Jeans are the favorite clothing of many. They are great to wear in everyday life, on holidays, you can work and travel in them. However, over time, jeans can not only lose color, but also their shape. With prolonged wear, they stretch, becoming baggy and sagging on the figure. Of course, you can go to a tailor and have your jeans sewn. But first, try to fix the problem yourself. Then you won’t have to throw away your jeans or sew them up.
Where do jeans most often stretch?
The quality of denim affects its ability to stretch. When the first jeans appeared, fashionistas didn’t even pay attention to it.
Over the years, denim pants began to be made from woven cotton. Twill weaving threads are considered to be of the highest quality. But manufacturers are trying to add artificial fibers to reduce the cost of products.
During wear, many jeans stretch so much that they spoil the appearance of their owner. Most often they stretch on the knees, in the buttocks area, and on the waist. Not knowing what to do with them, many people put them in the closet. Don't give up your favorite type of clothing.
Types of denim and its ability to stretch
The first jeans were made from dense, hard and rough canvas called denim, so fashionistas of that time did not think about stretching things. Over the years, the denim industry has switched to using cotton, which, as you know, also comes in different varieties. First of all, jeans fabric is divided into several types depending on the manufacturing method. The best method is considered to be special twisting of fibers using ring spinning machines. This weaving is called twill and is of the highest quality.
The second manufacturing method is faster: the threads are simply intertwined with each other using rotary pneumomechanical machines. Of course, this fabric is inferior in density and quality to standard twisted denim.
The quality of a material is also easy to determine depending on its origin. The following manufacturers are mainly known:
- Barbados – cotton from this country is soft and shiny. Due to the very high price, it is rarely found on sale.
- Mexico - Cotton is made from long fibers, which allows the material to remain smooth and without a single rip.
- India and Asian countries are the most common and affordable type of cotton, which is why it is found much more often than others.
Why do jeans stretch?
There are many reasons for this problem:
- Pure cotton jeans have a lot of stretch due to the fiber structure.
- The composition of lycra in budget samples is higher than acceptable and also becomes a problem. Elastane threads not supported by cotton fibers burst, causing stretching.
- Wearing one model for a long time leads to stretching of the fabric at the knees and sagging in the buttocks area.
- Gentle wash on a delicate cycle for jeans made from low quality fabric. Under the influence of cold water and powder, things stretch.
- Line drying without spinning. Water pulls the fibers down, causing stretching.
We shrink jeans in certain areas
Pants often stretch out at the knees. What should you do if your jeans bunch up on your kneecaps? If you don’t have time to wash, but you urgently need to remove the accordion, then you can use a spray bottle.
Pour fabric softener and hot water (1:3) into a spray bottle, shake well to mix, then spray generously onto the stretched area. After this, dry the item on a hot radiator or in a hot dryer. You can even use a hairdryer. Drying at room temperature will have no effect.
The desired effect can be achieved by ironing the “wet” knees from the inside out until they are completely dry. If your jeans hang on your butt, you can use the same method.
A good method: wash without powder in hot water. The fibers will shrink and the pants will take on the desired shape. True, the effect will not last long; you will have to repeat this wash regularly.
Stretched items at the waist are best sutured using a machine. Give it to a workshop or make it at home:
- Unfasten the belt at the intended location.
- Baste the fabric, removing the extra centimeters, sew on a machine, cut off the excess, smooth the seam with an iron.
- Sew the belt into place.
- Steam and iron.
How to wash a cotton item so that it shrinks?
Effective ways to wash cotton so that it shrinks
- Wash the item in a washing machine at 60 degrees.
- Spin it on the standard spin cycle.
- If there is a drying function, set it to maximum and dry the item.
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How to reduce all jeans size?
You can reduce jeans size by washing them when they are stretched. But simple washing will not help; you need to know some nuances:
- Select the washing mode when heating the water to 90 degrees. Only exposure to hot water can reduce your pants size. Turn your jeans inside out.
- Washing should last at least an hour. When washed for 30 minutes, shrinkage will not occur.
- Use gel as a detergent; it damages fabric less.
But washing at 90 degrees also has its disadvantages. Denim pants can fit even 2 sizes not only in width, but also in length. And after a week, when worn every day, the item will again take on a stretched look.
It has been noticed that after hot processing, the fabric of the pants becomes rougher and it is difficult to put them on the body. The color also becomes paler. To soften the fabric, add conditioner when washing.
If the fabric contains a lot of synthetics, then after a hot wash the jeans may stretch even more and lose their shape.
If you dry your jeans properly, they can become the size you need. How to return things to their original shape by drying them? Washing machines have a drying program with a powerful cycle. After hand washing in hot water, put the jeans in the machine on the strong setting.
Another way: hang wet jeans on a hot, but not ribbed radiator. Why hang on a smooth battery? The ribbed surface of the battery will leave stretched areas on the fabric.
