5 ways to stretch jeans at home


Sometimes it happens that our favorite jeans let us down. All you have to do is gain at least one extra kilogram or make a mistake with the size when purchasing, and the pants that are suitable for all occasions in life do not fit in the waistband. Going out and buying new ones is not always and not accessible to everyone, and losing weight in a short time is not so easy. Therefore, we are looking for another way out of the situation. And here it’s worth thinking carefully about how to stretch jeans at home. This is, in principle, a common phenomenon, because denim fabric is not only dense, but also elastic and pliable. Therefore, there are several ways to increase the size of your favorite pants.

Do jeans stretch?


High-quality jeans can be stretched by 1-2 sizes.
Jeans are sewn from denim . This is a durable fabric, but has little elasticity. To make the material elastic, various synthetic threads are added to it. This material stretches, and after it has been washed, it narrows, so you can stretch it by about 1-2 sizes.

You can stretch your jeans in the following ways:

  • Soak in water, twist and then stretch by hand
  • Stretch wet jeans with a special expander
  • Spray with water and iron with a hot iron

Jeans stretch well in width, but in length they stretch less.

Reasons for shrinkage

The main reason why jeans could shrink is the inappropriate temperature of the water in which they were washed. Temperatures over 50 degrees, as well as intensive washing, affect changes in the structure of denim fibers.

Important points:


  • jeans that shrink strongly only after the first wash, and retain their original shape the next time, are marked on the “Shrink to fit” label;

  • classic denim is quite rough and tough, so it must be washed strictly observing temperature conditions - no higher than 30-40 degrees;
  • The “varenka” style is unpretentious and does not lose its shape after delicate washing.

Read about how to properly wash jeans here.

How to make jeans one size larger: ways


Jeans can be stretched by 1 size in several ways.
You can stretch jeans by 1 size using method 1 :

  1. Get your jeans wet.
  2. Place on a flat surface.
  3. Cover with damp gauze.
  4. Stretch the wet ones with your hands in different directions.
  5. Iron with a hot iron.

In this way, jeans are stretched 2-4 cm in length and 1-2 cm in width.

Method 2 . If your jeans are too small in the hips, you can stretch them like this:

  1. Unscrew the item soaked in hot water.
  2. Immediately place it on a glass jar and let the trousers dry.
  3. After the procedure, the jeans will stretch.

Method 3 . If the jeans are tight in the waist and everywhere else, we will stretch them lengthwise and widthwise using our hands. This can be done by one or two people.

Method 4 . You can stretch it like this:

  1. Jeans soaked in cold water are wrung out.
  2. Thread a tight lace or rope into the waistband of your jeans and pull it at the waist.
  3. Tie the rope to a stable object.
  4. While the jeans are drying, stretch them lengthwise and widthwise by the legs from time to time.
  5. Once dry, the jeans should stretch.

Steaming with an iron

Option for stretching stretch pants on the calves. Instructions:

  1. Place the item on the ironing board and cover with gauze.
  2. Using an iron with a steamer, iron the areas that need to be expanded for 10–15 minutes.
  3. Periodically pull the fabric to the sides with your hands.
  4. Put your pants on while they are still damp.
  5. Walk until the matter cools down.
  6. Air dry.

The method will help increase the width of the treated areas to 4 cm. Disadvantages:

  • difficult to cope on your own;
  • you can ruin the thing;
  • risk of burns.

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Jeans have shrunk and become too small: what to do, how to take them in?


You can stretch your jeans if you do physical exercise.
To stretch out jeans that have shrunk after improper drying, we pull them on ourselves, fasten the button with a zipper, and do various exercises: squats, “riding a bicycle” in the air, “splits.”

At first, your tight jeans will not allow you to exercise freely. Then the movements will become easier to do.

We exercise until our jeans stretch and we feel comfortable.

