{"id":121275,"date":"2018-07-30T20:00:58","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T01:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebudgetfashionista.com\/wordpress\/?p=564"},"modified":"2025-10-18T09:20:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T15:20:28","slug":"stretch-jeans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/archive\/stretch-jeans\/","title":{"rendered":"How to unshrink \u2014 or stretch \u2014 a pair of jeans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

A reader asks: help! How do I unshrink jeans? Here’s our answer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ah, life without your favorite pair of jeans! It\u2019s almost unimaginable, especially if said pair enjoys frequent play in your everyday wardrobe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why jeans shrink<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The problem occurs when those jeans undergo a dramatic transformation after you remove them from the dryer. Exposing denim to heat can cause the unfortunate shrinkage that renders your go-to pair useless. When heat and denim unite, the material naturally constricts and shrinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is more likely to happen in poly-blend jeans, which offer a softer hand and some additional stretch \u2014 both amazing traits for your denim, no doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to unshrink your jeans<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So what happens when they suffer the wrath of the dryer? It turns out there are a few tricks of the trade that just might work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Take a dip in the tub.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First, consider the old dunk-in-the-tub routine. It\u2019s exactly as it sounds. If the jeans are still wearable, slip them on and immerse yourself in a tub full of warm water. Let the fabric soak completely for approximately 15 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hop out of the bath and squeeze the jeans thoroughly to get as much moisture as possible out. Proceed to wear them for a good hour or so, going about your regular routine. (Yeah, it’s not going to be comfortable, so plan on sticking around the house.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After an hour, peel them off and allow them to air dry. The idea here is to loosen the fibers and stretch them out just enough to restore them to their previous state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jeans<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Soak the jeans in water and baby shampoo.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another option \u2014 which may be more palatable if you don\u2019t wish to wear sopping jeans \u2014 is to soak them in a basin full of lukewarm water mixed with a small amount of baby shampoo. Immerse the jeans into the water and allow them to soak for at least 30 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, remove the jeans and squeeze the excess moisture out. Hang them on a clothes line, which will help stretch them out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preventing jeans shrinkage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you have a closet full of denim, make sure you wash those pieces inside out to minimize the chances of shrinkage. Dry them only once. Or better yet, allow them to air dry completely and skip the heat. Repeated heat drying is convenient for sure, but it inevitably causes shrinkage \u2014 particularly if the jeans aren\u2019t pure denim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With regular care and a little know-how, you can stabilize the fit of your favorite jeans \u2014 for good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reader asks: help! How do I unshrink jeans? Here’s our answer! Ah, life without your favorite pair of jeans! It\u2019s almost unimaginable, especially if said pair enjoys frequent play in your everyday wardrobe. Why jeans shrink The problem occurs when those jeans undergo a dramatic transformation after you remove them from the dryer. Exposing… Read More »How to unshrink \u2014 or stretch \u2014 a pair of jeans<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":118852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[104,303916],"class_list":["post-121275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fashion-trends","tag-jeans","tag-what-to-wear"],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":118852,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/unshrink-jeans-1-300x150.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thebudgetfashionista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}