My routine: hot soak inside out with a bit of agitation for about an hour, hang for about 5-10 minutes, then wear wet for a couple hours making sure to move around, bend my knees, sit, etc. (just make sure to put a towel down before you sit, otherwise your seat will end up blue). Then I hang them to dry the rest of the way. This does a few things - 1) removes any shrinkage that's left in the jeans 2) wet denim stretches easier than dry denim, so while wearing them wet sucks, it makes the first actual wear a lot more enjoyable 3) the bending and moving while wet helps set in creases faster
Usually I would be worried about creating knee bags wearing wet denim but I swear the XHS never stretches so much that it's unflattering. I might try this out on my next wash.