Preventive measures

You can maintain the shape of a denim product by following certain washing and drying rules, such as:


  • When washing this type of clothing in a machine, it is advisable to set it to the most delicate setting;

  • no need to use aggressive bleaches and powders;
  • according to the rules, first they turn the item inside out, fasten all the buttons and fly, and after that they begin to wash it;
  • the recommended water temperature in the machine or in the basin where jeans are washed is 30-40 degrees, and the maximum is 50 degrees;
  • Jeans should be wrung out in the machine on a “delicate spin” up to 800 revolutions per 60 seconds;
  • It is better to iron the item slightly damp from the inside out to preserve the elasticity of the fabric;
  • Experts advise drying the product on clothes drying lines, but not in a dryer.
  • To ensure that the item stretches well after washing, it is recommended to choose jeans that contain synthetics rather than pure denim.

Regular washing of denim will cause the product to wear out quickly. It is advisable to wash jeans rarely and by hand using a mild, gentle detergent.

How can you stretch jeans at the waist with an iron?


Jeans can be stretched if you iron them with a wet iron.
Jeans that are too small will stretch at the waist if you iron them while still wet with a hot iron. And if you put on warm jeans, the fabric will be fixed in this position, and the jeans will take on the outline of your figure.

The waistband of the jeans will also increase slightly if you alter the button closer to the edge.

How to stretch short jeans at home to length using a weight?


Short jeans can be stretched
If the jeans become short after drying, they can be stretched as follows:

  • We throw the wet jeans over the horizontal bar and hang on them with all our weight as much as possible.
  • We stretch the jeans (wet) on the floor, press the upper part with our feet, and pull the legs up.

How to stretch jeans with vodka?


Cotton jeans will stretch better if they are soaked in a solution.
solution will help stretch shrunken fabrics made from natural fibers (cotton, wool) :

  1. To 5 liters of water at room temperature add 3 tbsp. spoons of ammonia, 1 tbsp. spoon of vodka and turpentine.
  2. Soak the fabric in the solution for 30-40 minutes.
  3. We take out the item, carefully twist it out, and hang it out to dry.

This solution softens the fabric of jeans if they are made entirely of cotton, or close to 100%. The elastic fabric will then be easier to stretch.

How to stretch jeans after washing?


To prevent jeans from shrinking, it is important to dry them properly after washing.
To ensure that jeans do not shrink after drying and last a long time in a neat form, you must adhere to the following rules:

  • Buy only high-quality jeans with a high cotton content. Elastane and other synthetic fibers should be less than 30%.
  • Before washing, study the recommendations from the manufacturer and follow them unquestioningly. If your jeans need to be washed by hand, then machine washing will not work.
  • Jeans should not be washed in hot water, but only in warm water.
  • To wash jeans, do not use aggressive bleaching agents; for example, washing powder for colored items.
  • Jeans should be dried by hanging them from the belt, not folded.
  • Do not dry jeans in direct sunlight.

If you wash your jeans correctly, then, after drying, you won’t have to stretch them.

Reducing a specific area

«»
In order not to have to worry about reducing the size of this wardrobe item, it is better to buy tight stretch clothes.

A slight deformation will also be visible. After washing, elastane will shrink the denim and the trousers may lose their original shape.

If your jeans gather unattractively at the knees or around the buttocks, then you can use a non-standard method of shrinking stretch models:

Put on your pants and fasten the zippers and buttons.

Fill the bath with hot water and sit in the bath wearing your trousers. Sit until the water cools, and then go out into the sun and dry off.

Experts recommend not to bother yourself with narrowing your jeans. Buy pants that zip up tightly. It is much easier to space them out than to achieve the required size using the narrowing method.

How to stretch jeans wider


You can stretch jeans wider using an expander.
The most effective method of stretching jeans wider is method 1 :

  1. Lay the jeans out on a flat surface.
  2. Turn on the iron with steam, and iron first the waistband, and then all the jeans, with hot steam.
  3. Immediately after ironing using this method, the jeans become very elastic. When they cool down a little, you need to put them on, still wet, and walk until the jeans are completely dry.
  4. Later, when you wear jeans, they will fit your figure.

