How to Shrink Jeans Quickly At Home Without Ruined | With Expert Tips

If you have worn your jeans for a more extended period and washed it for a while, it has expanded for sure. But do you want to get back the years old loose jeans and wear them this fall? If you want it, you must know how to shrink jeans! 

Here, I will tell you some easy rules on how to shrink your pants without damaging them! If your jeans are a little loose, you can work on it by altering it. But when you’re in a hurry, follow my steps to get the perfect fit! 

I know you are interested in it tightening your jeans! So let’s get in! 

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Things to know before you Shrink your Jeans 

• Hot water or direct heat is best for shrinking jeans
• Washing jeans with hot water can be harmful to the fabric of your jeans 
• When using iron, you have to use the settings for jeans 
• You can shrink your jeans to one size if you follow two of the mentioned steps together. 
• Most of the DIY shrinking solutions are not permanent 

How To Shrink Jeans – 10 Most Effective Ways

You can shrink the jeans quickly. But if you don’t know the right procedure, you will end up running the fabric of your jeans. It is always better to get jeans that are perfectly sized. However, if you have put off some weight or just want to tighten your old jeans, my methods will surely help you out! 

Method-1: Hot Water Wash

# Things you need: 

• Hot water 
• Washing and drying machine 

Step 1: The most common way for shrinking jeans is to put them in boiling water for washing. 

Step 2: Use a washing machine and settle for the heavy-duty settings for washing jeans. 

Step 3: Take it out and dry it in your drying machine. Go for hot-dry settings. While using hot water, if you have fray jeans, be very careful. 

Required Time: 30-50 minutes 

Pro Tips 

• Keep dry and wash setting on the hottest 
• Don’t put it in hot water for too long

Method-2: Shrink Jeans With Hot Bath 

# Things you need:

• Hot water 
• Bathtub

Step 1: The most traditional method for snug fit jeans is to get a hot bath. The common question is, do jeans shrink when you bathe in hot water? And for this method, you will need heated water in your tub. 

Step 2: Now, get inside the tub and bath with it for 30 minutes.  

Step 3: Wear it after bath for 15 minutes and take it out for drying it. However, if you want to shrink jeans fast, this method will not work. 

Required Time: 1-1:30 hours 

Pro Tips 

• Only go for this method when you have enough time 
• While putting it off, be careful and do no stretch it 

Method-3: DIY Sew  

# Things you need:

• Thread 
• Needles 

Step 1: If you want to know how to shrink jeans, this is the best DIY idea. If you don’t have a sewing machine, you can use your hands too. All you need to do is tear the previous seam out carefully. 

Step 2: Now, you have to take chalk and mark how much you want to tighten. 

Step 3: After that, you have to hand-sew it with the help of needle and thread. 

Required Time: 30 minutes 

Pro Tips 

• It is always better to use a sewing machine 
• Make your stitches in a way that the line is straight 

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Method-4: Waist Belt 

# Things you need:

• Waist Belt 

Step 1: If you want to shrink jeans-waist, you have to get a waist belt first.

Step 2: Now, wear the waist belt and tighten it. 

Step 3: Though this will not tighten the legs, it will help you shrink jeans-waist only. 

Required Time: 7-10 minutes 

Pro Tips 

• Go for a waist belt that is the perfect size for you 
• Wasit beth should be a little thick for hiding the extra loose jeans

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Method-5:Direct Heat with Iron

# Things you need: 

• Iron 

Step 1: Mark the areas that you need to shrink first. You can settle for the whole jeans too! 

Step 2: If you want to know how to shrink pants, heat can be the best way. All you need to do is apply direct heat to your jeans here! 

Step 3: After ironing, you need to let it cool so that the whole thing works perfectly! On the other hand, there are better ways to taper your jeans. Check out how to taper jeans to see the easy methods! 

Required Time: 5-10 minutes

Pro Tips 

• Keep the iron in the temperature setting designed for jeans 
• Make sure you don’t heat it continuously but slowly  

Method-6: Heat with Dryer 

# Things you need: 

• Hair Dryer 
• spoon

Step 1: If you don’t want to use iron, take the dryer, and preheat it first. 

Step 2: Now, take the dryer, switch it on and dry the jeans carefully.

Step 3: After heating for some time, you will see that the specific place has shrunk a little! If you know how to shrink jeans quickly, this can be helpful. 

Required Time: 20-30 minutes

Pro Tips 

• Keep the dry 8-10 inches away from the jeans 
• Settle for this method only for shrinking specific areas 

Method-7: Boiling Water

# Things you need: 

• Boiling water

Step 1: Turn your pants inside out first. In the list of how to shrink pants, this one is a little weird to look at. 

Step 2: Take a stockpot of water and boil it on the stove. There’s a common question in the crowd, do jeans shrink if you cook it? Yes, they do!  

Step 3: In this method, all you have to do is cook your jeans in the boiling water and then air-dry it! 

Required Time: 30 minutes -1 hour 

Pro Tips 

• Make sure you keep moving your jeans or else it will burn 
• Boil the water before you out the jeans inside and then keep boiling 

Method-8: Fabric Softener 

# Things you need: 

• Fabric Softener  
• Sprayer 
• Dryer

Step 1: Take a spray bottle and mix ¼ part fabric softener with ¾ part water.

Step 2: Now, use the spray on the specific places that you want to tighten.  

Step 3: Dry it with a dryer set, and you are done! This is an excellent method for 100 cotton jeans. 

Required Time: 10-20 minutes 

Pro Tips

• Fabric softener is prohibited in some jeans, check it 
• This will work only for shrinking some specific places

Method-9: Layers Inside 

# Things you need: 

• Additional leggings 

Step 1: In this straightforward process for the winter months, you have to take the comfortable leggings first. Go for this method if you want to shrink jeans fast. 

Step 2: Now, wear them, and then wear your loose jeans. 

Step 3: Look at the mirror and how it made a snug fit for you! And if you have tight jeans, you can look at how to stretch out jeans for making jeans a little loose! 

Required Time: 5 minutes 

Pro Tips 

• Only go for this method when you are in a hurry 
• It won’t work when it is summer or too hot 

Method-10: Alter them 

# Things you need: 

• Sewing machine 
• Tailor 

Step 1: When jeans are expensive, get them altered by the seamstresses. 

Step 2: Take the proper measurement of yours or tell him to take your measurement. 

Step 3: According to that, alter the jeans for the right fit. 

Required Time: 3-4 days (according to the tailor)

Pro Tips 

• While giving the measurement, tell the tailor to make it a little tight as the jeans expand 
• This can be more expensive than the other methods 

Perfect Fit for Jeans

Here are some primary ways to choose the perfect fit for your jeans, have a look! 

• Jeans shouldn’t be too tight or too loose 
• The cuffs should sit on top of your shoes
• The waist must fit you without a belt
• The thighs should be comfortable for moving 
• The rise should follow the contours of your body  

Maintenance of Shrinking Jeans

With some easy methods, you can take care of your jeans. Follow these!  

• Wash them as less as you can 
• Skip washing machine and settle for hand wash 
• Try to clean jeans with cold water
• Air-dry jeans after cleaning 
• If you want faster drying, use steam for drying 

FAQs on Shrinking Jeans 

Final Verdict

So, I hope you have already seen all the easy methods of shrinking your jeans. All you can do now is get your old loose jeans on your hands and tighten them. 

All the methods on how to shrink jeans are tested and will work surely. Try them out. Also, let us know what’s your favorite way of shrinking jeans!