This is Part 2 of a very popular article I wrote last year on how to shrink your Levi 501 XX Shrink to Fit jeans. The original article can be found here and I recommend reading the very helpful comments from the readers.
The first article I wrote on this topic was after a few tries with Levi’s Shrink to Fit Jeans. I achieved the best pants I had ever owned and wore them exclusively for almost a year (the picture shows newly shrunk ones with my old faithfuls. No one believes me when I tell them that they were once the same color).
501’s by design feel roomier then they look which is the reason they are so comfortable and stylish. A button fly and $40 a pair seals the deal. If you haven’t tried them I’d highly recommend it. It is fun to do and you get jeans in the end that feel like they were made just for you. I recently did another pair and just love the results. This is what I did:
- Buy your new raw jeans at your normal waist size but with long length
I am a tall skinny guy and I like jeans that fit comfortably with minimum bagginess. I bought the new un-shrunk jeans at my waist size and the longest leg length they had; this left me with 31-36 (told you I was tall and thin). The final fit is snug and probably perfect length although I would have preferred a bit longer (if they sold 31-38’s it would be perfect in my mind). I buy my jeans at the Levi’s store so that if I don’t like how they come out after shrinking I can return them for my money back. Pretty sweet.
- Wear your new un-shrunk jeans for a few days before shrinking them
I don’t think I could quantify the benefits of doing this, but wearing them with that deep navy color and cuffs is just darned cool. They are a bit stiff at this point but you’ll be surprised how quickly they adjust to being worn (or you adjust to them?).
- When you are ready to shrink them, draw a hot bath and get in wearing your jeans
One time when I was shrinking my jeans I made the bath too hot an scalded my legs. Not fun! It’s not necessary to make the water that hot. In fact I hear you can also shrink them by going swimming (something I’d love to try in Lake Michigan this summer) Just draw a comfortable bath and sit in it wearing your jeans for about a half an hour. You can also shower with them if you prefer but I haven’t tried it.
- Keep them on for the rest of the day while they dry
Before I actually tried it I thought this step was full of problems. It was actually quite painless.The key learning was that they dry much faster on your body then they do hanging up in the bathroom. I sat in the tub with no water in it for another hour or so then walked around the house and went about my business. They had stopped dripping constantly by then. If you want to sit down and feel like they are still wet enough to leave marks on your furniture, try putting down a dark towel first. If it is warm weather, take a walk outside or sit in the park! More practically you can use these few hours to clean your tub which will certainly be blue after soaking in it with your jeans. Try to keep them on for four or five hours, you’ll be surprised how dry they are by then. If you can’t stand the dampness anymore at that point go ahead and hang them up. If I could do it in the winter so can you.
- Keep wearing them for a week or two
Don’t do anything else to them until you’ve worn them for a week or two straight out of the shrink tub. This will help them mold to your body even more. If they get too baggy to stand move to the next step.
- Back to the shrink tub
I choose to do the shrinking again at this stage. I’m not sure how much it helped but it certainly didn’t hurt. In fact you can repeat these last few steps as many times as you like. Your jeans will get lighter every time which is good if you are going for a lighter look quicker. If you just love that deep deep navy and they are fitting well, I recommend skipping the subsequent shrinking after the first one.
- Wear them until they need to be washed then hand wash them
Wear them a lot which won’t be hard cause you’ll probably be in love with them by now (does that blue dye go to your brain? maybe…). Since I like to keep the color dark at first, I hand wash them in the tub inside out with warm water and just enough detergent to get them clean (surprisingly little…that stuff is potent). I hang them up to dry which takes at least over night for me sometimes longer. Using a dryer at this stage is ok if you are in a rush. If you are going for a lighter look, make the water hot, wash them right side out, use more detergent and rinse them in hot water a bunch of times. Drying them outside in the sun also helps to fade them quicker.
I love the results I got with the above steps. Thanks to all the commenters for helping me perfect the process. There are a few things I’d like to try in the future:
- I’d like to try a size 30 waist to see if I can get a nice tight look. 501’s tend to feel roomier than they look and they tend to stretch comfortably in the waist so I think this will be a good plan to skinnier legged jeans. I think I’ll also really research to see if I can get longer legs with these small waist sizes. Anyone have info on custom sizing or getting out of production sizes?
- I’d like to try shrinking some 501’s by swimming in Lake Michigan and lying on the beach and biking around Chicago afterwards. Sounds like a perfect summer day!
- I’d like to see if I can get a hold of the different color and weight 501 XX jeans that are now available. Please comment with information about good online or brick and motor vendors for Shrink to Fits.
I hope I’ve inspired you to go and buy a new pair of Shrink to Fits. Have fun with your custom jeans and report back in the comments on any experiments or tips you come up with.