Method 2 . Stretching jeans in the waistband using a special expander :

  1. Soak the top of the jeans in water and twist them out.
  2. We fasten the jeans with a button.
  3. We measure our parameters: waist, hips.
  4. We insert the expander into the jeans, fasten the button on the belt, select the width of the expander we need, and leave the jeans to dry.
  5. When the jeans are dry, remove the device, and the jeans will be the size we need.

Attention . This method will stretch the jeans only temporarily; after the next drying, they will shrink again.

Method 3 . You can stretch your jeans if they are too small:

  • We put on our jeans and try to button them up.
  • To make it easier to fasten the button and zipper, you need to lie on the sofa, your stomach will retract a little.
  • Having wetted the jeans, we bend over and squat, so they stretch a little.
  • We are waiting for the jeans to dry.
  • The next time we put on jeans, we notice that they fasten loosely.

It's good to have an expander

Suitable for stretching denim and stretch items. The method is simple, but the procedure may need to be repeated after each wash.

  1. Wet the problem area with water, you can use a spray bottle and fasten it.
  2. Insert the expander into the product and fix it in width, gradually increasing its length. Pin.
  3. Wait for the fabric to dry.

An expander helps to increase the width of jeans, but it is not suitable for increasing length. To ensure the effectiveness of the method, you can first take measurements from the belt.

How to stretch jeans at the hips?


You can stretch your jeans in the hips by doing physical exercises.
If the jeans are too small on the hips and do not fasten, you need to do the following with them:

  1. Wet the pants in water and twist them out.
  2. Put them on wet, move and squat - they will stretch to fit your figure.

Attention . Make sure that when stretching your pants at the hips, they do not stretch at the waist and knees, otherwise the jeans will look sloppy.

Extension methods

Before starting work, it is worth clearly defining the desired result. Each method is just an option. If the first one did not help you achieve your goal, you should try the second one and all the others. With due diligence, you will be able to save your favorite thing yourself.

It is worth considering several operating rules:

  • When stretching, do not pull on the sewn elements (belt loops, fringe, embroidery, appliqués). Do not stretch the fabric where decorative cuts are made. All this can lead to damage to the item, which is difficult to fix;
  • A wet item should not be placed on a light-colored fabric - dye stains may remain if the jeans fade;
  • jeans cannot be washed in hot water and dried with hot air (hairdryer, fan heater) - this leads to shrinkage of the fabric. This should be taken into account when stretching so as not to achieve the opposite effect.

Now let's move on to ways to make your jeans look roomier.

Soaking

Water is the main helper. Two main methods are used. For the first method you will need a sprayer. Having spread the jeans on the floor (you can put oilcloth on them), the fabric is sprayed on the problem area, thoroughly soaking it with water. After this, they begin to stretch the pants in the desired direction. You can stretch jeans at the hips or waistband by pulling out the seam that runs from the front to the back.

Before starting work, it is advisable to measure your pants. This way you can find out if there is a result. After finishing stretching, the item should be allowed to dry. If the result is less than expected, repeat the procedure several times.

The second method is more complicated to implement, but is highly effective. You need to fill the bathtub with warm water, lay a cloth on the floor (something you don't mind getting dirty) and take a bath in distressed jeans. For the work to have an effect, the jeans must be buttoned (this is easier to do if you lie on the floor in them and pull your stomach in as much as possible while inhaling). The stretching procedure looks like this:

  • Having put on jeans in the bath, let the fabric thoroughly soak (it will take about 10 minutes);
  • standing in the bathroom, squeeze out as much water as you can and go out in wet jeans onto the bedcloth;
  • for 30-40 minutes, perform squats and other exercises that require stretching your pants.

