How do I 'soften up' a tough pair of jeans?

My kid bought himself a pair of those ugly, monstrously oversized Fubu jeans, and is now complaining that he cannot wear them because they are ‘too hard’.

Is there any thing or any process to de-stiff the denim (apart from going down the creek and bashing them against some rocks for a few hours or days)?

Bleach. The more the softer right up til all you have is threads.

I find that the best way to break in jeans is to buckle down and wear them. The parts that need to be flexible become flexible, usually within a day (I assume that he moves during the day…).

I’m with Phage. There just doesn’t seem to be any shortcut to jean greatness. Toil and sweat, literally.

May I just add that the kid read this when I opened the thread again, and looked MOST indignant about the aspersions cast on his mobility. Then when I reminded him that he didn’t crawl out of bed until 12.30 pm today, he sheepishly admitted to his slothfulness.

Thanks.

:smiley:

Although I wouldn’t recommend trying it with your average run-of-the-mill home laundry, one method involves washing the overly-rigid pantaloons with smooth river rocks during the agitation cycle. This will tend to beat up the threads and force them into submission.

Alternatively, you could try washing the jeans several times with a pair of old worn out sneakers tossed in along with them. A warm wash with a cold rinse should help relax the fabric a bit. Some fabric softeners might assist as well, but I detest unnecessary chemicals in my clothes.

The best method i have found is to fill your sink with very hot water and soak the jeans for a few hours then wash them in warm water and dry them on low heat.

Back when 501s were still ‘shrink-to-fit’ i’d get them soaking wet and wear them for the day. Not only would they ‘loosen up’, they’d also shrink to fit me.

Just try being nice to them.

run over them with a bulldozer? Beat them on a rock? ok maybe not. Basically you need to break down the fibers. Bleach works as does wear and or washing them a lot.

Why would you want to bleach a new pair of pants? They would look pretty uglyi fyou get spots & bleach can weaken the fabric. Try a fabric store, they should have a product you can use when you wash them. Washing alot seems to do the trick.

If the bleach was put in the washer while it was filling up and allowed to be diluted before adding the jeans, you would not get spots and it would soften up the jeans.

Put them in the washing machine with two or three cups of fabric softener. Then put them through three wash cycles.

Or you can bury them and dig them up a year later.

Thousand-year-old leggings?

Apparently much modern denim is pre-softened with enzymes. According to this page about denim finishes, the enzyme commonly used is amylase, which is present in human saliva and stomach acid, and can also be bought as a commercial agent, so drool on them. The first link also mentions microsanding, using abrasive rollers, which also softens denim.

This site recommends washing them with half a cup of salt.

Huh. I’m surprised no one mentioned washing with a cup of white vinegar. Works like a charm to me.

I have heard that driving back and forth over them a bunch of times will help too.

You could try soaking them for 48 hours in a bucket of water in which you’ve dumped half a bottle of the cheapest hair conditioner you can find (then run 'em through the laundry). I do this with scratchy wool sweaters, and it works extremely well.

Per the OP, they’re already ugly. Besides, bleach spots are currently in fashion. Just two weeks ago, I saw a woman who appeared as if she drank bleack, then started farting to make a big bleach spot centered right on her butt. She somehow thought this looked good??

Maybe puke in the washer a few times?? :smiley:

I’m with the wear them until they loosen up. They wear longer and better that way. Same for Levi Jackets…they are stiff as hell when new.

If you try to wash them into submission, the don’t last as long, and don’t get the wear patterns like if they were worn.

This is all from a practical, jean wearer’s standpoint. I’m not trying to make a fashion statement and I wear them until they fall apart, not until a new fashion trend comes along.

Actually, they’re already white, so bleaching them would not be a problem (except perhaps for the Fubu logo-stitching). However, he has decided to just wear the buggers until they soften up.

But gotpasswords, what the hell is that farting story about? :stuck_out_tongue: