The front of the knees before and after the wash

Here we go with the knees before and after the wash. This is the front. Three things are very clear. For one the stretching in the knees after 6 months of wear. The second thing is the colouration after the wash and thirdly there's the shinyness of the jeans, on the left, after 6 months of wear.

I love the way the folds are so clear on the left, but after the wash they're just marks on the denim. It's why I do these tests.

Day 48 Knee wear

Had a another look at my knees today in the sun and you can see for yourself that there's already a lot of wear showing on the fold of my knees. The three folds in the photo on the left, and then the folds flattened in the photo on the right. Looking forward to the end of six months when I wash these jeans to see what the knees look like then, if this is only day 48.

Day 46 Knees again

Posted a pic of my knees yesterday, and will follow that up with a pic of both knees and more of the legs. Already a lot of difference between the faded knees and the part of the leg below the knee. And this is day 46, with 137 days to go.

Day 45 Knees

Since I was a kid, my knees were always the first place my jeans wore out. Yeah I can hear the jokes already, but it's true. So far after 45 days, it still seems to be the place that fades first.

Day 202 | Some more about shrinking

I was wearing these jeans every day for 6 months and writing about it every day, right up until day 195. I then decided to only write about them every week, on Mondays, and it's been so tough. I thought it was going to be easy, to write less, not realising just how much part of my daily life this blog has become. There's still so much to learn, and so many people I meet via this blog, but I have other projects like this, which are now starting to take up a lot more of my time, but more on that, another day.

I was asked in a comment this week just how much the jeans have shrunk, so I thought I'd answer the question in this post. If I was to buy raw denim jeans again, I would make sure that they fit me perfectly around the waste and in length, or perhaps a bit longer. You have no control over how much they will shrink when you wash them the first time, so I wouldn't try and judge the right size by that when I buy new jeans.

The thing with wearing the jeans for 6 months have a lot to do with stretching the denim in all the right places naturally, by just wearing them. When they then shrink, they shrink all over, hence a better fit all over.

Have a look at the two photos of the legs of the jeans, just behind the knees. They are the same size. By that I mean the creases are the same size in all the photos if you were to put them on top of each other, but the width of the legs are narrower in the washed versions on the right. And narrower by a lot. My jeans shrunk by around 2-3 cm all over, which seems like a lot when you look at a new pair, but not so much on a 6 month old pair that's been "worn in" and stretched.

Look at the difference in where the jeans hang over the heels of my shoes in the picture on the left. Photo one is before the wash and photo two is after the wash. They shrunk a lot, but now the length is perfect and I don't have to wear a belt or fold the hems up any more. So to finish off, don't worry about the shrinking when you buy a new pair of jeans, because 6 months is a long time, and a lot still needs to happen before you wash them the first time.

Day 191 | The knees before and after

I said I'll publish some larger, higher resolution photographs today. Here's 2 of the left and right knees, before and after the wash. They were incredible stretched just before they got washed. It was difficult to get them flat on the table when I took the photos. The photographs of the knees after the wash came out really good, because the jeans lay perfectly flat.

You can see the blue lines in the washed version, vs. the creases in the per-washed version. I'm really happy with how they came out.

Day 186 | The inner seams (5th comparison)

Here's the 5th comparison of the seams on the inner leg. The 5th picture is the last day before the wash and the 6th picture is the days after the wash.

There's a lot of difference before and after the wash. Afterwards the denim seemed to have settled a bit more. It's not as compact, yet it shrunk. The folds are gone, and in their place are just light blue lines.

The second photo is of the seams a bit higher up at the knees. Here you can see the huge difference between before and after the wash. The stretches are gone from the front of the knees and the creases are gone from the back. Now there's just the light blue lines and scuff marks that remain.

The bottom photograph shows what the bottom seams look like close up, and that they look like new, but a bit worn in. Tomorrow I'm looking at the front pockets.

Day 97 | Behind the knees

Yesterday I showed the front of the knees and the way they have stretched so far, because the jeans aren't being washed. Here's what the back of the knees look like today.

I last showed photos of the back of the knees on day 55 and day 81, and it's much worse now. These creases are never coming out. I sit in front of my laptop for about 8-10 hours a day, and my knees are bent most of the time, so I can understand them looking like this after 97 days of daily wear.

Day 96 | Stretched knees

I showed pictures of the knees on day 46, then also on day 81. Then I did a comparison on day 55. This is the part that probably stretches the most on jeans, but they always tend to recover a bit after a wash.

On the left is what they look like today, sixty nine days of continuous wear and no wash. Really shiny too.

