@Bobcat-Sig I just saw this after responding to your latest post in this thread. As I mentioned, I’ve shortened the sleeves on almost all my Iron Heart shirts. My only regret was not doing it sooner.

I researched the best denim tailors in America and it was very expensive to mail these shirts out to get altered. So I held back, reluctant to drop another hundred dollars per shirt. Then I just took it to my local place in Austin and they did a fantastic job for $30ish each. I started with one to test, but the place (Art Alterations) had great reviews.

The one tiny downside is the pleat at the cuff might be slightly more pronounced, but honestly, you just don’t notice it after a while. Still totally worth it not to have oversized sleeves.

I love everything about Iron Heart shirts, except this one issue of sleeve length. I’m not a Japanese motorcycle dude, so far be it from me to complain. So I’m just trying to make these beautiful garments as perfect for me as I can.

Splash of bleach to SBG wash?

(Allow me to preface the following by saying I’ve spent a long time achieving fades the slow and old fashioned way. But in the true spirit of denim, I like experimenting with new techniques to achieve a variety of results.)

When I first saw EllaHarp — a singer-songwriter who also makes her own jeans — demonstrate the results of a “splash of bleach” method on her 888s, I was surprised and impressed. This was a far more vintage-looking fade than any of my jeans looked like with heavy wear.

After a year in Texas, including a long, hot, humid summer, my 21 oz indigo IH denim had already started taking on beautiful whiskers and other cool fades, so I decided to experiment. The 777s had high contrast knee fades which I wasn’t a fan of (even tho I love my two young kids!). I hoped this “splash of bleach” technique could even out the difference and make the knee fades less obvious.

Using about 50 ml of bleach in my washes every 1-3 months has resulted in a very gradual change that evolved into absolutely stunning and complex vintage-style fades with a million hues of blue. The texture was also different than, for example, the thigh fades achieved without chemicals. It’s really not too dissimilar from what she shows in her photos.

This also had the benefit of smoothing out the contrast with the knee fades, making me fall in love with these jeans more than ever.

Question: would the same method cause a similar effect with my 8301 SBG 777s? Or will the sulfur-dyed fabric react differently? I don’t need super high contrast fades, but I like that middle ground, and these SBGs are really showing some character after almost 12 months of regular wear.

@Graham Has there ever been a consideration to make a modified Type 3 vest with the 14 oz fabric? I do own the 21 oz overdyed vest and it’s a fabulous option in the Texas heat. A 14 oz indigo vest (or even the 21 oz indigo) would also be excellent.

Splash of bleach to SBG wash?

(Allow me to preface the following by saying I’ve spent a long time achieving fades the slow and old fashioned way. But in the true spirit of denim, I like experimenting with new techniques to achieve a variety of results.)

When I first saw EllaHarp — a singer-songwriter who also makes her own jeans — demonstrate the results of a “splash of bleach” method on her 888s, I was surprised and impressed. This was a far more vintage-looking fade than any of my jeans looked like with heavy wear.

After a year in Texas, including a long, hot, humid summer, my 21 oz indigo IH denim had already started taking on beautiful whiskers and other cool fades, so I decided to experiment. The 777s had high contrast knee fades which I wasn’t a fan of (even tho I love my two young kids!). I hoped this “splash of bleach” technique could even out the difference and make the knee fades less obvious.

Using about 50 ml of bleach in my washes every 1-3 months has resulted in a very gradual change that evolved into absolutely stunning and complex vintage-style fades with a million hues of blue. The texture was also different than, for example, the thigh fades achieved without chemicals. It’s really not too dissimilar from what she shows in her photos.

This also had the benefit of smoothing out the contrast with the knee fades, making me fall in love with these jeans more than ever.

Question: would the same method cause a similar effect with my 8301 SBG 777s? Or will the sulfur-dyed fabric react differently? I don’t need super high contrast fades, but I like that middle ground, and these SBGs are really showing some character after almost 12 months of regular wear.

@Bobcat-Sig I just saw this after responding to your latest post in this thread. As I mentioned, I’ve shortened the sleeves on almost all my Iron Heart shirts. My only regret was not doing it sooner.

I researched the best denim tailors in America and it was very expensive to mail these shirts out to get altered. So I held back, reluctant to drop another hundred dollars per shirt. Then I just took it to my local place in Austin and they did a fantastic job for $30ish each. I started with one to test, but the place (Art Alterations) had great reviews.

The one tiny downside is the pleat at the cuff might be slightly more pronounced, but honestly, you just don’t notice it after a while. Still totally worth it not to have oversized sleeves.

I love everything about Iron Heart shirts, except this one issue of sleeve length. I’m not a Japanese motorcycle dude, so far be it from me to complain. So I’m just trying to make these beautiful garments as perfect for me as I can.

@Bobcat-Sig I did not notice much shrinking, but I just did like a cold wash and hang dry. I took it to a tailor where they shorten all my IH sleeves. Costs like $30.