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Help needed shrinking 501's

upstarter

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Hello,

I will be buying a pair of 501's this Saturday, and wanted to know what are the proper steps to shrinking these pair of jeans? I have read several of the previous "essential" articles on the subject, but find them all confusing.

Steps I think should be taken:

1. First thing you do is sit in a tub of warm water with your 501's for 40 minutes. QUESTION: Does it matter that your but is in contact with the tub? Does this make the dye on the back of the jeans fade unevenly-should you be "suspended" in the tub?

2. Dry them on a clothes line.

3. Upon being dry, turn them inside out, and throw them in the washing machine.

4. Then put'em in the dryer.

I feel like there's more to it than these four steps, so if anyone could provide ANY relevant information, I'd be most thankful.

Thanks,

Upstarter
 

ang_kangkong

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I hope these are the LVCs and not just regular STFs. Not worth this much thought.

You don't have to be in them when you give them a soak, first of all. I'd just turn them inside out and do a really hot soak to get as much shrinkage out of the way. Soak means – don't keep turning them around, and also, weigh it down, it'll want to float.

You can let it line dry (recommended) or machine-dry (not so much, but if you really want more shrinkage), inside out.

No need to wash them for awhile. Don't know where you got that you needed to wash them right after you just got finished drying. Not until they get really smelly, if you want contrasty fades. Also, do that inside out, with soap that doesn't have brighteners. I hear Dr. Bronner's is good. Also those new detergents for dark clothes.
 

thereverend

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I just sat in the tub with mine on for a while and have been wearing them ever since.
 

mendel

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Originally Posted by upstarter
Why is it not recommended to throw them in the dryer? Uneven fading?

You know how you have to empty the lint trap every time you run the dryer? That lint used to be part of the clothes you dried.
 

thereverend

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Originally Posted by mendel
You know how you have to empty the lint trap every time you run the dryer? That lint used to be part of the clothes you dried.
Oddly enough, emptying the lint trap has always been the most satisfying part about using the dryer to me.
 

theshonen8899

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It's satisfying with things like sweaters but when you look in there and see blue fuzz everywhere then you'll wanna scream.
 

thereverend

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I never even think about it, I just lick my fingers and wipe it out of there, and it all comes off in one piece; this is the most satisfying feeling.

One time I was upstairs on my computer and my 10 year old sister (I am 20) was downstairs watching TV. All of a sudden she comes upstairs and looks somewhat agitated. She tells me that there is a dead animal in the bathroom garbage can and says it looks like a rat. Well, I went down to check it out, and as it turns out my mom had been doing some laundry that day and emptied the lint trap into the bathroom garbage, which, to a 10 year old imagination, looked like a dead rat. She wouldn't even go into the bathroom after that until I took it out, and she was very upset when I brought it over to her to show her.
 

theshonen8899

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It's not the lint, it's the fact that the lint was ripped off your beautiful jeans.
 

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