Day 81 | 100 days left

Today we were basically out the whole day for a walk in the forest. It snowed here in Gothenburg two days ago, but not a lot, and the snow is still on the ground. It is really cold, and today was the first time that I had my down feather, extra padded, winter jacket on, as well as my thermal underwear, scarf and beanie. So you see what I mean by cold. But it was beautiful, and really nice to be out with the whole family and the dog.

I've written a lot about the weather, and how I think these jeans will hold up for the next one hundred days through the Swedish winter. As long as it doesn't rain along with a strong wind, as on Day 53, it'll be OK. For one thing, they don't keep the cold out, so I will need to wear thermal underwear to keep me warm, and then they might stretch a little more than usual with the extra layer, but I'll have to wait and see what happens. Should help with keeping the sweat away though, seeing that the first wash is still one hundred days away.

The two photos show the knees, front and back, and how they have been stretched in the front and creased in the back, over the past eighty one days of continuous wear. They really have become comfortable though.

Day 55 | Comparing the creases

Been having a look at the changes in the creases behind the knees. The first photo was taken after 2 weeks of wear, where the second and third one was taken after 6 weeks of wear.

For me the creases in the white photo don't look so permanent yet. The creases are a bit rounded and looks like it'll be easy to iron them out. Not that I'm going to bring an iron close to my jeans. The creases on the jeans on the wooden floor, however, look a bit more permanent, with sharper edges, and they don't seem so easy to remove.

It's interesting to see the changes in the jeans when you compare photos one month apart. I think I'll do that at the beginning of each month, by comparing the knees, front and back, the hems, the button holes, the pockets, front and back, the creases below the front pockets, as well as any other permanent marks that may have started to appear. Just to see if there will perhaps be a really big change in the denim after six months of daily wear.

Day 46 | My knees

When I was a kid, I had these permanent white marks on the knees of my jeans. Either from sitting on the floor with my legs folded when I was drawing or from wearing them out on the carpet, from playing cars and trucks in the passageway. Those days are no long gone, but the knees on jeans still get a terrible beating from bending your knees when you walk, up stairs down stairs, when you fold your legs when you're sitting, or when you're doing all sorts of things.

However, it's all better again, after a wash. The material relaxes in the water, and the stretching returns, pretty much to normal. Not the case with my jeans though. They're not seeing water for another 135 days, so the knees are starting to show some real stretch. But I have been wearing them every day for the past 46 days. And the idea with the raw denim, is to wear it "in", and then wash it, so that when the denim shrinks, the fit should be perfect. That, in a nutshell, is what I am trying to achieve here. But I'll have to wait and see.

Day 27 | Harris Blue Black Raw so far

Now that it is twenty seven days into the test I've had a real good look at the jeans and have only noticed minor changes to the denim.

As mentioned before, the button holes look a bit more worn. The back hem is more worn, from when I where them at home, barefoot, and let them hang down without folding them up. The crease made by the fold up is more visible when the hem is folded down. The knees are much more stretched in front, and creased a lot behind the knees. Then there are more creases below the pockets where the jeans fold in front, when I sit. Other than that, I have not seen a major colour change. That will take time and a lot more wear. I'll publish some photos of the next couple of days of all the areas I've mentioned. It looks like a bit more rain will fall here over the next couple of days, so it'll be interesting to see how the jeans hold up with all that water. We have two more washes from Dr.Denim for today.

Cellulose Enzyme Wash - "The jeans are washed with enzymes and organic substances that break down the cellulose in the fabric. The result is a washed-out effect."

Acid Wash - "A type of stone wash that was launched in the 1980s. Pumice is soaked in chlorine and washed with the fabric. Also called iced, frosted or snow wash."

Day 25 | Denim and washes

I don't know why I decided to start my day with a run, but I did. It's this training program I'm on that said 6 kilometres today. I must admit that I did feel better afterwards, knowing I did some training today, but running itself, as a sport, is just plain silly. Fortunately Nikeplus.com and my iPod have made it easier for me to track my progress and listen to music on the way. Otherwise the fastest I would go is a brisk walk.

Today I wanted to have a look at different denim washes. I mean you know how many pairs you have in your closet, and none of them are same right? Some have marks on the knees, some on the bum, some on the shins, and so on. None made by yourself. Well maybe if you've had them for a while have you added you share of the marks. I have really started enjoying the raw aspect of my jeans. Every mark on them is from me and they won't ever look like anyone else's. They will just keep on changing as I wear them. Below are two of the washes from Dr.Denim.

Rinse Wash - "Gentle water wash that shrinks the fabric and removes excess dye".



Stone wash - "The jeans are washed along with pumice or ceramic objects. The stones mainly wear along seams and edges. The effect on the fabric will vary depending on the length of the wash".