# How can I make my trousers less stiff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 6, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689 "2006-09-06T20:13:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/1 "2006-09-06T20:13:38Z")
OK, bit of an odd one this. I have a pair of trousers (or pants, if you must) which fit perfectly, and I like them, except that the fabric is too stiff, so it doesn’t so much hang as kind of, well, stand there. It’s a kind of light canvas fabric, and I assumed it would soften up after a few washes, but it hasn’t really. Is there anything I can do to make the fabric less stiff, without damaging my trousers? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/2 "2006-09-06T20:26:19Z")
Must… supress… urge to make juvenile joke involving ‘trousers’ and ‘stiffness’… What exactly are they made of? Check the tag and let us know. I loaf around the house in stiff jeans as much as possible to soften them up. Also, in my experience, washing perfectly good clothing in British washing machines/water has made them kind of rough. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/3 "2006-09-06T20:37:04Z")
They’re 100% cotton. They’re Levi’s, but not exactly jeans, kind of a cross between jeans and cargo pants I suppose. As I said, it’s kind of like a lightweight canvas material. Fabric softener doesn’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/4 "2006-09-06T20:45:21Z")
I have pants like this too (and yes, I must call them pants). I think they are Docker khakis. I have had them for atleast 2 years and they are still very stiff. I would have to assume that they are mostly cotton. They also come out of the dryer very wrinkly and don’t unwrinkle easily because of their stiffness. I wonder if there are any old homespun remedies for this? All I know is that, like the OP said, washing numerous times doesn’t seem to help. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/5 "2006-09-06T20:47:41Z")
When my trousers get too stiff, I try to think about baseball. > [@Cat Fight](#): > > Must… supress… urge to make juvenile joke involving ‘trousers’ and ‘stiffness’… You’re a better person than I. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/6 "2006-09-06T21:01:03Z")
If you have hard water, cloth might get **more** stiff from washing. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/7 "2006-09-06T21:13:39Z")
Don’t wash, but chuck them in the dryer on “air dry” or “no heat” setting with a few pairs of athletic shoes. A few hours of this will beat those pants out of their stiffness. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/8 "2006-09-06T21:17:59Z")
Back in the day, when I was the premier fish filleter in Cortez, Florida, we used to drag our jeans behind a powerboat to break them in. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/9 "2006-09-06T21:27:03Z")
Use fabric softener, and then tumble-dry them with a sheet of Bounce. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-make-my-trousers-less-stiff/371689/10 "2006-09-07T01:02:41Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > OK, bit of an odd one this. I have a pair of trousers (or pants, if you must) which fit perfectly, and I like them, except that the fabric is too stiff, so it doesn’t so much hang as kind of, well, stand there. It’s a kind of light canvas fabric, and I assumed it would soften up after a few washes, but it hasn’t really. > Is there anything I can do to make the fabric less stiff, without damaging my trousers? Didn’t Levis Straus stone wash their jeans to make them look old and softten them up. A few launderings in real hot water and lots of chlorine bleach might do the job. Roll them around in a big barrell of stones, hot water, detergent & bleach.