How to soften stiff blue jeans? I bought some new Levi's and they could stand on their own! I've tried washing them several times, but they are still stiff as a board... fabric softener doesn't help
It's been a long time since I've bought a stiff pair of jeans, but as a teenager we would wear our new jeans in the bath so that they would take our shape and add a cup of salt to the water to help soften them.
It still would take a good few washes before they were really softened though.
i have heard that you can wash your jeans with bath towels. the roughness on the towels are supposed to soften the jeans. i dont know but i think i read that on here actually.
Not sure on softening except for washing and wearing them...
1 cup of salt in the wash is used to set the color in the jeans to stop them from fading...
Christie
Try using vinegar instead of fabric softner next time you wash.
I read this long ago and used it a few times with good results. Put the jeans in the washing machine by themselves. Use the smallest size load. Put the water into the machine on the wash cycle, then add about a cup of liquid fabric softner. (no soap) Let the machine agitate. When that cycle stops, before the water drains out, move your machine control back and repeat the agitating cycle. Do this three or four times. Then allow the jeans to stay in the machine as it completes its wash.
It takes a few washings to really soften up stiff jeans. One time I bought a pair if Levis that had a pumice stone that had been left in the pocket (apparently from when they were 'stone' washed).
Leave them in a bucket of water with a good bit of Proctor and Gamble fabric softener overnight. Rinse the next day. Works well.
Wash them with Coke. The really stiff ones that are dark blue will soften up nicely. Fill the washing machine with water, pour in a can of Coke, agitate it to mix it up, then throw in your jeans. I have even used diet Coke and it worked (it's all I had).
To be really frugal don't worry about it. They'll soften up themselves after a few washes, and meanwhile enjoy the new jean smell and feel experience while it lasts. Wash new jeans together with old ones to brighten up the color of the old ones.
I have to agree with SnowyFilly. Not only does salt preserve the color, the jeans came out so soft.
To soften stiff blue jeans wash them in a washing machine with your favorite detergent and add 3/4 cup of plain white vinegar to the rinse cycle. You might have to do this twice but once usually works great. Don't worry they won't smell like vinegar and they also won't have any soap residue.
I would try vinegar in the rinse water, and tennis balls, or dryer balls in the dryer.
Sleep in them every night for a month...
Also wet them in cold water inside out and rub them down inside out with a pummy stone twice a week
Just heard on a show fit & stitch to wash your stiff jeans in coke, but has to be regular cke
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How would I soften a denim jacket?
Fabric softener and a few washes can only make this jacket more worn and softer,It will get there!
It is denim jacket weather isn't it!! Happy almost fall!!
Soak the jacket in a bucket with a cup of vinegar to each gallon of water. Soak for an hour, check for softness. Not soft enough, soak for another hour. Repeat until it is to your liking, then run through a regular wash, alone so it doesn't bleed on to anything. Air dry in the sun. Enjoy!!
P.S. you will always want to wash the jacket with dark clothes as denim sometimes "bleeds" for many, many washings!
Repeated washing takes out the sizing that makes it stiff.
If you wash it, use dryer sheets (when you put it in the dryer), and use fabric softener it should become softer
Normally it will take quite a few washing to get it the way you want. You can try to do what I did as a child and soak it in a bucket with some stones and fabric softner. I added bleach to mine because I wanted the old faded demin look.
Other than this you'll just need to keep washing this and drying it to get it the way you want. It can take a lot of time to get denim soft and feeling good.
Most new clothing has 'sizing' as this is what generally gives it the 'new' feeling and the sizing washes out after one or two washings.
Some denim does have sizing but Levi says if the denim is really, really stiff it usually means it is a denser material and (for jeans) they recommend wearing many times without washing; not too many people will do this and it may not work very well with a jacket.
You will find numerous 'methods' listed online and most likely most will work so you may just have to decide which one you want to try first.
Suggestions include: using baking soda, white vinegar, table salt, Epsom salt (works really well), fabric softener liquid, fabric softener sheets, coca cola (coke), sandpaper, tennis shoes/balls in dryer, and on and on.
With 6 children to raise (many years ago), I went through a lot of denim and it was stiffer back then (and probably a lot better) so I have tried most of these 'methods' at one time or another.
I believe you will get faster results if you set your washer on low wash (fast agitate), add 1/2 to 1 cup of one of the above choices (maybe whatever you have on hand), add jacket, let soak for several hours or overnight, start washer and go through full agitate until machine stops (no draining), start it over again with same solution. Complete this wash and then run through wash cycle with 1 cup of white vinegar or 1/2 to 1 cup of fabric softener.
Dry in dryer on low or medium heat (with tennis balls or one of the products made for dryers) and I really believe you will have a softer jacket when finished.
Fill your machine, soak in cold water with a little white vinegar and one cup of fabric softener about 30 minutes. Finish with a delicate rinse and spin. Hang dry. A few times should soften the fibers.
Dry it with tennis balls :)
I got a new denim jacket as a gift recently and it's really stiff and very uncomfortable so if you have any tips on how to soften it please help a girl out.
There is nothing better than an old soft denim jacket to wear around this time of the year. When I was younger new blue jeans were so still and uncomfortable I just to soak them in a tub with some bleach for a few hours to take out the stiffness of the jeans. I normally washed them around 8 times and put a ton of fabric softner in the water when I was washing them. This make them softer. The only thing that will make it totally soft and feel good is time and washing the jacket. Denim fades and softens up over time.
