Did I spoil my fade?
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Hi folks! I've worn Iron Hearts for a long time, but I still consider myself a newbie. I have a pair of 888s in black, and I thought they were due for a wash recently, so I did. I think it's the 2nd or 3rd wash... I don't wear these too often because they're just a wee bit too tight through the thigh. Anyway, last time I washed them I was left with some super weird patterns in the fade. What did I do wrong? I think I'll keep wearing them in an attempt to bend them to my will, but suddenly I'm wracked with doubt. Thanks for any input.
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P.S. I'm sorry to admit it, but they look worse IRL...
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Did you by chance let the washing machine do a spin cycle (after the wash cycle)? This will often lead to vertical fades like you’re seeing. Can also be (slightly) prevented by washing inside-out.
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@Buckeye Ahhhh. I used the mildest spin cycle... and I did put them in the dryer without any heat just to shake off some of the water.
Am I screwed?
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@BTP I feel like this is the answer that you (and so many of us) need regarding this issue:
https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum//post/882526 -
S seawolf moved this topic from Bottoms on
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@BTP said in Did I spoil my fade?:
P.P.S. Is this the right place for this thread? Apologies if it isn't.
I moved this to General Chat. No worried at all!
Btw, your jeans are going to be okay. It’s all part of the journey. They still look great.
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Yep. I’ve marbled jeans returning them to outside out after a wash and it’s generally worn out of the fades downstream. Wabi sabi baby!
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@BTP You are good.
This fades largely disappear with further wearing and washing.To avoid you can follow thousands of do and don’t rules, wether it is appropriate or not…
For the first five machine washes I go this road.
- Inside-Out
- Soak them wet first
- Hand-wash program (Wool in Europe)
- No spinning or dryer
After this five rounds I don’t Bambi them anymore
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Thank you everyone! I appreciate the tips and encouragement.
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Y'know what, let me add one thing. These days you never know what you're going to be in for when you roll up to an online community, and though I was pretty confident that Iron Heart folks would probably be cool, well, you never know.
As for the denim, for a little while I thought for sure I'd made a critical mistake. Maybe not an unrecoverable error or anything, but you get the idea. I'm definitely not thrilled with the marbling, but I didn't even realize that was the term for it before I asked. Hearing that everyone makes those kinds of mistakes is encouraging and reassuring.
So thanks again! I'll see if I can't rustle up a pic of my other Iron Heart pair that I wear a heck of a lot more often. I think they turned out pretty well for a selvedge newbie (they are in fact my very first pair).
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Just in case anyone gives a shit, here's my first attempt at taming a pair of selvedge jeans. I've got a couple pairs from Naked and Famous and Soso as well, but this is the pair I wear the most. To be honest I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.
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I didn't do anything fancy. Just the initial soak then I waited as long as possible for the first wash.
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I chuck them in, have a beer, hang them dry and go again. but no dryer tho, will never use them for anything. never believed in dryers when I can naturally let them hang dry.
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@BTP you nailed it dude!!
I think what happens to us all when we first get into the selvedge scene is we get a bit overwhelmed by the price of our fancy jeans and way over think how to wear and care for them. When the truth of the matter is, just wear the shit out of them and they will just fade perfectly because that’s how you live your life. After a couple- few pairs you learn to stop babying them, learn what works for you, and just wear em hard.Black jeans can be a bit tricker with the marbling. But soaking them for about 45-60 before and wash and inside out solves that problems then you just get back to raging em and the kick ass fades just come out all on their own!
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Thanks!
️ I have to admit, I was on board as a denim head pretty fast, but the fruits of my labour have really sealed the deal. And one thing regarding the expense: my Naked and Famous pair was pretty cheap (got em on sale with a store credit). I think the fabric weight was 12 oz or so. Something like that.Well, those jeans need to be repaired already, even though I've worn them a fraction as often. The Iron Hearts are going strong and have a long life ahead of them. So what I'm saying is cheap jeans wear out fast and need to be replaced. I'd rather sink the total cost into a pair of Iron Hearts and wear em for years.
Anyway I'll definitely skip the dryer going forward. It only shakes off a bit of moisture anyway.
