Soaking and Stretching Denim

The dryer will make them softer. That would probably mean they stretch more, too. But the dryer will shrink them, so it's a wash up (pun intended).

I never put them in the dryer. Not yet. But might do that in the future. They are seriously not comfortable enough to wear in bed. Besides, I wouldn't wear unwashed street clothes in bed.

They will loosen up over time. I am sure. I just think it will take more than 30 wears. Also my waist is a moving target. To get an objective measurement whether the jeans loosen or my waist decreases, I'd have to measure the jeans and I am too lazy for that.

Till

Yes, I use the scale, too. Works great. I hope more people discover that.

But it won't help to see if your jeans stretched. You need to measure the actual jeans for that.

Till

Beatle

Maybe we could start documenting the stretching a bit more accurate.

For example - state Waist size + measurements when new - and waist measurements after apprx. 20 wears ….

Tripleterror

My IH non-selvedge jeans took longer to stretch out than the selvedge one's.
Simon

Giles

OK, My 33's measre 34 for after about 3 weeks of constant wear. I currently have a pair of 32, that I am sure i will get to 33.5 with a bit of effort…G

Tripleterror

Does it hurt ?

Giles

Nope, just know they're tighter than I would normally go for…G

Beatle

that´s a good amount of stretching..thanks for keeping tabs, simon

stever

hi everyone
i'm sure you get a bunch of these - new guy joins and posts a question about fit straight away
buuutt…
i have 2 pairs of nudies which are both tagged as 29w... but measure exactly 32" when i lay them out on the desk
my waist also measures out to 32"
both are tight long johns, ~11oz, with 2% lycra
they have both obviously stretched out a bit over the year or so i have been wearing them - should i be sizing down with iron heart and 3x works in order to stretch out to 32", or should i buy them true to size?

thanks for reading
stever

ps: here is a photo of one of the jeans. i should add that i got these whilst i was recovering from a knee injury, and have gained about 8kg since then. they were always tight, but never this tight

Giles

You'll get an inch or so of stretching in both IH and 3W. I suspect your tagged 29 Nudies actually measured more tha 29 when you got them..G

stever

thanks giles. i think the raw ones (pictured above) we close to 30" and the prewash/faded pair were even wider. so i should be looking at 30-31 for iron hearts?

Giles

Yep, really depends how much pain you want to go with up front!

stever

heheheh excellent. thanks again giles! i think i'll be going with the 30w for 634S and 3230FI

Giles

30 in the 3230FI is out of stock at the moment. Have PI, or getting a restock in about 5 weeks. G

stever

that's ok - it'll give me a chance to really break in the 634Ss!

hectic

IME, stretching on the 634S is fairly easy and ample, i.e.: I got 38s and they did not wear tight (I like em loose), now (admittedly a lot of wear down the line) they measure 40 inches.

stever

too late now simon! the die has been cast…
thankfully i have all winter to stretch em out. i'll be looking to get some 3x works come summer though; it gets pretty hot around here

stever

hmmm, i am beginning to see the merits of your argument simon

these are gonna take a long time to break in proper

Giles

Yes, Stever. That would be very useful. This is actually one of the most uesful threads on the Forum - the more data the better. G

hectic

Agreed, good data.

Quick question of my own - I have a pir of flatheads that have been very sparingly washed (always cold soaked), and they have not nearly shrunk as much in the leg as my other FHs (which were warm washed).

Is there a point a which, due to the age of the jeans, a subsequent (first) hot wash would not shrink them at all?

Kinda of the opposite of shrinking but it seemed the right thread.

Ta
H

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Soaking and Stretching Denim