Popularity: 18%
Tags: Life Coach
Want $25? That’s an easy question. Check out Revolution Money Exchange; they are giving away $25 just for signing up for an account with them.
They are very much like a PayPal because their whole mission is to make transferring money from person to person easy. So if you and your friends and roommates are on the site, you can exchange money easily among each other for things like utilities, or meals out, or picking something up at the store for you. The web interface is very web 2.0 and easy to use; the site’s attitude is friendly and has a more appealing feel than PayPal.
Honestly I don’t know how much use I’m going to get out of the site. It is a good idea and it would be cool if it caught on but I think the $25 is the big draw at the moment. Here’s what I did:
- Follow the link to the sight
- Fill out the required personal information (does ask for social security number)
- Confirm email address and activate the account
- Click on accept to accept your $25 signing bonus
- Decide whether you will link a bank account or have them mail you a check ($2.25 charge). I decided to link my bank account and it was very easy and safe.
The whole process took maybe 5 minutes. Two days later I checked my bank account and saw the verification deposits had been made so I logged back in and transfered my $25 to my bank account. It was very easy money.
I honestly hope the best for this site but if I were you I wouldn’t pass up the chance to get your free money now. Click the button below to sign up for an account.
Popularity: 14%
Tags: Life Coach
- Nebula
- Wind almost caused this plane to crash
- Picture of the moon
- Hilarious DMV Prank
- Fantastic Underwater photography
- Mirror sculpture in the forest
- Cut Copy
- Hot Chicks on Toilets
- Hot Chicks with Douchbags
- MySpace Douchbags
- Alternative Project Runway
- Bauer Channeling Bauhaus
- All the water in the world image
- Good to help plan travel
- Fantastic old action photography
- Chinese Beach Party
- Video from Mir
- Ray Blimp Robot
- Blimp over Manhattan
- Iranian women militia
- Zealots
- Color Lips
- Apophysis
- Bank Robbery get-away
- Classy Astronauts
- Past look at the future
- Photographs of Iceland
- Sculpture by Patricial Waller
- Deco Images of future cities
- Retro car advertisement
- Retro car advertisement 2
- Retro car advertisement 3
- Graphic posters of the future
- Well of death
- The Easy Beats
- Skiing down the escalator
- Extreme Sleeping
- Toilet Design by Jemal Wright
- Zip line in Columbia
- Ridiculous Calendar <-click the picture and click the next button for all the months
- Lightning Skrikes Space Shuttle
- Meteor
- Clouds
- Goldburg
- Glamor of Flight
- Graffiti
- Grass
- Case Mods
- Real Life Heists
- Paint
- Prepping a Shuttle
- Street Art
- What the world eats
- Famous Trees
- Old Timey Chi (gotham city)
- Photographs of Iran
- CNC programming at its best
- Ice Cream Death
- Ad in Kiev
- Snow-pooping Snowplow Robot in Japan
- Computer programs on vinyl
- Sound Mirrors
- Hong Kong photography
- A painting by an animal
- PPD
- Photography by Tim Flach
- Pants
- Effective toll
- Trashing Cars
- Badass
- Dog
- Old Soviet Christmas Cards
- Fantastic Cartoons
- Old New York
- Pixel People
- Wise guy
- All the Calvin & Hobbes strips in order
- Recommended Reading
Interesting….found somewhere:
The year is 1907.
One hundred years ago.
Here are some of the U.S. Statistics for the Year 1907 :
************************************
The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years old.
Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S. , and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.
The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour.
The average U.S. Worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist made $2,500 per year, a veterinarian $1,500 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at HOME.
Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
(Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and the government as “substandard.”)
Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.
Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
The American flag had 45 stars.
(Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn’t been admitted to the Union yet.)
The population of Las Vegas, Nevada , was only 30!!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn’t been invented yet.
There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn’t read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, “Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind
regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.”
There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. !
Just try to imagine….. What it may be like ….In another 100 years.
IT STAGGERS THE MIND.
Popularity: 19%
Tags: Article of the Day
February 12th, 2008 · 2 Comments
Here’s a website that did it. Content really is everything:
90 Day Jane
Her webstats
Tomorrow she will have been up for 7 days and by that time she will have close to (or more than - who knows) 200,000 hits. She found something to write about that the whole internet will latch onto and not let go of. She hasn’t been slashdotted or digged or boingboing’d that I know of; just content, folks. Thats the power of the internet.
Popularity: 22%
Tags: Blogroll · Web Development
Today I made three personal finance related decisions today that not only made me feel better about my money but will end up making me more money years from now. What’s even cooler is the whole experience only took me an hour or two.
