How To Stretch Jeans, 9 Of The Best Methods

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How To Stretch Jeans, The best ways to stretch out tight jeans

If you have ever bought a pair of jeans and later realized that they are a little too tight at the waist or around the thighs, and you have let the return period lapse, then you have probably searched for how to stretch jeans. You may also have bought a pair of jeans online, and the return process can be painful, so you have decided to stretch your jeans instead. Well, I hope I can help you with this, because I have had to use these methods of stretching jeans quite a few times.

I am 6´3, and I go up and down in weight quite a bit and this can add a couple of inches to my waist and thighs at different periods of the year. I also work out a lot, so if I go heavy on squats for a few months, my quads grow, but my jeans do not, so I end up stretching my jeans quite a lot to improve my comfort.

You may also just have a mishap, and be wondering how to stretch jeans that have shrunk in the dryer, or maybe you put the jeans in too hot a wash and they shrunk after you dried them out in the sun. Threat not, you can use all of the same methods discussed here to stretch them back.

Maybe you were just tall and skinny, and you have put on some good weight, decided to join a gym and have gained a lot of muscle. I have also been through this, and having to change an entire wardrobe is a very expensive undertaking, so if you can, stretch out and salvage whatever you can before you go drop a load of money on a new wardrobe.

In this article, I will be discussing:

How to stretch jeans waist permanently
How to stretch jeans waist and thigh
How to stretch jeans that are too small
How to stretch jeans quickly
how to stretch jeans in the thighs
How to stretch jeans in the butt
How to stretch your jeans if you have put on weight

The process for stretching your Jeans is actually quite a simple one, so fear not as we will go through the process step by step, and you won’t have to relegate your favorite jeans to the bottom of the drawer and come back to them to feel nostalgic about when they used to fit.

How to stretch jean legs that are too short

I will start with this one, because it was a problem for me for such a long time. I simply could not walk into a normal store, and find a pair of jeans or trousers with a 36 inch inseam, so my jeans were always too short. So I became a specialist in stretching out jean legs!

You want to submerge your jeans completely in lukewarm water, not Hot! As you will end up shrinking them even more. If you have it to hand, add a little conditioner or softener to the water as well, and let the jeans soak overnight if you have the time.

Now the jeans are wet, you want to lay them flat, and stand on them placing your feet at an angle from the zip to the pockets. Now you can grab the jeans from the ankles and pull and this will add some stretch, but I had my own system.

I would systematically start pulling from the highest point first, grabbing the jeans from the thighs, then the knees and eventually all the way to the ankles. I found this added the greatest amount of stretch to the jean legs.

If this still was not enough, I would hang my jeans up with a lot of clips, and literally tie a string to the legs and the other end to a weight and leave them out on the line in the sun, all the way overnight to get the maximum amount of stretch. It works !

Stretch your jeans waist with water

Before you use this method, you want to prep your surface. Trust me I have stained a few sheets and carpets earning me the naughty coroner a few times. The reason being, if your jeans are new and you wet them, some of the excess dye may run off and stain whatever surface you have laid them on. So before you attempt to stretch your jeans with water, cover the surface with a plastic bag or an old towel before you start.

Then what you want to do is lay the jeans down flat, and spray lukewarm water evenly across the waistband, down to say the middle of the pocket if you are feeling them a little tight here too. Then turn over the jeans and spray the back side of the waist band as well

The jeans do not need to be soaked through, just damp enough that the fabric will allow you to stretch it without breaking. Once you have dampened the fabric, it’s time to stretch the jeans. This is where you can get a little creative.

You can put them on and just do a bunch of squats, walk around for a while, but be careful with this because wet denim on your skin for too long can make the skin a little sore.

Another way of stretching your jeans once they are wet, is to put them on a flat surface, put your foot inside the waist on one side, and simply pull on the other, and repeat the same for both sides until you have the desired amount of stretch.

A word of warning though, don’t just go full tug-o-war and heave with all your strength. We are just trying to add a little stretch to the waist, not tear the stitching apart!

If you are wanting to stretch your jeans quickly for a night out, this is probably going to be the quickest way to add an inch to the waistband of your jeans.

Soak your jeans to stretch them

Thinking about how to stretch your jeans overnight? This ones for you.

If you have just done a clean out, and you find a pair of jeans from your college days and you think to yourself ´if only´, there may still be a way to salvage those jeans.

This requires a little more time, but you were going to throw them out or never wear them again anyway, so it’s worth it. The satisfaction of fitting into an old pair of your favorite jeans is quite something.

So what you want to do is fill up your bath, or something like a bucket enough to submerge your jeans, put your jeans in the water, and just leave them in the water for a few hours or even overnight maybe.

Something else you can do to soften the fabric a little more is add a little fabric softener or conditioner to the water. This will soften the fabric more and add to the amount of stretch you will get.

Once you have soaked the jeans, yep, it’s time to stretch the jeans again. Doing the same as the previous method, you can wear them and do some movements in them to expand the waist, or manually pull and stretch the jeans at the waist for a permanent stretch.

Getting in the bath with your jeans on? Stretching jeans in the shower?

