# can jeans shrink? and how do you keep them soft? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878 "2006-04-01T19:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gunzack89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gunzack89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gunzack89)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/1 "2006-04-01T19:58:35Z")
Hi, I have always had trouble with putting shirts in the dryer and having them shrink…i was wondering if jeans can shrink if you put them in the dryer? I ask because i like the way jeans feel when you first buy them, but it seems that after you wash them once they are very stiff and they never feel the same again…is there some trick to keeping them “soft”. thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/2 "2006-04-01T20:10:10Z")
I use that detergent which has fabric softner in it, like Tide With A Touch of Downy, and they work really well, in my opinion. (I always forget to add fabric softner and those dispenser balls can leave spots.) Combined with a dryer sheet, even new jeans feel softer. Clothes feel different in the store because of the chemicals sprayed on them to keep them mildew-free and less apt to wrinkle in shipping. (It’s called “sizing.”) My momma, who used to work in a clothing store, made me \*swear \*I would always wash clothes before wearing them, because she said at night when she came home, her hands were always coated in that nasty stuff. Jeans are stiff by nature because of the heavy weaving of the cotton fibers. The new ones feel especially stiff because the cotton fibers are still strong. (Like new rope.) After a handful of washings, the fibers will begin to weaken and break, and the jeans will become more comfortable as the fibers lint out. (The process is faster if you use harsher soaps.) ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/3 "2006-04-01T20:10:17Z")
Fabric softener, I like sheets in the dryer, rather than liquid in the washer. They can shrink, so dry them on medium or “permanent press”. Jeans soften up a LOT after multiple washings, and remember, don’t skimp on the fabric softener. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/4 "2006-04-01T20:13:15Z")
Oh yeah, sizing is a tool of the devil. I’m allergic to it, so any trip clothes shopping means red welts on my hands and itchy skin until I can take a shower. I practically claw at my face to make the itching stop. Wash that crap off! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/5 "2006-04-01T21:37:38Z")
As others have said, jeans _can_ shrink. Whether they will, and by how much, depends on what processes they have been through before being sold. Most, but not all jeans are pre-shrunk nowdays. I was online the other day at the Levi’s store, and in 501s one of the options is the “Shrink-to-Fit” style, which hasn’t been pre-shrunk. The website says to approximately 10 percent shrinkage. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/6 "2006-04-01T21:38:51Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The website says to approximately 10 percent shrinkage. The website says to **expect** approximately 10 percent shrinkage. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/7 "2006-04-02T00:49:00Z")
Yes. Jeans shrink. They also stretch. I generally don’t wash jeans after each wearing and they genreally feel a lot tighter after the wash. After wearing them, they stretch out again though. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/8 "2006-04-03T20:58:30Z")
Most jeans these days are preshrunk, but I find they’ll still shrink a little. To be safe I always go for jeans that are definitely on the long side; if I have to turn them up a bit at the bottom to avoid pavement scrapage it’s worth it not to have them showing the tops of my socks when I sit down a year down the road. IME such shrinkage occurs more in the length than elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/9 "2006-04-03T23:14:52Z")
My hint is to never put them in a dryer. I always hang mine to dry and nevr have shrinkage. Not an option for everybody, I’m luck to have a line hanging next to the washing machine. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/10 "2006-04-03T23:21:51Z")
Of course jeans can shrink, what else would explain me not fitting into most of my jeans anymore? 😉 (Though I’m working at getting back that size again) ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2006, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jeans-shrink-and-how-do-you-keep-them-soft/350878/11 "2006-04-04T19:37:47Z")
> [@Mr. Goob](#): > > My hint is to never put them in a dryer. I always hang mine to dry and nevr have shrinkage. Not an option for everybody, I’m luck to have a line hanging next to the washing machine. Ahh, but then you miss being able to put on jeans still warm from the dryer. They can be a bit tight coming out of the dryer but they loosen up a bit as you wear them, unless you bought them too tight in the first place.