Soaking and Stretching Denim
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woooh, reviving this thread! It really is a good idea, because I was really conflicted when it came to my first (and only so far) iron heart purchase. I bought a pair of 31 waist busters, my favorite jeans now, which measured 15" across the waistband. When I put them on they were really tight and it was a struggle, but after a while I finally got them on. A few months later and they measure 15.5", which is perfect. Also, if you want to stretch out the thighs, go for a bike ride or 2. I went on one about 3 months in to them, and to my surprise the thighs were comfortably loose! So yeah, hopefully this helps.
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I can't say I'd recommend sizing like I do but I've been lucky enough to find all my jeans in new condition for an average of $125 each. With that being said, the only pair out of these that gave me trouble were obviously the 33's and now they are the best fitting pair I have. I prefer a smaller hem, so I try to always size down. If I can almost button the top button then, in my mind, they can be stretched to fit me. I put them on the back of a chair and try to stretch them out for a few days and wear them around the house a bit. Again, I am forcing these jeans to stretch, pushing them to see what I can get out of them to suit my needs. I would not recommend going to the extremes I go to. TTS 36.5in
666od sz36
actual when new: 35in
actual after 15 wears: 37in
no soaks, no chair stretching9634Z sz33
actual when newish: 34
actual after 10 wears: 36.5
no soaks, stretching on the back of a chair634S sz34
actual when new: 34
actual after 30 wears: 36.5in
no soaks, stretching on the back of a chairAlso, for reference:
Strike Gold 2105 Pure Gold sz34
actual when new: 35in
actual after 30 wears: 38in (too big, need to soak)
one hot soak on just the legs -
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In theory, yeah. The salt and sand should provide extra abrasion and speed up fading in the usual places. Personally, I wouldn't do it because I feel like the point of washing jeans is to get crap out of the denim and the ocean isn't exactly what I consider clean.
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In theory, yeah. The salt and sand should provide extra abrasion and speed up fading in the usual places. Personally, I wouldn't do it because I feel like the point of washing jeans is to get crap out of the denim and the ocean isn't exactly what I consider clean.
Depends where you live. The Gulf is vastly different than here in North Carolina, which is also vastly different than the Shore.
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Having seen/been in the ocean along the coasts of Texas, North Carolina and New Jersey, I agree with you about the differences in water quality. Nonetheless, I stand by my statement that an ocean "wash" isn't going to actually get a pair of jeans clean.
But that's just me.:) To each their own…
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Having seen/been in the ocean along the coasts of Texas, North Carolina and New Jersey, I agree with you about the differences in water quality. Nonetheless, I stand by my statement that an ocean "wash" isn't going to actually get a pair of jeans clean.
But that's just me.:) To each their own…
Maybe it's just all the kids in my neighborhood but I'm guessing there's less urine in the ocean than in my neighborhood pool haha
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just wondered if the salt , and sand gave any good whiskering to the denim .. cheers ..
What gives good whiskering is abrasion at the high points, that is the indigo being abraded off the surface of the rope dyed warp. This occurs with wear, imo sitting around in an ocean does little if nothing to help….
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APC has a lot to answer for…
I figure the abrasion happens when people rub sand over their jeans after taking a dip in the ocean and the salt water wash seems to leach indigo leaving to an overall loss of colour. But as pointed out above, your jeans are going to stink of the sea unless you're close to beautiful, clean waters.
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maybe a silly question but after i soak a pair of jeans do i try to get out excess water in any way or should i just lay em soaking wet?
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@Dirty:
maybe a silly question but after i soak a pair of jeans do i try to get out excess water in any way or should i just lay em soaking wet?
i always roll´em up in one or two towels to get out as much water as i can, then i´ll let them drip dry…
lay towel on floor, jeans on top of towel, 2nd towel on top of jeans, start rolling and pressing, unroll, hang dry, wear!...
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wow thats brilliant TY TY
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@Dirty:
maybe a silly question but after i soak a pair of jeans do i try to get out excess water in any way or should i just lay em soaking wet?
I just hang mine right out of the water.