Sounds pretty odd right, but think about it. You are already having to ask a lot of the jeans and stretch them to put them on and fasten the waist, so this is already working toward stretching the jeans. When you submerge them in the water, the fabric is softening as you are wearing them, and as well as the waist, this will stretch the thighs of the jeans if they are tight there.

You don’t have to sit there all day though, 10 to fifteen minutes is more than enough. Then you can begin stretching your jeans. As the jeans are completely wet, this is a great way if you want to stretch your jeans all over. Do some lunges, squats, a few star jumps and you are sure to add a little more wiggle room to your jeans.

If the weather is sunny, then doing the stretching with the added heat of the sun will soften the fabric and stretch it further. So you get to stretch your jeans and get your daily dose of vitamin D at the same time!

If you don’t have a bath, you can also get in the shower with your jeans on and give them a good soak before you do the stretching.

How to stretch out jeans in the thighs.

This is a big one, because if you are tall and have a slim waist but thick thighs, you either end up with a baggy waist to make the jeans fit your thighs, or a waist that fits and those unsightly creases in your jeans around your thighs. We get a little creative here.

So using any of the methods we have talked about, first you want to get your jeans damp/wet, then the fun begins. You can put the jeans on and do some lunges, tick jumps, and number of leg movements, but not everyone wants to or can do this, in comes the foam roller.

You can get creative when you are stretching out the thighs and legs of your jeans. Stick a foam roller in the leg when the jeans are damp and just leave them there to stretch out. Don’t have a foam roller? Grab a towel or two and roll them up and stuff them down the legs of the jeans, this will also do the job.

Basically anything you can roll up and shove down there will work. You can even roll up another couple of pairs of jeans and stuff those down there, just be creative.

How to stretch jeans calf legs

To stretch out the calf of your jeans, do exactly the same as stretching out the thighs of your jeans. Just wet or dampen the fabric, then stuff the jeans until you get the desired stretch.

How to stretch jeans in the butt

The same process would apply to stretching the butt of your jeans. I always had a flat bum, but when I started lifting weights, it got a little bigger, but all my jeans were bought or adjusted taking into account my ´no bum´. Other than giving me more confidence, this made pretty much all of the jeans too tight to wear.

The process again is similar, in that you need to soak or dampen your jeans first, and my preferred method is always to do a bunch of squats in them, but before doing so I would stuff a couple of shirts or small towels down each side and then do the squats, adding to the stretch. This one works really well to stretch the butt of your jeans, so don’t throw them away or be too hasty to go out and buy another pair just yet.

Using a pants extender

If you don’t have the time to go through this, or are in a hurry, possibly on holiday and you are in a snatch, you can use a pants extender.

These are pretty handy, and especially if you are wanting to stretch the waist of a pair of jeans or pants because you are pregnant, then this is a great option because you will lose that weight at some point, so you may only want to temporarily stretch the waist.

How to stretch jeans without water

In essence, what we are trying to do is soften the fabric so we can stretch the jeans without tearing them. You can leave them out in the sun for a bit to heat up the fabric, hang them over a heater, use the iron on the waist of the jeans, or use the steamer function. It is not the best way, but it will work to some degree, so just find a way to heat the fabric. I have even tried a microwave and an oven to heat the jeans up at times!

Stretch your jeans with a hair dryer

Having your jeans wet before you wear them is the optimal choice, but getting the fabric hot is also a way to soften the fabric. You can just point the hairdryer at the jeans where you want to stretch them and move it around until the fabric is warm enough and pull and stretch using any of the methods in the previous examples.

You can also wet your hand and just sprinkle a little water before heating with the hair dryer to add a little more stretch to the jeans, but do not hold the hair dryer too close or have it on the highest setting, it is fabric after all so we don’t want to burn them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will fabric softener stretch jeans better?

Using fabric softener when you’re soaking your jeans will definitely help stretch jeans out more, as it will further soften the fibers, so they will stretch more.

Do jeans stretch better when they are wet?

Yes, jeans will stretch much better when they are wet as opposed to when dry. Wetting your jeans and moving around and stretching in them will give you a much better result.

How long does it take to stretch jeans?

This depends on how you are stretching your jeans. If you just wear your jeans every single day for an extended period then you will add about an inch and a half over time. But if you need to stretch your jeans quickly, then use one of the methods we have discussed in this article.

How to stretch a jean crotch?

To stretch out the crotch of your jeans, you will need to stretch out more than just that particular section. Stretching out the thighs, the butt, and the length of the jeans are the best way to get a little more breathing room down there.

How can I permanently stretch my jeans?

Any of the methods we have discussed will permanently stretch out your jeans, but if you are still not getting enough stretch, the only other alternative may be to visit a tailor and they will be able to add an extension to the waist of your jeans. Or if you have any excess fabric in the folds, they can open this up and stitch it back up, but this can be costly.

Last words on stretching out your jeans

So as you can seem there are many different ways to stretch your jeans, and it will depend on if you are trying to stretch out a specific part or your jeans as a whole. Don´t give up on that pair of jeans just yet, try out any of the methods, and let us know how it went.