Soaking and Stretching Denim
-
hi all,
i was wondering if anyone has advice or instructions with regard to soaking. i've never soaked my jeans before, and i'm not too sure if i need to (or even what it does)… i just normally buy them and wear them and leave it at that. does it help with the aging or the durability or help them break in?
thanks guysstever
-
Simple
If jeans are raw you need to soak in order to shrink and get rid of some of the starch.
If jeans are sanforized, no need to soak.
Fill tub with warm water(hot if you need to shrink a lot, cold if you're afraid they may end up being too tight).
Insert jeans - leave in the water for at least 1 hour - but anything up to 5 or 6 hours is fine.Take out, hang dry and wear.
We can do anything
http://bybeatle.com -
Simple
If jeans are raw you need to soak in order to shrink and get rid of some of the starch.
If jeans are sanforized, no need to soak.
Fill tub with warm water(hot if you need to shrink a lot, cold if you're afraid they may end up being too tight).
Insert jeans - leave in the water for at least 1 hour - but anything up to 5 or 6 hours is fine.Take out, hang dry and wear.
Although sanforization does include the use of water or steam, it seems that what you refer to as sanforized is popularly referred to as raw+sanforized and what you refer to as raw is referred to as raw+unsanforized.
I believe the only IH jeans that need a soak are the 634SR and SEXIH07. Both are unsanforized. Somewhere on this forum there is a discussion about threads bursting when you don't soften up the 634SR with a soak.
-
Personally I pre soak everything before wearing the first time. It may not be necessary but at least removes most of the starch and other chemicals used in production.
I had a nasty experience with some LVC's a few years back when at the start of the raw denim learning curve. Put a year in to them before washing, you can guess the rest; great fades but no chance of ever fitting me again!
-
The kiya way works best for me:
Anything more than 45 mins won't do anything to the denim.
Soak hot or cold, either way the shrinkage will occur (though it will happen a lot faster with warmer water)
Air dry or dry in the sun.
–---------------------------
Maybe it is just me but I find soaking to be the most difficult thing in regards to denim. Not that I don't know how to do it, but because the only thing left to do is wash or wear. Soaking is the only even remotely "complicated" process. Still totally fuckin easy, but it can be intimidating to those who haven't done it very much if at all before.
-
Just soaked my new TW HR01 the G way in the Denim Dungeon Shrink Sink. Just like G said, I left them in the sink until I remembered and then they hung outside. Measured before and after. The less you worry, the better they will turn out…
-
Sometimes I hate having an off-white tub. Makes the water brownish instead of that lovely pale blue.
-
Most definitely the brown is startch and when I've soaked other pairs w/ month's of wear, there's only a faint hint of green amidst dirty brown. The water itself is probably similar in color to Lando's flick, but with the yellowish tub, shit just looks filthy. shrugs Maybe I'm the filthy one.
My KMW 1980HD released crazy starch into the fifth warm soak before wearing, but I used the (white)laundry sink for those, where I do most initial soaks because starch is more noticable. I'm partial to more colorfast denim, but starting to think about maybe picking something up that'll bleed a ton w/ or w/o abuse. Samurai or Skull, probably, like I need another pair. ::)
That's about the extent of my (underdeveloped??)process though. Temperature of the water and choice of sinks/tubs and that's about it. No initial soak for the S-B though.
-
I just let them soak in a rain shower, hung over a patio chair–sometimes for a day of two if it's really rainy. I leave them indigo-side out and then dry on a wooden rack. With all of mine made with a 42" inseam, I never worry about measuring after I start--anything from 40-42 inches makes me happy and don't require rolling up out of the way. Never had the luxury of 42s until the Original Spin 501s were available starting in the late 90s, so I'm neutral about the habit rolling them up to see the selvedge--it's just not a part of my experience.
-
That patch has warped like crazy! I guess I to will admit to soaking my 9634Z until the patch became deformed, but no where near that! Who knows, maybe Giles uses extra patches to even out legs of the coffee table…
-
-
Hello to everyone
Does the IH634s actually shirnks a little? do you guys think is going to stretch almost 2 inhes like some menbers said?
I am fine with a 32 waist, 10.5 rise and 11.5 tight, all that after the stretching , so I guess my size is 31, but if the stretching is going to be 2 inches in the waist, maybe I should get a 30.
Thanks a lot and best regards
-
it doesn't shrink a lot.
And it only stretches 2 inches if it has to - in other words - if your jeans are not super tight to begin with, they will only stretch the average amount. Judging by thigh measurements I would say go for the 31.
We can do anything
http://bybeatle.com -
it doesn't shrink a lot.
And it only stretches 2 inches if it has to - in other words - if your jeans are not super tight to begin with, they will only stretch the average amount. Judging by thigh measurements I would say go for the 31.
Thanks a lot, do you mean is going to stretch more than two inches?
