Incorrectly Washed Raw Denim - Un-Even Dye Leeching. Please Help!!

parallelogram · Jun 1, 2011

Hello Guys,

I made a big error. I have a new pair of Raw indigo Helmut Lang jeans which were too stiff and I thought if I washed them they would get softer. I washed them in cold water, and set them up for hang dry.
I decided to take a look a them and found out that the colour had faded or become lighter unevenly in some places?!?! I looked at the washing instructions (after washing them, doh!), it said Do Not Wash!!

What do you denim aficionados suggest I do? I really love these jeans, I just feel really gutted at the moment.

Any honest (and intelligent) suggestions will be supremely helpful and greatly appreciated.

rgrds,
parallel..

MIKE_JE · Jun 1, 2011

Originally Posted by parallelogram

Hello Guys,

I made a big error. I have a new pair of Raw indigo Helmut Lang jeans which were too stiff and I thought if I washed them they would get softer. I washed them in cold water, and set them up for hang dry.
I decided to take a look a them and found out that the colour had faded or become lighter unevenly in some places?!?! I looked at the washing instructions (after washing them, doh!), it said Do Not Wash!!

What do you denim aficionados suggest I do? I really love these jeans, I just feel really gutted at the moment.

Any honest (and intelligent) suggestions will be supremely helpful and greatly appreciated.

rgrds,
parallel..

First of all, when you wash raw denim and hang to dry there is often soap residue left in various spots that you will be able to just brush off. Try that, it might be fooling you.

Second, don't start a new thread for this. There is a jean thread that already exists.

KitAkira · Jun 1, 2011

Seppuku, for your denim journey is no more

pimpmystyle · Jun 1, 2011

Talk about narcissism run amok: "oh no! I washed my pants too early!" No wonder the world's going down the *******.

reedobandito · Jun 1, 2011

Originally Posted by KitAkira

Seppuku, for your denim journey is no more

Best response evar.

But you're probably alright, I doubt they're permanently calico'd.

meso · Jun 1, 2011

Originally Posted by pimpmystyle

Talk about narcissism run amok: "oh no! I washed my pants too early!" No wonder the world's going down the *******.

B-b-b-but who will think of the denim?

parallelogram · Jun 1, 2011

Hey MSSneaker, thanks for the reply. I will take a look at the soap residue, but I can definitely see uneven dye leeching. I had worn these jeans literally 3 times, before I had decided to wash them due to their stiffness. Personally I don't care about whiskers and the broken-in effect ,etc. I looked at my other HL jeans, the tags on all of them say Dry Clean Only. Oh well...

Sorry for starting another thread, I was suffering from a state of panic and grief.

To all the other dim-witted folk: honestly guys, if you have that much time on your hands, its a shame.

mellow · Jun 1, 2011

If they're 100% cotton you shouldn't bother worrying about it. I mean, you shouldn't worry about such a thing in the first place but especially if they're straight up cotton.

parallelogram · Jun 1, 2011

unbelievable! please read the post correctly. It is not about "narcissism" or "washing the denim early". The question was regarding un-even dye leeching and marbling effects occurring due to incorrectly washing a pair of very nice jeans. The OP was asking how to rectify the error he had made, or possibly reduce its negative effects.

Wow. Maybe people need to reflect on the level of arrogance they are operating at. sheesh!

parallelogram · Jun 1, 2011

Hey mellow, thanks for the response. Yes, they are 100% cotton. Is there a way to restore the colour, or even out the dye out across the pants. I was reading on Oki-ni that to even out the dye one should wash the jeans with a little bit of salt in the water:

"If your jeans are heavily pigmented dry or raw denim, washing cold with salt for the first cycle should help to set any loose dye in the fabric." ---- does this actually work?

I had acquired these jeans for formal wear, that is why I was feeling a little gutted. If they were my normal beater jeans I wouldn't be too worried.

entrero · Jun 1, 2011

Originally Posted by parallelogram

unbelievable! please read the post correctly. It is not about "narcissism" or "washing the denim early".

Maybe you should edit your thread title, because it suggest just that. Post some pics would be handy.

parallelogram · Jun 1, 2011

Yes entrero, you are correct. I just changed the thread title. thanks for the tip.

the jeans are still drying, therefore i can't post any pics. posting pics in opinion would be slightly useless as the fades aren't extremely obvious, and it would be difficult to get an exact colour representation of them in a photograph. but i would say that certain areas are no longer 'dark blue' and have become 'lighter blue' - as in certain chunks or patches and streaks, and that certainly looks weird!

westinghouse · Jun 2, 2011

Wash them again...

KitAkira · Jun 2, 2011

Originally Posted by parallelogram

unbelievable! please read the post correctly. It is not about "narcissism" or "washing the denim early". The question was regarding un-even dye leeching and marbling effects occurring due to incorrectly washing a pair of very nice jeans. The OP was asking how to rectify the error he had made, or possibly reduce its negative effects. Wow. Maybe people need to reflect on the level of arrogance they are operating at. sheesh!
You cannot fool us by defending yourself in 3rd person.

Originally Posted by parallelogram

Yes entrero, you are correct. I just changed the thread title. thanks for the tip. the jeans are still drying, therefore i can't post any pics. posting pics in opinion would be slightly useless as the fades aren't extremely obvious, and it would be difficult to get an exact colour representation of them in a photograph. but i would say that certain areas are no longer 'dark blue' and have become 'lighter blue' - as in certain chunks or patches and streaks, and that certainly looks weird!
Problem solved. Would have faded anyway since you bought raw denim, what did you expect them to do?

macuser3of5 · Jun 2, 2011

Originally Posted by parallelogram

I had acquired these jeans for formal wear

Incorrectly Washed Raw Denim - Un-Even Dye Leeching. Please Help!!

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