Have you ever regretted buying a pair of jeans which don’t fit you anymore? Or did you feel enormously sad after going through a fitness transformation because your favourite types of denim don’t fit you anymore? Well, don’t worry because it is not too late. Yet. Don’t throw away your jeans because we know some extremely handy DIY ways to shrink jeans which will never fail you if you do them in the right way.

However, before continuing with the DIY ways, let’s learn some history. Shrinking jeans is not really a contemporary hack. When Levi Strauss invented the first pair of jeans, they had to be shrunk, as they were made of unwashed, raw denim which came straight from the loom.

The only way to shrink them was to rinse them in the tub before the customer could fit them. Be that as it may, the fabric of the denim also plays a great role when it comes to shrinking them down. The best fabric which has the highest potential for shrinkage is cotton. According to research, 100% cotton can shrink by 20% of its size. 

However, you will not only find the cotton denims but also some cotton blends. As the cotton is mixed with some other material, the degree of shrinkage becomes a little difficult. For instance, if 85 % of cotton is mixed with 15% polyester, the jeans will shrink for only 3 %. Therefore, it’s very essential to keep the fabric of jeans in mind while going out for shopping. With the right material at hand, here are some shrink-to-fit DIY ways to shrink your jeans.

How to Shrink Jeans?

Here are some of the effective ways to shrink jeans

1. Increase the temperature

This is one of the easiest and simplest methods to shrink denim if you get the knack of it. The cotton fibres which make up the jeans contract when they are applied with moisture and heat. That is why most of the care tags attached to the denim warn us that these types of denim are to be washed with cold water. 

But if you want to shrink them, all you need to do is play your jeans in the washing machine and change the settings so that it is set at the highest temperature. If you want, then you can add a powder or a softener as per your requirements. When it’s done washing, take the jeans and place them on the hot dryer. Spin them until they are dry and voila, your denims are good to go, completely your size. If they still don’t fit, you can repeat the same process again until they are fit.

2. When you want to shrink just one area

What if your jeans fit you perfectly well except around your thighs or calves? Washing and drying them at the highest temperature possible is not a prudent idea. Doing that will shrink your jeans, which might not fit you perfectly, rather fit you too much.

So, in such cases, take an empty spray bottle and fill that with three parts of hot water and one part with fabric softener. Mix it well and spray the mixture on the required parts of the jeans. Now, after completing this process, you can either use a dryer to dry the soaked parts or you can put those jeans in the dryer, set at the highest temperature possible. And you know what to do if these parts are still a little loose. Repeat the grind!

3. Take a bath

This one is a little weird yet the most efficient way to shrink denims. However, do not execute this technique in front of your friends or family members or else you’ll end up looking like a screwball in front of them. You have been warned!

Now, to do this DIY technique, fill your bathtub with hot water sans soap. Wear your loose-fitting jeans and sit inside it, with your headphones blaring Post Malone (that’s not mandatory though;)) until the water cools down. When the water cools down, step out of the tub and stand under the sun until the water dries off. It is a little traditional technique in comparison to others, but what if you have a power shortage? You need to be prepared, right?

Anyways, if you want to dry them fast, you can carry out your workout routine under the sun. Who said you can’t shoot a bird with two stones? If it’s winter you can probably dry them with your hairdryer but that’s going to take a lot of time. Nevertheless, with the help of a hairdryer, you can get rid of flabby arms.

4. Boil Them

If you find the above-mentioned technique too traditional or you want to save yourself from the indigo thighs, you can give your jeans the palatable spaghetti treatment. All you need is a large pan, some water and your concentration; if you boil them for too long, your favourite denim will lose some colour and will probably not remain your favourite anymore.

So, take a large pan and fill it with hot boiling water. Turn your denims inside out and place them in the pan. Keep them in the pan for about half an hour and continue to stir them now and then. After the water cools down, take your denims and drain out the excess amount of water. Next, keep them in the dryer at the highest temperature and your shrink-to-fit operation is successfully executed.  You can thank us later!

5. Use an Iron

Ironing a pair of loose denims seems like the most obvious way to shrink jeans whenever you are in a hurry to go somewhere. For this technique, all you need is a good iron that works and some of your arm strength.

When you iron your jeans, you are providing direct heat to them which helps in the contraction of the cotton fibres. So, either you can iron your entire jeans or the required parts of it. After completing this process, allow some time to cool them off. You don’t want to burn yourself, do you?

Hope these DIY techniques help you to shrink jeans, so you can wear them whenever you want. But keep in mind that you cannot constantly wash your jeans over and over again, otherwise, the fabric will instantly deteriorate and you will not be left with any option except throwing them away.

Remember to wash them wisely. 

Also read: Wearing Pinroll Jeans The Right Way