How to care for raw denim

mlyngard · May 16, 2010

Originally Posted by jingco

Here's a video of me washing my raw denim after wearing it for 18 months.
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TIP: to embed Youtube clips, put only the encoded part of the Youtube URL, e.g. eBGIQ7ZuuiU between the tags. And we posted the instructions, details, and photos here: How to wash your raw denim jeans Hope it helps!
lulz "Taking care of your raw denim and achieving spectular fades may seem like a monumental task, but it's a lot easier than you may think." "2. Add a small amount of laundry detergent. I recommend Woolite Dark for minimizing indigo loss." When do any dudes think they've become experts when the personal experience and wisdom of the original Osaka Five denim company founders and even the Levis historians are debated. Some wash often, some wash sometimes.

KitAkira · May 16, 2010

Obsessing over how to treat your denim = weak ass fades.

zacharydschroeder · May 16, 2010

Originally Posted by KitAkira

Obsessing over how to treat your denim = weak ass fades.

*Palm to forehead*

Well, suffice to say I've figured out a few things about denim since May of 2007 when I wrote that.

jingco · May 16, 2010

Thanks, i updated the spelling error. What's wrong with the 2nd?

I agree there are a lot of different opinions on washing raw denim.

Originally Posted by mlyngard

lulz

"Taking care of your raw denim and achieving spectular fades may seem like a monumental task, but it's a lot easier than you may think."

"2. Add a small amount of laundry detergent. I recommend Woolite Dark for minimizing indigo loss."

When do any dudes think they've become experts when the personal experience and wisdom of the original Osaka Five denim company founders and even the Levis historians are debated. Some wash often, some wash sometimes.

airblaster503 · May 16, 2010

I think the fact that you talk about trying to achieve spectacular fades, but you go on talking about woolite dark trying to minimize indigo loss. That doesn't make any sense, if you want good fades, why the hell would you want to use a detergent that minimizes the loss of the indigo???

PG2G · May 16, 2010

Originally Posted by airblaster503

if you want good fades, why the hell would you want to use a detergent that minimizes the loss of the indigo???

Because you want the fades to come from wear and not from the washing machine? The goal is to keep the parts with little wear as dark as possible for a nice contrast.

jingco · May 16, 2010

Originally Posted by airblaster503

I think the fact that you talk about trying to achieve spectacular fades, but you go on talking about woolite dark trying to minimize indigo loss. That doesn't make any sense, if you want good fades, why the hell would you want to use a detergent that minimizes the loss of the indigo???

Thanks, I didn't write it, it was the guy shooting the Vid but I think it's what PG2G said, spectacular fades in the long run from wear but retain the indigo from wash to wash.

mlyngard · May 17, 2010

Didn't mean to be a smartass. Was in a grumpy mood.

My point was that indigo loss through wear and washing is what gets you amazing fades. Too much of one without the other and you may not, but probably still will.

But there's no need to fuss with trying to control indigo loss, and I think that Woolite thing is a myth. The goal is to let go and let the jeans do their own thing without intervention. That's the only way to get fades with integrity, in my opinion.

Or you can just read the care label, which I'm pretty sure summarizes the denim maker's intentions: "Hot wash, normal cycle. Tumble Dry. Avoid Bleach." Anything beyond that seems a little pansy to me.

zacharydschroeder · May 17, 2010

I don't baby my jeans when I was them, but I've had issues with combs resetting if I put them in the dryer, so I hang them to dry. Has anyone else had this problem?

Pablo-T · May 17, 2010

Originally Posted by mlyngard

My point was that indigo loss through wear and washing is what gets you amazing fades. Too much of one without the other and you may not, but probably still will.

But there's no need to fuss with trying to control indigo loss, and I think that Woolite thing is a myth. .
Exactly. A good wash is integral to a good fade. Most traditional soap powders are perfect, as long as you avoid phosphates and bleaching agents.

Denim makers, like Cone, advise not using a dryer, especially in the early stages - they lift out resins and sizing in the denim, and some of the indigo will disappear with them.

Rolfi · May 17, 2010

now this is rich, indigo 'diasappears' in the dryer?

-the horror, the horror...

KitAkira · May 17, 2010

Originally Posted by zacharydschroeder

*Palm to forehead*
Was this to me? If you ask many of the people who have the drool-worthy fades people strive for, a large number of them would say they don't baby their denim

jingco · May 17, 2010

Originally Posted by KitAkira

Was this to me? If you ask many of the people who have the drool-worthy fades people strive for, a large number of them would say they don't baby their denim

I agree. When I have my on I abuse mine like a poorly behaved child. That's how you get the natural fades, distinct colours and rips.

(Legal note: I do not actually abuse children)

PG2G · May 17, 2010

I think people on style forum (myself included) are tired of talking about raw denim so the standard response is to just wear them. I'd probably ignore anything less than a year old, or go to superfuture.

mlyngard · May 17, 2010

Originally Posted by RÃ¶lfi

now this is rich, indigo 'diasappears' in the dryer?

-the horror, the horror...

Originally Posted by jingco

I agree. When I have my on I abuse mine like a poorly behaved child. That's how you get the natural fades, distinct colours and rips.

(Legal note: I do not actually abuse children)

Originally Posted by PG2G

I think people on style forum (myself included) are tired of talking about raw denim so the standard response is to just wear them. I'd probably ignore anything less than a year old, or go to superfuture.

Fantastic! Agreed PG2G. The banter here is fun though.

Originally Posted by zacharydschroeder

I don't baby my jeans when I was them, but I've had issues with combs resetting if I put them in the dryer, so I hang them to dry. Has anyone else had this problem?

Yeah, dryer will take them smaller by a few %, so everything shifts more. Depends on when you put them in the dryer, imo. When they're new is the best time to do that. After initial break-in, I've never used the dryer.

Some other dudes have done the machine wash-dry thing from the start and swear by it though (provided you didn't downsize too much or at all...)

How to care for raw denim

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