Sometimes, while breaking in a pair of new raw denim jeans which can last 6 months or so, something terrible happens where you may have to clean them. This has happened to me with my Edwins ED-71’s. They were bought in Feb of this year and have been pretty much my go to jeans since purchase.
Check out the latest denim collection at Liberties
Bearing in mind these jeans had a very quick rinse when purchased to help remove the excess indigo die that very quickly started to collect on my shoes and underwear. This was done wearing the jeans and standing under a cool shower for 5 mins until the worst of the die had ran off. The jeans were completely unaffected by this so I was confident that another rinse would not harm the fading process.
Whilst on a flight to Marrakesh, my baby son spilt a cup of coffee on my lap. Luckily this was a very weak and insipid airline coffee so with a number of paper napkins and some fresh water, I managed to clean them off with no problems. They were dry by the time we landed.
However, sometimes you are not so lucky. The other day while feeding my son in Starbucks, I knocked a full, strong double macchiato all over myself and in exactly the same place! I stayed calm and remembered the airplane incident so just dabbed them down and allowed them to dry out. However, this time for two weeks after, whenever I was in a confined space, the car or the office for example, all I could smell was stale coffee!
So today I finally cracked and rinsed the jeans out for a second time.
Here’s how I did it…
First run a lukewarm bath and placed the jeans in. (In my case the water went brown from the two cups of coffee!)
Try not to agitate the jeans too much as we want to preserve the rawness of the cotton. DO NOT USE ANY DETERGENTS. We are only freshening the jeans up of heavy soiling, not washing them.
Once the worst was out I drained the water and gently squashed the jeans of excess water and reran the bath.
The rinse out was very swift and purely to prevent the jeans from drying in diluted coffee. I folded them about in the bath to help remove any residue.
Once you are happy with the final rinse out, lift the jeans out of the bath and just allow the jeans to drip dry. I used my shower door but you can hang on a washing line or over a radiator. Just allow them to drip dry slowly and naturally. Do not use a tumble dryer or an excessively hot radiator or aga.
Hopefully, if you have been gentle, not used any detergents, the jeans should be fine and ready to continue their breaking in period once they have dried out.
The jeans here are the (affiliate) Edwin ED-71 Slim Red Selvage Denim 14oz so you can check them out. They are my favourite pair right now. I have just written a post on the Edwin fades 6 months in here.
Check out the latest denim collection at Liberties
Have you had any raw denim disasters? Let me know!
Howdy,
Just got a pair of these myself and rinsed them out today, per the instructions. I actually put them on and showered while wearing them. haha. Pretty cool! They are awesome jeans. Now busy trying to hunt up a second pair. Thanks for the article!
Hi Mark, thanks for stopping by. Yeah, I did the shower thing with the Edwins. I had never done it before with raw denim, I just normally let them rip for 6 months. However these jeans bleed dye like a mofo so you have to get that first rinse in! Feels great wearing them in a hot shower, very Nick Kamen 80’s style! I bought my first pair of Nudies about a month ago which are doing nicely. I recommend giving them a look.
Hi nice article. Thanks. So I have a question. I just rinsed a pair of Edwin Ed 55s by wearing them in a lukewarm bath and hanging up yo dry over the shower rail.
My problem is that loads of dye has run down within the fabric and effectively dyed the inside of the denim ie. the cuff which will be on show. Also the leather patch, the pockets, stitching. Everything is now blue.
Will washing help return these areas to their original colour of am I stuck with it?
Any advice gratefully accepted!
Hi Andy, thanks for your comments.
With regards to the bleeding of the dye, I presume its indigo? Mine bled loads as well and took a long time to leave the wet denim.
I was under the shower for about 20 mins while wearing them.
Firstly, don’t wash the jeans in the machine. This will set the dye. At the moment it sounds like the dye is just sitting on the fabric where it perhaps wasn’t rinsed for long enough.
You can either leave it and the dye will eventually work its way out or you can try and rinse it for longer.
I have never seen a pair of raw denim jeans with the died selvedge seam, so you should be ok in time.
If you do rinse the jeans again, make sure its gently and by hand with tepid water to prevent any setting of the dye.
I don’t know about the leather part, should vanish after a while.
Hope this helps.
Nick
I’d recommend that you always dry raw denim on a flat surface after a rinse as opposed to hanging them up to dry. This would prevent the excess indigo from running into problem areas (hindsight is a perfect science, I know;-)
Best is to let them sit spread-eagled on an old towel (where any possible residue stains aren’t a train smash). Don’t forget to turn them over so that it dries evenly……
Hi Chris,
This is good advice, especially for the the denim brands that have a heavy excess of natural indigo dye as these tend to bleed the most.
As a rule, I don’t rinse raw denim upon purchase, I just go for gold and try to get 6 months under the belt before they touch water. That said, for the pairs that just have too much dye bleed, this is a must if you are to preserve the surrounding items of clothing in their original state!
I will however incorporate your advice.
Nick
HI Paul
Thanks for such useful hints and tips on Edwin. I have been a Nudie wearer in the main, but recently bought some Edwin 55’s. I’ve worn once, but without rinsing, luckily I have come away relatively unscathed and surf looking on account of it being a cold day. I am going to shower in them as suggested, but before I do, am keen to know whether you would dry them the same way you’ve suggested when rinsing later on down the process in the bath? Many Thanks. Pete 🙂
apologies, I meant to say Nick! The last comment read was written by Paul.
Hi Paul, easy mistake! With the Edwin’s just give them a good rinse to get the worst of the excess dye out. Either wearing them in the shower or just soaking them is fine. However wearing them means you can be more vigorous with the rinse and they mould to your shape better.
The main thing to remember when drying them is that they are going to drip blue water everywhere. This is why the bath or bathroom, providing its tiled is a good place to let them drip dry slowly without ruining anything. I use the shower door as it allows the bath to catch the water. However hanging from a cold towel rail, outside washing line or laying them out on an old towel and flipping over from time to time all works.
The main thing is not to tumble dry them or let them dry to quickly on a heated surface. Just keep moving them around every so often, letting them dry evenly over time. I put mine back on while they were slightly damp still to let my body heat finish them off and allow some extra moulding to my body. But that may be a little obsessive!
Nick