Soften Jeans

Denim, originally made in Nimes, France, was originally created so that the wearer would buy newly made denims and break down the fabric and dye with normal wear and tear. Even today, dry denim is often stiff and uncomfortable at first, but there are ways to distress jeans to make them more comfortable.

Steps

Washing Your Jeans

  1. Remove all the tags from your new jeans. Make sure to cut the tags off rather than pull them, to avoid creating holes.
  2. Turn your jeans inside out. Turning them inside out will usually help keep the outside free of the distressed look.
  3. Put softener in the washing machine. Do not directly pour the softener on the jeans. First start running the water in the washing machine and add the softener to the water and stir it. Then you'll add the jeans to the mixture. There are multiple types of softeners to use. Choose which one you like best.
    • You can use 1/2 to 1 cup liquid fabric softener depending on the size of your washing machine.
    • Or you could pour 1 cup salt into the water and use that. Salt works as a good fabric softener and has the added bonus of not having lots of chemicals in it.
    • You could make a natural softener with 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup white vinegar. They will act as a softening detergent.
    • Don't put anything else in the washing machine, like laundry detergent or soap.
  4. Run through multiple wash cycles. ONLY do this step if you are using fabric softener. The other types of fabric softeners don't need to go through more than once. The immersion in the water with the detergent softens the fibers of the jeans. For the fabric softener, however, it is good to run through about 3 or 4 times.
    • It's a good idea to set a timer so you don't miss the end of all the cycles.
  5. Dry the jeans. There are multiple ways to dry your jeans, especially if you're worried about them shrinking too much. You'll also want to put in dryer balls (about 4) or clean tennis balls, as they help with the softener.
    • If you are okay with your jeans shrinking down a bit, then use the dryer cycle that is high and hot.
    • If you are worried about shrinking them, either air dry the jeans or use the lowest dryer setting.

Softening Your Jeans

  1. Roll into a tight ball. Once your jeans are dry you're going to need to roll them into a really tight ball. Place the legs on top of each other and roll into the tightest bundle you can to pull the jean fibers apart as much as possible. Leave them in the bundle for 15 minutes.
    • You need to do this while the jeans are still hot! Letting them cool in the rolled fashion distresses the fibers more, which softens them.
  2. Use a pumice stone. After the jeans have been in a tight roll, unroll them and gently scrape the surface of the inside of the jeans horizontally, using a pumice stone or sandpaper. You'll have to remove the excess fiber that builds up as you go.
    • This process breaks down the outer fibers and gives them the type of wear they would normally get after prolonged wear.
  3. Wash the jeans twice in warm water. The second time you wash, put a clean pair of sneakers and 1/2 cup (118.3 ml) of fabric softener (or the natural variations detailed above) in with the jeans. Do not put anything else in the washer.
    • The sneakers will remove excess starch from the jeans, and they will also work as a second agitator for the jeans to knock against.
  4. Wear your newly softened jeans. They will continue to soften as you wear them. After you wash and dry them each time, you could roll them up for the 15 minutes, so that they'll be more comfortable to wear.

Tips

  • To create a distressed look, turn the jeans right side out and scrape them with a pumice stone like you did the inside of the jeans.
  • You can use bleach as a fabric softener, but only if you want that bleached look, because it will mark the jeans irrevocably.

Warnings

  • Washing them so many times can cause the jeans to shrink, so if you don't want to shrink your jeans you may want to limit how many times you run them through the cycle. They will be less soft, but they won't shrink as much.

Things You'll Need

  • New jeans
  • Washing machine
  • Fabric softener or baking soda
  • Pumice stone or sandpaper
  • Clean sneakers
  • Tennis balls or dryer balls

Sources and Citations

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