tips for loosening up a pair of jeans?

Wine&SilverBlue · #1 06-30-2006, 08:08 PM

Many of my favorite pairs of jeans loosen up a bit after wearing and I'll usually put them in the dryer on low heat so they dry soft and shrink slightly back to the fit I prefer.

Unfortunately last spring when one pair was looser than usual I threw it into the dryer on regular heat, hoping it would shrink up a little extra. Yup, it did - so much that now I couldn't fit into it anymore! I left the jeans in my closet and forgot about them until yesterday, when I tried them on again. They button all the way and are OK when I'm standing but when I sit they are still a little too tight.. and stiff.

I've been wearing them around the house today hoping they would loosen up and soften up, and while I can sit in them now I still think they are too snug to wear out of the house.

Is there anything else I can do to help speed this along, besides just wearing them and hoping they loosen up? (or losing weight? then my other jeans wont fit!) My mom suggested fabric softener but I'm afraid to wash them again - I don't want to put them in the dryer and usually airdrying leaves my jeans stiff

Sidenote: what do you do with your jeans? do you put them in the dryer? ever have this problem?

_Lisa_ · #2 06-30-2006, 09:35 PM

I've had this problem before & I usually solve it by taking a nap in them. I know it sounds weird, but they loosen up after a few solid hours on the couch. :P

adpiucf · #3 06-30-2006, 09:48 PM

You could lose some weight.

Just kidding! Come on, you know you were all thinking it, too.

Ok seriously--To loosen jeans, just try wearing them around the house and stretch up and down in the them-- usually after a few minutes they stretch back out! I've also read that you don't want to wash your jeans frequently-- you could also try dry cleaning instead of washing and drying in the dryer.

Rudey · #4 06-30-2006, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adpiucf

You could lose some weight.

Just kidding! Come on, you know you were all thinking it, too.

Ok seriously--To loosen jeans, just try wearing them around the house and stretch up and down in the them-- usually after a few minutes they stretch back out! I've also read that you don't want to wash your jeans frequently-- you could also try dry cleaning instead of washing and drying in the dryer.

Part of the fun of the denim is the feel they take on. I even had a pair of 575s that were designed to be sold as clean and recommended that you rub your hands on the jeans after you eat greasy food or ever have dirt on it. But if you do wash them, you're supposed to turn it inside out so the color doesn't mess up.

Anyway, just lose some weight and wear them and sleep in them and repent.

-Rudey

ADqtPiMel · #5 07-01-2006, 04:17 PM

Do squats in them. Yes, I'm serious.

I always wash my jeans by themselves and inside out, and I dry them on a low setting.

SydneyK · #6 07-01-2006, 06:26 PM

Try this only if you're wearing a shirt long enough to cover the button/top of the fly. Loop a ponytail holder through the button-hole, then hook the loop over the button. I can't really describe it right, but it gives you a little extra room when done correctly. One of my aunts did this when she was pregnant and didn't buy her maternity wardrobe early enough.

_Lisa_ · #7 07-02-2006, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adpiucf

-- you could also try dry cleaning instead of washing and drying in the dryer.

If you take machine-washable clothes to a dry cleaner, they'll just wash them in a machine. Most dry cleaners will just follow the instructions on the label on your clothes.

Xylochick216 · #8 07-02-2006, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADqtPiMel

Do squats in them. Yes, I'm serious.

I always wash my jeans by themselves and inside out, and I dry them on a low setting.

I second this advice. After a few squats and lunges, my jeans are usually perfect if they shrunk a little.

ZTAngel · #9 07-02-2006, 03:11 PM

Try putting them in the dryer with a dryer sheet with fabric softener on the fluff setting. This might help to "fluff out" your jeans in the dryer without the damaging heat.

I always dry my jeans on the low setting. They're a little bit snug when I first put them on but they stretch out after wearing them for a little while.

recentASAalum · #10 07-02-2006, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crzychx

I've had this problem before & I usually solve it by taking a nap in them. I know it sounds weird, but they loosen up after a few solid hours on the couch. :P

I agree with the nap thing. I wash and dry my jeans. Then the first time I wear them I take a nap in them. After that they fit perfectly!!!

TNPhiMu · #11 07-02-2006, 05:41 PM

I used to have that problem alot...

Now, i typically wash them on cold and then dry them on a drying rack. Once you put them on, they typically aren't stiff after about 10 minutes, but sometimes, if they feel too stiff, I throw them in the dryer on fluff(no heat) for a few minutes and they are fine.

texgal · #12 07-02-2006, 06:32 PM

Like many said before, wash inside-out in cold water then either dry on a rack, or dry in the dryer on air dry or "fluff". It takes a while, but they don't shrink much, if at all, that way. Also, doing squats and lunges helps to stretch them out, along with just sitting for a while. So put 'em on, flop down on the couch and watch a show for an hour or so.

AGDee · #13 07-03-2006, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crzychx

If you take machine-washable clothes to a dry cleaner, they'll just wash them in a machine. Most dry cleaners will just follow the instructions on the label on your clothes.

This isn't/wasn't true when I worked at a dry cleaner's. If you brought it in for laundry service, you were charged by the pound and it was washed and dried. If you brought it for dry cleaning, it was dry cleaned and pressed, at a per piece price. If they are washing things you bring in for dry cleaning, you need to find a different dry cleaner!

AlphaFrog · #14 07-03-2006, 08:19 AM

I've read several articles that say you should NOT wash your jeans everytime you wear them...you should wear them at least 3 times in between washings. With this particular pair, you might try getting 4 times out of them for the next few times.

_Lisa_ · #15 07-03-2006, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee

This isn't/wasn't true when I worked at a dry cleaner's. If you brought it in for laundry service, you were charged by the pound and it was washed and dried. If you brought it for dry cleaning, it was dry cleaned and pressed, at a per piece price. If they are washing things you bring in for dry cleaning, you need to find a different dry cleaner!

I've worked with a few different dry cleaners in the area, all with the same policy-unless otherwise specified-follow the instructions on the label.