How to Make Blue Jeans Soft

After weeks of scouring through racks and racks of blue jeans, you finally found a new pair of jeans that look great on you and fit perfectly. However, the jeans are a bit too stiff for your liking, and you want to soften them up so that they are more comfortable. Well, here is a do-it-yourself process for softening blue jeans that you can use with any type of jeans. You can safely use this process on very light denim, as well as dark jeans that are almost black in color.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pair of blue jeans Washing machine White vinegar Water Utility tub or large bucket Fine grit sandpaper Liquid fabric softener Baking soda Clothes dryer White, clean sneakers

1. Pre-soak your jeans in a large bucket or utility tub filled with 2 quarts of water and 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Fully emerge your jeans in the water-vinegar mixture for about 24 hours to allow the vinegar (a natural softener) to infiltrate the denim fibers.

2. When your jeans are fully dry from the water-vinegar mixture, turn them inside out. Use a small square of fine grit sandpaper to very lightly rub your inside-out jeans.

3. Keep your jeans inside out. Place them in the washing machine by themselves. Set your washing machine to the smallest load cycle possible on a cold-water wash only.

4. When your washing machine is filling with cold water, add 1 cup of liquid fabric softener and 1/4 cup of baking soda (a natural softener and odor-eater) to your load. Do not add laundry detergent. Allow your jeans time to run through the normal wash cycle.

5. Set your clothes dryer to its normal permanent press cycle. Transfer your wet jeans to the clothes dryer. Place a pair of completely white, clean sneakers into the dryer along with your wet jeans, which will beat on the denim and further soften it as the dryer runs its cycle.

6. Wear your jeans as often as possible, as normal wear and tear will naturally soften denim. Then repeat the above process whenever it is time to wash your jeans.

Tips & Warnings

• Only use a cold-water wash cycle when softening jeans. Using hot water can shrink jeans. Only use completely white sneakers in the clothes dryer. If there is any dirt or color on the sneakers, it can infiltrate the denim.