It's going to take a few washes and wear to soften, it will get there. Enjoy the jacket!
Keep washing it to get the sizing out
Soak the jacket in a bucket with a cup of vinegar to each gallon of water. Soak for an hour, check for softness. Not soft enough, soak for another hour. Repeat until it is to your liking, then run through a regular wash, alone so it doesn't bleed on to anything. Air dry in the sun. Enjoy!!
I agree with Pghgirl; soaking in a bucket with vinegar should help remove some of the stiffness and you can also try a mixture of one cup of salt in a bucket of warm - soak for 30 minutes or more; dump the water and run through regular wash (small load and by itself). Using a small load will give it more agitation and help to soften the fabric.
I will mention this - there are some types of denim that do not seem to soften no mater how many times they are washed but hopefully yours is not one of those.
I like to beat up my tough denims in the dryer with tennis balls :) Effective.
After some regular wear and tear, washing and drying - it'll soften up! :)
I bought two pairs of denim shorts recently and after I washed them they became too stiff and scratchy to wear. I looked to see what materials were in them and noticed they contained a fabric called "ramie". So I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to soften them up a bit? Much appreciated.
By Emma from GA
Ramie is cotton. Stick them in the wash a couple more times using cold water and use a softener. Dry them with a softener sheet but take them out when they are just a little bit damp. Like the original, hard as a board, Levi jeans they will soften up eventually. good luck!
Turn them inside out and iron them on a high setting with steam. You may have to do this for the first couple of times you wash them, but it will help break down and soften the fibers. Works on denim shirts with scratchy collars and cuffs too.
Hi here is the info on Ramie fabric. What is Ramie Fabric?
Ramie, also known as "China Grass", is a flowering plant native to eastern Asia. For centuries, ramie fiber has been used for making fabrics and clothing. In fact, ramie has been used for clothes since at least 5000 - 3000 BC in Egypt.
Ramie fibers are one of the strongest natural fibers. Ramie can be up to 8 times stronger than cotton, and is even stronger when wet.
Ramie Fabric
Ramie as a fabric, can be a great eco-friendly alternative to using synthetic fibers or non-organic fibers. It is also very comfortable to wear and is highly absorbent. This makes it a great choice for warmer climates or summer months. Ramie fabric also has good stain resistance. It's great in the wash too. It doesn't shrink, can withstand high water temperatures, and it's lustrous appearance actually improves with washing.
Ramie is low in elasticity and it does wrinkle easily. It is also quite costly to produce compared to other textile fibers, so this tends to raise the price of the end products.
Ramie can be used in a wide range of applications, including:
Dresses and skirts
Jackets
Pants
Shirts
Curtains
Upholstery
Bed sheets etc
Table cloths and table towels
Sewing threads
Handkerchiefs
Parachutes
Fire hoses
Canvas
Ramie is often blended with other fibers such as cotton and hemp to produce fabrics with different characteristics.
Companies selling products made with ramie include:
Australia's The Earth Collection (who also have a distributor in the UK and Ireland)
Chinas Sichuan JTC Garments Co.Ltd (a subsidiary of Sichuan Cotton and Ramie Group)
I also found some ramie apparel and ramie bedding at Amazon.com
Tags: eco-friendly clothes, fabric, ramie, Sustainability
From Patrival Boucherville Quebec Canada
Try soaking the denim shorts in a solution of vinegar & water (1:10), in a bucket. The solution should just cover the clothes, so no need to fill the bucket all the way to the top. This will help to breakdown the starch in the fibres all through. Next day wash them as usual. They should be softer. I live in a region where we have only hard water and most of our jeans and jackets turn stiff in the regular wash. I have tried this and it works.
Ramie is a plant fiber, but it is not cotton. It is a grass and I would be careful about using a hot iron
Ramie is not cotton. It is made from the fiber of the Chinese Nettle and is similar to linen.
How do you soften a denim skirt?
By Janell J
Be sure to check the skirt laundering label for the hottest wash this garment will tolerate according to the manufacturer before trying the following advice - denim likes to shrink as much as 2 full inches every direction in the first two-three washings so if you don't want shrinkage you may be stuck with the stiff fabric.
If you are OK with some shrinkage, you can try washing it several times - the stiffness may be an over application of sizing at the fabric mill and then in the garment factory.
Run the skirt through the warmest possible wash without soap. If you see suds in the water you know you've not added soap to, what you are seeing is the sizing being rinsed out of the fabric. Repeat the washing as many times as is needed until the water is clear during the last minutes of the wash AND rinsing cycles.
If you don't see suds during the last rinse cycle, next try soaking the skirt in warmest possible water with a large amount of vinegar poured in - as much as a gallon of distilled white to a full washing machine tub. Then wash-rinse until you can't smell vinegar anymore. This should soften the fibres and set the indigo dye at the same time.
Either way, then tumble dry the skirt on a low setting if you have a dryer (remember that tumble drying will also shrink your denim a little). Line drying will leave the denim somewhat stiff (but not as stiff as the sizing does!) but if you have no dryer, you can soften the line dried skirt by rolling into a sausage shape several times until softer.