- I called my bank to reduce my loan rate and credit card rate.
This was really easy. I Called the number on the back of my credit card and asked them to lower my interest rate. I did the same for my auto loan interest rate. If they gave me a hard time I was planning on telling them that I was getting very competitive offers elsewhere but didn’t want to move my money and wanted to continue doing business with them. Luckily I didn’t have to use that story.
I also learned when I was on the phone with them that I can call back every 6 months to reduce my rates. Now I’m keeping track of that and plan on calling back regularly. Why? Because according to a loan calculator that quick call saved me over $200 on my car loan, plus what I saved on my credit car interest payments (sadly I’m still paying it down).
- I set up a net worth calculator
I’ve never been a big fan of budgets. They never seem to work for me because I have trouble guessing what the correct amount for each category should be. Money is a bit more fluid than that. So I never really got started with one. The net worth calculator is my stepping stone into tracking my money. The simple dollar has a great tutorial on how to set one up. Now I can see twice a month that my assets are growing and my debt is shrinking…and at exactly what rate. It is a very motivating tool for saving.
Indirectly this also helped me in two ways. One of the assets that I listed on the net worth calculator is my car. Even though it is not paid for entirely yet, it has a blue book value that can be claimed as an asset because that is approximately what it can be sold for tomorrow if needed. That’s a number I’d never considered before when thinking about my net worth.
The second way it helped me was to start a single spreadsheet where I can track my money. A lot of people use quicken or other software to track their money, but like budgets they just never fit my needs and thus I never stuck to using them — big waste of time. Now that my net worth is being tracked in a spreadsheet I’ve been tracking other things on worksheets in that spreadsheet as well: my monthly bills, my monthly investing, my quarterly credit reports, when I’ve reduced my interest rates (see 1 above), even my day to day spending. It’s really helped me get a handle on my money and has given me a lot of comfort and confidence in what’s going on with my money.
- I keep track of every dollar I spend on my car.
I keep a notebook in my glove box with a pen and make a note of every dollar I spend on my car. Mostly it’s a summary of gas receipts and car washes. I thought of this because today I was getting my regular maintenance on my car and updating and reviewing this book while I waited (and later keeping a copy of the receipt in there). So why do this? A book like this will increase the resale value of the vehicle because it is a history of how well you took care of the car. It also gives you a quick check on your fuel millage. If you see your mpg going down you can catch a problem early on before it does significant damage to your vehicle. I also used the time to review expiration dates on my registration and insurance policy as well as my maintenance history to make sure everything is in order. I guess it is similar for me to the spreadsheet in 2 above in that it provides comfort and confidence in the fact that my car is on track to a long life.
At the end of the day I really had a sense that I was in a better place financially than the day before. I was amazed at how easy it was and recommend these simple hacks if you are looking for ways to start getting control of your money.
Popularity: 17%
Tags: DIY · Life Coach
Tags: Article of the Day
Tags: Article of the Day
Here’s a recap of the best original content brought to you by me in 2007:
- Howto Shrink Levi’s 501 Shrink to Fit Jeans
This article filled a void on the web of jean-shrinking knowledge. I think we all rest better knowing now that this topic has been addressed. While I still love the 501 shrink to fits, I’ve currently been wearing the grey wash 511’s (skinny) constantly now and recommend you try them.
- Rockbox on the IPod
I still use my Rockbox IPod and love it. There is a learning curve but it is well worth it. If you are into this kind of thing, give it a shot!
- Smoking Ban and Aesthetic Fanaticism
A few thoughts on the smoking bans sweeping the country, thoughts you may not read else where. Some food for thought.
- Motorola RAZR V3: Linux Accessable
There is a product you can buy from Motorola to connect your RAZR to your PC with all the necessary drivers and gui to interface it. I think it’s like 40 bucks. With a USB to mini USB cable (a couple bucks at radioshack) all the drivers and gui are available for free (and Free) on Linux. Fun!
- No Sew Window Drapes
A personal favorite of mine. I still have these up in my living room and have gotten lots of comments on them. Highly recommended.
- $250 1Tb Raid 5 NAS Appliance
A story of a failed hardware hack and a happy alternative. The finished product still works and has been stable and awesome. Lesson learned.
- MythTV throughout the House
One of the coolest things that MythTV can do. Check it out!
Popularity: 22%
Tags: Article of the Day
Tags: Article of the Day
Tags: Article of the Day
501’s by design feel roomier then they look which is the reason they are so comfortable and stylish. A button fly and $40 a pair seals the deal. If you haven’t tried them I’d highly recommend it. It is fun to do and you get jeans in the end that feel like they were made just for you. I recently did another pair and just love the results. This is what I did:
