IH-555-XHSib - 25oz Selvedge Denim Slim Jeans - Indigo/Black

alexswords

@majkel hey man denims look great. You'll quickly learn that everyone has their own opinion or strategy for wearing and breaking in jeans. Having tried a number of different methods of soaking or not soaking sanforized and unsanforized it really is just trial and error/hoping for the best or first educating yourself about the different outcomes from people who have been down that road before. If you decide to soak your 555xhsib you probably wont get a whole lot of shrinkage as the denim is sanforized and also an incredibly tight weave. if you hot washed the shit out of them you might see a noticeable amount but they'll also be a different denim at that point. what i mean by that is when they're brand new they loaded with starch and have that shiny tank like feel but the more you soak or wash that starch dissipates and the denim becomes softer and more pliable. Some prefer this softer feel and some prefer the tank like stiff feel. There is no right or wrong way in that regard. Soaking or washing will help set all the stitching and help get all the shrinkage out but with sanforized denim you won't see a ton of shift in your fade patterns if you decide not to soak or wash right off the bat.. I tend to buy denim as tight as i can possibly stand so that when they do stretch out they'll be at that sweetspot fit.. I couldn't wear my 555xhsib for more than an hour for almost a week, but now they're fitting comfortably and and only getting better. Just have fun and ask lots of questions and please keep us updated on they're progress!!

Jett129

Very well said. Great post.

Filthy2123ozjunkie

@Kasi:

@Filthy:

No, I do partial soaks to stuff all the time. Use the hottest water possible and soak for as long as possible. For example I soaked mine for 5 hours and I changed the hot water 3 times to keep it hot.

Everyone’s have their own ways own rules

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Should have said, no it would not be silly to do a partial soak. But I was just saying it is okay to hot soak and okay to partial soak…. to get the kind of crisp fades that I am seeking. I have ruined at least 4 pairs of jeans following other piecemeal advice about washing and stuff. But if you ask 50 people you'll get 50 different answers. Generally speaking soaking in any temperature water without any kind of agitation is totally okay.

Also the "starch" Alex swords is talking about is actually sizing they use to make the fibers slippery. But you can use heavy starch to get the stiffness back if you wanna. (Spray the inside of the jeans because it appears chalky white).

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7734.msg577536#msg577536

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7385.msg510987#msg510987

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6774.msg403443#msg403443

majkel

@alexswords I appreciate the time you took to write this! I feel lucky to have these. They're insanely unique & I loved everything about the ironheart experience. The ogling of the web store.. researching the fabrics & their fades.. breaking out the tailor's tape and measuring to find my fit.. the friendly back & forth emails with the staff.. anticipation.. and pay off.

I went with a warm to hot soak for 30 mins & you were right.. barely any differences apart from more stiffness that is softening up quickly right now. These will remain dry for a long time as I do oddly enjoy the rigidity of these. And fit wise I think I'm in a similar boat as you. Will you commit yours to cold water? That's what I'm considering.

tvenuto

Indeed there are no denim police to come nab you for doing whatever you like. I, for instance, cut the leather patch off of all of my jeans. However, when asking for advice "do what you want" is a flip and unhelpful answer, so I'll chime in with my experience:

I really wouldn't be afraid to hot soak these, if they're not skin tight to start with I don't think you'll run into any issues. I got noticeable shrinkage but they relaxed back quite quickly, even with me not wearing them for a week they seemed to relax on the hook. I actually thought they were more comfortable after the hot soak, even though they were a bit more "form fitting." I'm very glad I did the hot wash, and I'm very much in the camp of not liking tight pants.

For my first wash I'm going to do a tub soak with moderate agitation by hand. I usually don't go to any lengths to preserve fading but I get the feeling that these will still be pretty crunchy and will be very susceptible to strange creasing patterns from the washer itself.

Kasi

@Filthy:

@Kasi:

@Filthy:

No, I do partial soaks to stuff all the time. Use the hottest water possible and soak for as long as possible. For example I soaked mine for 5 hours and I changed the hot water 3 times to keep it hot.

Everyone’s have their own ways own rules

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Should have said, no it would not be silly to do a partial soak. But I was just saying it is okay to hot soak and okay to partial soak…. to get the kind of crisp fades that I am seeking. I have ruined at least 4 pairs of jeans following other piecemeal advice about washing and stuff. But if you ask 50 people you'll get 50 different answers. Generally speaking soaking in any temperature water without any kind of agitation is totally okay.

Also the "starch" Alex swords is talking about is actually sizing they use to make the fibers slippery. But you can use heavy starch to get the stiffness back if you wanna. (Spray the inside of the jeans because it appears chalky white).

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7734.msg577536#msg577536

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7385.msg510987#msg510987

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6774.msg403443#msg403443

Well said… like the pictures

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

majkel

@Filthy:

@Kasi:

@Filthy:

No, I do partial soaks to stuff all the time. Use the hottest water possible and soak for as long as possible. For example I soaked mine for 5 hours and I changed the hot water 3 times to keep it hot.

Everyone’s have their own ways own rules

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Should have said, no it would not be silly to do a partial soak. But I was just saying it is okay to hot soak and okay to partial soak…. to get the kind of crisp fades that I am seeking. I have ruined at least 4 pairs of jeans following other piecemeal advice about washing and stuff. But if you ask 50 people you'll get 50 different answers. Generally speaking soaking in any temperature water without any kind of agitation is totally okay.

Also the "starch" Alex swords is talking about is actually sizing they use to make the fibers slippery. But you can use heavy starch to get the stiffness back if you wanna. (Spray the inside of the jeans because it appears chalky white).

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7734.msg577536#msg577536

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=7385.msg510987#msg510987

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6774.msg403443#msg403443

50 different answers and the same love for the fabric
Its always best to learn from people who learned the hard way too lol.
Thats interesting stuff man

majkel

@tvenuto:

Indeed there are no denim police to come nab you for doing whatever you like. I, for instance, cut the leather patch off of all of my jeans. However, when asking for advice "do what you want" is a flip and unhelpful answer, so I'll chime in with my experience:

I really wouldn't be afraid to hot soak these, if they're not skin tight to start with I don't think you'll run into any issues. I got noticeable shrinkage but they relaxed back quite quickly, even with me not wearing them for a week they seemed to relax on the hook. I actually thought they were more comfortable after the hot soak, even though they were a bit more "form fitting." I'm very glad I did the hot wash, and I'm very much in the camp of not liking tight pants.

For my first wash I'm going to do a tub soak with moderate agitation by hand. I usually don't go to any lengths to preserve fading but I get the feeling that these will still be pretty crunchy and will be very susceptible to strange creasing patterns from the washer itself.

Ahh they did relax without wearing them? I was gonna ask about methods for getting any unfavorable creases out and how long those creases come out naturally. Unfortunately, logically understanding "wabi sabi" isn't enough to diminish my ocd tendencies

tvenuto

I think the best method is to wait until the denim has softened with wear before machine washing to minimize the probability of meaningful creasing in the wash. The whole “wear as long as possible” bit. Another is to make sure the denim is fully waterlogged before the actual agitation starts, which I think helps.

alexswords

Out here tryin' to keep this thread alive. I need to see more updates!!!

kiecker

And so it begins. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to pull them off solo if I were wearing them in the tub. The amount of honeycombs on the inside surprised me a bit.

xtcclassic

@kiecker:

I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to pull them off solo if I were wearing them in the tub.

That’s no joke. I remember putting my 25oz 666’s on wet after their first soak when they were still new, managing somehow to button them, and practically panicking when I slowly came to the realization that there was a very real possibility that I might be stuck in them for the rest of my life.