Then the dried jeans need to be removed and allowed to dry. This method helps to stretch the trousers well in the legs. However, it is necessary that the house be warm.

Using an expander

An excellent answer to the question of how to widen jeans at the waist is to use a special expander. Such devices are used in dry cleaners. You can buy an extender at a dry cleaning equipment store or use a makeshift one - a large hanger with thick shoulders.

The fabric needs to be moistened, and then pulled over the expander and left until completely dry. If you use a professional device, you can insert it into the belt and then expand it to the desired size (don’t forget to measure it first!). It's easier than putting wet pants on a hanger. After drying, the item should become 1-2 sizes larger.

Ironing and steaming

Hot air and moisture droplets are excellent for stretching dense fabric. It returns elasticity to the fibers, so you can expand the item in a problem area using a steamer or iron.

The procedure is quite simple:

  • using a steamer, the fabric of the problem area is thoroughly heated and saturated with steam;
  • jeans are immediately put on and fastened;
  • Jeans must be worn for 1-1.5 hours so that the fabric takes on a new shape and “remembers” the increased size.

If insufficient effect is obtained the first time, you can repeat the procedure.

Reducing seam allowances

If the procedures described above did not help, you will have to take up a needle and scissors. These are more labor-intensive methods that require mastery of at least the basics of tailoring. But their effect is much more noticeable.

Reducing allowances is a way to gain no more than 0.5 cm. But a thing processed in this way can look no worse than new. Here is the algorithm:

  • jeans are turned inside out;
  • The seams are ripped out at the problem area. It’s not a big deal if you have to rip it apart along the entire length, it’ll just take a little more time to work;
  • the seams are sewn “on a live thread” with reduced allowances.

After that, all that remains is to sew new seams on the machine. You can embroider the item by hand, but it is too labor-intensive.

Inserting stripes

This is already a last resort, which can be resorted to only if the previous options did not bring the desired result. After inserting the stripes, the appearance of the item will be different than initially; often it is no longer suitable for publication. But the opportunity to use jeans in some way is still better than the absolute impossibility of wearing them even in the garden or in nature. And if you show your imagination, the inserts can even be turned into decorative decorations.

The main thing is to correctly determine the shape and size of the insert. You will have to arm yourself with a meter and carefully measure all the parameters. And don't forget to allow a 2cm seam allowance! It is also important that the insert material is successfully combined with the main one in color and texture.

The seams are ripped out in a narrow place and a stripe is inserted, basting “on a live thread.” After successful fitting, the seams are sewn on a machine. You can decorate the stripes with embroidery or appliqué.

In this way, you can save almost any item made of denim and return it to active use. You just need to make an effort and don’t be afraid to experiment!

How to stretch cotton jeans: tips, recommendations


Cotton jeans have good stretch
If your jeans are made from 100% cotton or slightly lower, they will shrink after the first wash, but they can be stretched:

  • After soaking in warm water, we put the wet ones on ourselves, do various physical exercises (squats, “splits”) until the fabric on you dries.
  • Steaming with a hot iron.
  • Mechanical stretching of wet jeans.

If the jeans become a little short after drying, stretch them wet to length. This way you can increase your jeans by 3-4 cm.

To stretch jeans we use... an iron

It happens that we urgently need clean, ironed jeans, but they shrink treacherously after washing. In this case, an iron, or rather steaming with an iron, can help. If you do not have the appropriate mode, spray your pants with water from a spray bottle and steam well with a hot iron. Next, while the fabric is still hot, we will try to squeeze into them and walk for about an hour. Ironed jeans will return to their previous size, because after such ironing they will become softer and more pliable.

To increase your jeans size by just one size, use a tape measure. Measure the stretched area before and after the stretching process itself. Compare your results.

We recommend: Plank: 1 minute a day for a flat stomach

How to stretch stretch jeans: tips, recommendations


Stretch jeans need to be stretched very carefully - they can tear.
Stretch jeans mainly consist of synthetic elastic fiber, stretch well to fit the figure, and usually the question of how to stretch them does not arise.

