Sometimes jeans are stretched during socks. Many buyers after this are upset and immediately put the thing away. But do not immediately fall into despair. After all, knowing why this is happening, you can understand what to do if the jeans are stretched.
Why jeans can stretch
Classic "twill" jeans made of 100% cotton, due to its fiber structure, stretch very quickly in places that often cause the fabric to stretch (on the buttocks and knees). Manufacturers know this, and trying to avoid customer dissatisfaction, they add some special fibers of synthetic lycra (or elastane) to the fabric. Only 2-5% elastane in jeans will make them soft and slightly stretchable.
But for budget models, most often the percentage of lycra content is much higher than the permissible. This allows you to significantly save on natural components, but makes jeans fragile - elastane threads, left without the support of cotton counterparts, simply burst, a small bubble forms in the place of the mini-accident. What if jeans are stretched for this reason? It is almost impossible to solve such a problem. Jeans can also stretch from gentle washing in a delicate mode - due to the influence of washing powder and cold water, if the fabric is not high enough. And if such jeans are dried without spin on an ordinary rope, then you should not be surprised at the stretched thing.
Types of denim and its ability to stretch
The first jeans were made of dense tough and rough canvas called denim, so the mods of that time did not think about stretching things. Over the years, the jeans industry has switched to the use of cotton, which, as you know, also varies. First of all, jeans fabric is divided into several types, depending on the manufacturing method. The best way is considered to be a special way of twisting the fibers using ring-spinning machines. This weaving is called twill and is the highest quality.
The second method of manufacturing is faster: the threads are simply intertwined with each other using rotary pneumomechanical machines. Of course, such fabric is inferior in density and quality to standard twisted denim.
The quality of the material is also easy to determine depending on its origin. The following manufacturers are generally known:
- Barbados - Cotton from this country is soft and shiny. Due to the very high price it is rarely found on sale.
- Mexico - Cotton is made from long fibers, which allows the material to remain smooth and without a single hem.
- India and Asian countries are the most common and affordable type of cotton, which is why it is much more common than others.
Washing machine
The easiest way to make jeans one size smaller is to wash them in a washing machine in water at a temperature of 90 degrees and at maximum spin speeds. But before you put your favorite thing in the drum, you need to make sure of its quality: such an experiment can only withstand a fabric in which the cotton content is at least 70%. Extreme washing will not survive the jeans, decorated with beads, lace and other accessories. In any case, it is better to play it safe and wash without using powder - the color will not deteriorate, the jeans do not fade. This method of returning the form of a stretched thing, like washing, is simple and convenient for most people, however, the effect of it is temporary. But if you repeat the procedure a couple of times a month, then jeans can be worn for a very long time.
Hand wash in hot water
If there is no washing machine, you can wash your jeans with your hands. To do this, a sufficient amount of water is poured into two basins: in the first - very hot, in the second - cold. Then the jeans are soaked for 20-30 minutes in hot water, and then alternately moved to cold and vice versa. Contrast rinsing allows you to consolidate the effect of this procedure.
"Varenki" - boiling to reduce the size of jeans
What to do if jeans are very stretched, and you want to reduce the thing not by one, but by two or three sizes? This will help the old-fashioned old-fashioned way - boiling. In the 70s of the XX century, boiling with the use of washing powder allowed fashionistas and women of fashion to whiten jeans in different places and adjust according to the figure if necessary. The method is simple and unsophisticated: put jeans in a large pot of boiling water (it is better to use wooden tongs, which are very convenient to immerse the jeans evenly in water, stir during cooking and pull the item out into the air) and allow them to boil for 20-30 minutes, depending on desired effect. Precautions for this method are the same as for washing in hot water. The quality of the material should be high, because there is a risk of damage to the color and fittings of the product.
Things to Remember When Reducing Jeans with Hot Water
- It is not known what to do if stretch jeans are stretched - hot water is useless in this case.
- Do not forget that the effect of this procedure is temporary, and jeans in the process of wearing again stretch. In order to preserve the fabric, it is better to purchase several pairs at once and not to wear one thing every day.
- If the jeans label is marked Shrinktofit, this means that the jeans can only sit after the first wash, and what to do if the jeans are stretched some time after wearing is unknown.
- After washing in hot water, jeans should never be ironed wet, this will negate all efforts to reduce the size of the thing.
- "Jeans stretched after washing, what should I do?" - People often ask. The answer is simple: do not wash in cold water and do not dry in the fresh air.
- It is important to remember that the described methods of reducing stretched things using hot water are applicable to the whole product as a whole - the thing will be equally reduced both in length and in width.
Hot drying and slim jeans
If the jeans are stretched after washing, then what to do in this case is not so difficult to understand: you can help the jeans to sit with proper drying. The first method is the most commonplace: squeeze the jeans as hard as possible so that there is not a single drop left on them that would drain and pull the fabric down, and hang it on a dryer or even on a hot battery. The thing is guaranteed to decrease by at least one size. The second method is more suitable for thin and delicate fabrics: on a horizontal surface there is a piece of fabric that absorbs water well, jeans are laid out on top, and the third layer is placed another piece of the same moisture-absorbing fabric. Squeezed between two layers of jeans can not stretch under the weight of flowing water, and therefore slightly decrease in size, or at least do not stretch. The third method is simply impossible: you need to put the jeans in the washing machine, equipped with the function of hot-drying products, and set the desired program. The effect will be the same as in the previous two methods.
Kneeling on jeans - what to do?
It often happens that jeans are not stretched along the entire length, but only in places that are constantly subject to stretching when moving (kneecaps or belt). If there is no time for a full wash, and it is not clear what to do if your knees are stretched out on your jeans, you can use the following method and adjust only certain places of your favorite thing. To do this, you need a spray gun, fabric softener and water. A mixture of air conditioning and water is poured into a spray bottle and generously sprayed on stretched places, then the jeans are sent to dry on a battery or in a hot dryer. This requirement is mandatory; drying at room temperature will not succeed.
If all else fails, jeans can simply be altered
To reduce the size of jeans using a needle and thread is a universal way, the fabric will not be spoiled. And you can apply it even if stretch jeans are stretched, and what to do is unclear, because using water it is very difficult to give them the desired shape. Jeans can be taken to a sewing workshop or use the following video tutorial and independently sew jeans in the right places.
In fact, there are much more ways to give the desired shape to a stretched denim product, but the material contains only the simplest and most effective answers to the question: "What if the jeans are stretched?" But it is better to always remember that this problem can be avoided by buying quality items of the right size.