The heat will help the fibers shrink, causing the jeans to shrink by one size. But the effect will only last a couple of days, but the fabric will remain of the same quality.
Hot drying and downsizing jeans
If your jeans have stretched after washing, then what to do in this case is not so difficult to understand: you can help the jeans shrink with proper drying. The first method is the most banal: squeeze the jeans as hard as possible so that not a single drop remains on them, which would flow down and pull the fabric down, and hang it on a dryer or even on a hot radiator. The item is guaranteed to shrink by at least one size. The second method is more suitable for thin and delicate fabrics: a piece of fabric that absorbs water well is laid out on a horizontal surface, jeans are placed on top, unfolded, and another piece of the same moisture-absorbing fabric is placed as the third layer. Jeans sandwiched between two layers cannot stretch under the weight of flowing water, so they shrink a little in size, or at least do not stretch. The third method is incredibly simple: you need to place the jeans in a washing machine equipped with a hot drying function and set the desired program. The effect will be the same as in the previous two methods.
Wash in hot water
If you wash your jeans in boiling water, you can reduce them by one size. Washing things by hand in hot water is a rather dangerous procedure.
To perform this manipulation, first put cotton gloves on your hands, then rubber ones. Then take 2 basins, pour boiling water into one basin, and cold water into the other.
Then soak the product for 30 minutes in hot water, and then transfer it to cold water. Do this movement 3 times. Contrast soaking works well to secure the tapered shape of denim items.
Soaking in boiling water
Tightening the shape by boiling is a fairly simple way. If you add powder and bleach to the water, you can bleach your pants in the right places.
Pour water into the boiling tank, immerse the jeans, and bring to a boil. Using wooden tongs, immerse and turn the product in boiling water. “Cook” it for about 20 minutes, no more is needed, otherwise you can ruin the accessories.
It should be remembered that things shrink equally in both length and width. Therefore, buy long trousers that can be cut to the desired length at the bottom after washing.
Important! The fabric of the product must be of high quality, otherwise the item can be ruined forever.
If stretch jeans are stretched, then the boiling method will not work for them.
Products marked Shrinktofit generally shrink only after the first wash, so it is difficult to restore them. Please take this into account when purchasing. The method of washing in cold water and drying in fresh air is not suitable for reducing the size of such jeans.
“Varenki” - boiling to reduce the size of denim items
What should you do if your jeans are stretched a lot and you need to reduce the item not by one, but by two or three sizes? The old fashioned method of boiling will help with this. In the 70s of the 20th century, boiling with washing powder allowed fashionistas and fashionistas to bleach jeans in different places and adjust them to fit if necessary. The method is simple and unsophisticated: place jeans in a large saucepan with boiling water (it is better to use wooden tongs, which are very convenient for evenly immersing jeans in water, stirring during the cooking process and pulling the item out into the air) and allow them to boil for 20-30 minutes, depending on the desired effect. The precautions for this method are the same as for washing in hot water. The quality of the material must be high, because there is a risk of damaging the color and fittings of the product.
Ironing
What can I do to avoid stretching? All products are not suitable for wet ironing. Even well-fitted items will stretch again.
Instead of ironing, you can shrink it to size by smoothing it with your hands on the fabric:
- Soak denim pants in hot water.
- Lay a piece of fabric that absorbs moisture well on a horizontal surface. You can use a terry sheet.
- Lay the jeans on the fabric, smoothing them with your hands.
- Press the second piece of fabric on top.
- The item will not stretch as the fabric will absorb moisture.
If all else fails, you can simply alter your jeans
Reducing the size of jeans using a needle and thread is a universal way, the fabric will not be damaged. And you can use it even if your stretch jeans are stretched, and it’s not clear what to do, because it’s very difficult to give them the desired shape with water. You can take your jeans to a sewing workshop or use the video instructions below and stitch the denim trousers in the right places yourself.
In fact, there are many more ways to give the desired shape to a stretched denim product, but the material provides only the simplest and most effective answers to the question: “What to do if your jeans are stretched?” But it is better to always remember that this problem can be avoided by buying quality items of the right size.
Reducing a specific area
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In order not to have to worry about reducing the size of this wardrobe item, it is better to buy tight stretch clothes.
A slight deformation will also be visible. After washing, elastane will shrink the denim and the trousers may lose their original shape.
If your jeans gather unattractively at the knees or around the buttocks, then you can use a non-standard method of shrinking stretch models:
Put on your pants and fasten the zippers and buttons.
Fill the bath with hot water and sit in the bath wearing your trousers. Sit until the water cools, and then go out into the sun and dry off.
Experts recommend not to bother yourself with narrowing your jeans. Buy pants that zip up tightly. It is much easier to space them out than to achieve the required size using the narrowing method.