If jeans with added stretch become too small, you can stretch them:

  • Soak in warm water and walk around in pants until the material dries
  • Steaming with hot steam
  • Physical stretching

Attention . When stretching jeans with stretch, you need to remember that the synthetic threads contained in the jeans can melt from a hot iron, and when physically stretched, the jeans can tear - they are less durable than cotton ones.

Stretching with an expander

There are many extenders that can help you with this matter. For example, there are devices in the form of clothes hangers that can increase in size (hangers) or a special device designed for this. Wash or wet your pants, put them buttoned on the expander and continue increasing the length until you reach the desired point for the size increase you need.

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How to embroider, widen skinny jeans in the legs: tips, methods


You can widen jeans by inserting stripes or inserts.
If the trousers are narrow in the legs and the material no longer stretches, they can be widened using a sewing machine.

Method 1. Increase due to undercuts

Let's start doing it in the following order:

  1. Turn the jeans inside out.
  2. Open the side seams of the trousers at the bottom, where they are narrow.
  3. Draw seams in a new place with chalk.
  4. Sew jeans using a needle and thread using large stitches.
  5. Sew the seams with a sewing machine.
  6. This way you can increase your jeans by about half a size (1.0-1.5 cm).

Method 2. Increase due to stripes

With the help of stripes on the sides you can increase your jeans size by 2 sizes. The result can be amazing if you choose the right inserts.

A correctly selected insert is:

  • Combination of color inserts with the main material
  • The density of the insert is the same as that of the main material

For insertion, you need to select a strip of fabric, width 50 cm, length - according to the height of the trousers, in double size.

Making inserts:

  1. We measure the width of our waist and hips.
  2. We determine how many centimeters the insert should be by measuring the width of the jeans.
  3. We add another 2 cm to the insert - for reserve.
  4. Cut 2 strips of fabric along the length of the trousers.
  5. Rip out the side seams.
  6. Sew with a needle and thread using large stitches.
  7. We sew the seams with a sewing machine.

Now we know how to stretch jeans if they have shrunk after drying, or if you bought tight jeans.

Take it and... change it

It is not difficult to widen jeans on the sides and in other places in a high-quality and beautiful way by contacting a workshop. But you can try simple techniques to solve the problem yourself.

  • We allow on the seams. We rip out the seams and re-sew them as close to the cuts as possible. You should also be prepared for the fact that the color of the allowances will differ from the main shade of the pants. Therefore, we cover the stripes with something or carefully tint them.
  • We make stripes. An excellent solution if you need to increase the product by several sizes at once. For inserts, we select the material at our discretion. They can be lace, braid, leather and other fabrics. We approach the process creatively and create a design masterpiece.
  • Let's loosen the bottom. In the trouser legs, rip out the bottom and release the hem. The inner part often differs in color from the main canvas. Decorative stitching will also leave a mark. You can close it with lace, rhinestones, beads and other original decorations.
  • Cuffs. We make inserts like this at the bottom to increase the length. We fantasize and choose any shape or fabric for them. We can create something in a country, hippie style from a classic model.
  • We expand the belt. A popular method for converting jeans into maternity jeans. We rip the back or side seams and insert a piece of fabric. In order for the trousers to be worn throughout pregnancy, instead of the usual material, we expand them with an elastic band. Elastic or knitted tape will do.
  • Wedges in the belt. We make inserts in the seams on the hips.
  • Knee inserts. The most extreme option for increasing length. We cut the trousers at the knees across the leg. We take a suitable flap and sew it on top and bottom. This insert should match the trousers, so we take multi-colored fabrics, mesh, lace and create a stylish thing.

Alignment and alteration should be done if you have experience and appropriate equipment. Otherwise, it is better to seek help from a professional seamstress, which will help preserve your favorite item.

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