A Shock From the Legend that is Megatron1505
The next method comes from forum legend, creator of the Denim World Championships, and through and through denim expert, the mighty Megatron1505 – known to his family and friends as Gavin Smith.
Gavin’s method is sure to get the entire shrinkage out and flies in the face of conventional raw denim thinking. There are the words “tumble” and “drier” mentioned!
Firstly, turn the jeans inside out and soak them in water as hot as your hand can stand. During the soak agitate the jeans as much as possible. He notes that agitation has as much to do with the shrinkage as the temperature of the water. The agitation ensures that each and every fibre is soaked right down to the core.
You then just hang them up to dry, outside of possible.
More Shrinkage You Say?
If you still feel further shrinkage is needed, and from personal experience it is, you should not be scared to throw them in the wash. Again, make sure they are turned inside out and wash them at a standard 40-degree cycle.
The Horror!
If you want to make sure that your jeans are well and truly shrunk down, Gavin is quite happy to see the dryer put to use. This comes with a stark warning; if the temperature is over 100 degrees the leather patches can be ruined!
Rope Dye Say:
We admire the wholehearted practicality of this method and the fact all shrinkage will be well and truly gone. However, Gavin has gone on record saying that he is a fan of the vintage fade, so less contrasty fading patterns.
A machine wash and a tumble try this early on is the right way to start this off by removing any and all excess indigo and bleeding out the remaining dye.
18 comments
Why not? What special qualifications/experience do you need to be able to comment on shrinking jeans other than having shrunk jeans before?
Hi Martin,
We’re not really sure what you’re commenting on? Is it something specific in the article or one of the other comments?
funny to read all the so called denim expert opinions! page nr 3 is the best with following statement:
“The cotton needs the water to tighten and bind together”!!!!!where the hell u get this science?
for those who really want to know what matters: nothing!
whatever u do is ok. the shrinkage is just caused by the tension in the yarn during weaving and by sanforizing the fabric these tensions relax and the fabric get stability.
wearing washed/unwashed, sitting in the bathtub with or without detergent/salt,etc is not critical to this mechanical parameter.
under temperature the fabric will return to its original position and, if unsanforized, shrink.
thats all and the rest is BS.
The article says yo soak before wearing but my eviscerate says to wear as long as possible then soak, which is it?
Hi Leonard,
Thank you for your question. As it is argued in the post, there is no “right” way to soak your raw denim jeans. However, the article quite thoroughly points out the pros and cons of pre-wear soaking vs. no soak. With pre-wear soaking, the fading may take a little longer and the contrasts may not get as pronounced (cons), but the denim will in all likelihood last longer (pros). The only way to find out what works for you is to try – which is also one of the most fun parts of raw denim. However, if you’re wearing unsanforized denim, we would always recommend a pre-wear soak to get the majority of the shrinkage out of the denim.
Best,
Thomas
Levis tag*
I find most jeans, especially from Japan have a rise that is already close to being too short for me. If soaked right away with no constraints it could be game over.
I usually soak the legs all the way up to the rise with out touching. Also splashing the front by the pockets so it won’t create a “pouchy” looking front rise area. Let air dry then wear for a month or so to get all the stretch out of the waist and rise. Being carful to not let the crotch get too worn out. Then full on wash with soap to get all the built-up starch and dirt out for longevity of the denim. Constantly hand streaching the waist and rise throught the wash and dry process yo insure they dont overshrink. Then I go as long as possible before the second and third wash. 🙂
More on my blog!
The Denim Hound
Might be necro-bumping an old topic here, but I’m new to unsanforized denim. After reading the soak-before-wear bit, I’m wondering how I can get them to shrink to the right fit. I’ve always thought that unsanforized means “shrink to fit”, and soak-sitting in them tub wearing them would get them to shrink to the right fit with each person’s measurements. If I just throw them in the tub won’t it just shrink evenly throughout?
It’s worth noting that unsanforised left hand twill doesn’t shrink or tighten up quite as much as right hand twill ( I found this on both Studio d’artisan SD-007, and Strike Gold 3109, both unsanforised left hand twill models ) The heavier the weight of your denim the more likely it is to need a second soak to achieve a full shrink too. I’ve also found the most pronounced roping on the hem occurs on mid weight 13-15 oz denim, and can be highly dependent on the skill of the Union special operator. In my experience Japanese milled sanforised denim such as that used by Spellbound or 3sixteen will often still shrink a small but noticable amount.
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