Cotton Denim
Whilst most denim fabrics are made from cotton, jeans and other denim items require an altogether different approach to other cotton clothing items to other cotton clothing items.
When taken good care of, denim can last for many years and age beautifully. The dyes traditionally used in denim are made from Indigo, which is a natural pigment that gently fades away over time to develop patterns of wear.
The first thing to take into consideration is colour transfer, especially if your denim is dark blue. Keep it away from anything light in colour when you wear new denim as the colour can transfer to your tops, handbags and even chairs – and those stains are challenging to get rid of. The second thing to keep in mind is that while denim is heavy duty in wear, it needs to be serviced lightly, i.e. not washed too frequently. You can go for a very long time without washing your denim jeans and jackets. Just air them out, brush away any dirt and hang them in your closet afterwards.
Preferably wash your denim by hand on cold water, with some natural soap or other gentle laundry liquid, always inside out. You can check our hand washing guide here . If you’re going to wash your jeans in the machine, remember to turn inside out, wash only with other similar coloured denim or black clothes on a cycle for delicates with cold water and no spin cycle. Use a tiny amount of detergent and avoid using a softener. If you want to keep a dark colour from washing away you can add a small sprinkle of rock salt to the tumbler, inside a front pocket or closed wash bag. The salt is used to set the dye and will help keep runoff to a minimum.
After washing, you can gently fold and press the water out of your jeans but please don’t wring them.
Hang outside to dry or flat dry indoors, still inside out. Do not allow your denim to dry 100% as it will become stiff. Instead put them on when they are 85% to 90% dry, or cool iron them (still inside out).
Follow these instructions and you’ll have beautiful denim for many years, with straight seams and a fit that only ever gets better with time!
The first thing to take into consideration is colour transfer, especially if your denim is dark blue. Keep it away from anything light in colour when you wear new denim as the colour can transfer to your tops, handbags and even chairs – and those stains are challenging to get rid of. The second thing to keep in mind is that while denim is heavy duty in wear, it needs to be serviced lightly, i.e. not washed too frequently. You can go for a very long time without washing your denim jeans and jackets. Just air them out, brush away any dirt and hang them in your closet afterwards.
Preferably wash your denim by hand on cold water, with some natural soap or other gentle laundry liquid, always inside out. You can check our hand washing guide here . If you’re going to wash your jeans in the machine, remember to turn inside out, wash only with other similar coloured denim or black clothes on a cycle for delicates with cold water and no spin cycle. Use a tiny amount of detergent and avoid using a softener. If you want to keep a dark colour from washing away you can add a small sprinkle of rock salt to the tumbler, inside a front pocket or closed wash bag. The salt is used to set the dye and will help keep runoff to a minimum.
After washing, you can gently fold and press the water out of your jeans but please don’t wring them.
Hang outside to dry or flat dry indoors, still inside out. Do not allow your denim to dry 100% as it will become stiff. Instead put them on when they are 85% to 90% dry, or cool iron them (still inside out).
Follow these instructions and you’ll have beautiful denim for many years, with straight seams and a fit that only ever gets better with time!