. The fastest and most effective way to dry jeans is to use a special drying machine. Such hot air drying will help reduce jeans not by one, but by two sizes.

He will tell you about ways to dry jeans this article.

How to seat in a certain place?

Fabric conditioner will help restore shape to jeans that have stretched knees, waistbands, or bulging pockets.

What should be done:

• dilute fabric softener with clean water in a ratio of 3:1;
• pour the resulting solution into a spray bottle and carefully treat the stretched areas of fabric on the jeans;
• We place wet jeans in the drum of an automatic dryer or quickly iron the dampened areas with an iron.

If all else fails, you can stitch it in!

If after washing, boiling, and quick drying it was not possible to reduce the size of denim trousers, there is only one thing left to do - sew in the jeans. Sewing salon masters will quickly and efficiently sew from denim fabric. But such services cost a lot of money.

Therefore, having carefully studied the features of altering stretched jeans, you can safely get to work.

Algorithm of actions:

1. We prepare the necessary tools: thread, sharp scissors, needles, sewing machine (preferably with an overlocker), chalk or pencil, iron.
2. We rip the seams on the jeans in problem areas, remove old threads and carefully smooth the fabric.
3. Focusing on the new parameters, we make markings with chalk.
4. We sew the jeans along the new lines and try on the product in order to evaluate the quality of the fit of the product.
5. After all changes have been corrected, we sew new seams on a sewing machine.
6. We cut off the excess fabric, process the edges using an overlocker or sew it by hand.

Waist

The easiest way to change the width of a belt is to sew an elastic band into it. To do this, an incision is made on the back of the belt through which a wide elastic band is threaded. Fixed at the edges of the belt, it gathers it, thereby reducing the volume of the jeans at the waist.

Along the hips

To adjust the top of the jeans along the hip line, the following steps must be taken:

1. Carefully remove the belt and rip the jeans along the hips. The experts also recommend ripping off the back pockets (their location on updated jeans most often changes)
2. Using fitting, we fix the new hip line with pins, trying to make the transition from the factory line to the new line less noticeable.
3. After the fitting is completed, we sew new lines on a sewing machine. Excess fabric is cut off only after the alteration of denim trousers is completed.
4. Sew on the waistband and back pockets.

This video will show you how to sew jeans:

Adviсe

A few recommendations:

1. If there is no length to spare, denim trousers can be treated with boiling water only locally.
2. Jeans are always turned inside out before washing.
3. It is strictly forbidden to boil several denim trousers of different colors in one container at the same time.
4. Jeans decorated with rhinestones, lace and other decor should not be boiled or doused with boiling water.

Conclusion

By being patient and careful, using various methods of shrinking jeans, you can return your favorite item to its previous shape, saving a lot of money on buying a new one.