How To Shrink Abercrombie Jeans In 5 Steps

Whether you’re buying Abercrombie jeans for the first time or if you’ve done it many times before, you can sometimes get the size wrong. With this in mind, do Abercrombie jeans shrink?

Abercrombie jeans’ high cotton content means they will shrink given the right conditions. Put them in the washing machine and then the dryer. These should both be using a high heat setting. You can use a steam iron to aid the shrinking process further.

While that’s the crux of it, there’s much more to explore. So, let’s dig deeper.

Disclaimer: Be wary that exposure to high heat could damage your jeans or shrink them too much.

How To Shrink Abercrombie Jeans In 5 Steps

Knowing how to shrink Abercrombie jeans can be tough. However, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide for doing just that. 

1. Find Out Your Jeans’ Materials

Finding out the materials of your Abercrombie jeans is an important first step to shrinking them.

This is because the different materials that jeans are made of have different shrinking conditions and resistance to damage (such as that which may be caused by high heat).

You should find out your Abercrombie jeans’ material, washing/drying conditions, and size. 

Knowing the size you wish to shrink your jeans to can also be very useful.

Researching your Abercrombie jeans as much as possible will minimize the chance of your jeans getting damaged when attempting to shrink them.

You should be able to find all the information you need about your jeans on their label. This label is usually found on the back interior of the jeans.

If the information required isn’t there, or your jeans don’t have a label, there are other ways to find it out.

Abercrombie has the details of pretty much all their products listed on their website. 

Alternatively, the website of the shop where you originally bought the jeans may have the product details.

Typically, the information you’re looking for will be on the product page under “Product Information” or “Product Details.”

Although there’s a large number of Abercrombie jeans types, pretty much all of them are made from at least 90% cotton. 

The remaining 10% is almost always polyester, elastane, or a combination of the two.

2. Wash Your Jeans

Now that you’ve researched your Abercrombie jeans, you can begin the actual shrinking process.

High heat, agitation, and moisture will distress and weaken the cotton and polyester fibers, thus making them more susceptible to shrinking.

Therefore, the next step is to put them in the washing machine.

A short cycle and high heat are the optimal washing machine settings for shrinking Abercrombie jeans.

Some washing machines have an “agitation” setting or mode. If yours has this, activating it is recommended to assist with the shrinkage.

3. Put Your Jeans In The Dryer

Despite cotton-polyester blends being very durable, exposure to extreme heat and agitation will cause them to shrink.

This means that the third stage in shrinking your Abercrombie jeans is putting them in the dryer.

Because of the mentioned factors, the dryer is where most of the shrinking will occur.

Short cycles of around 10 minutes are the best option. On top of this, you should use a high heat setting. 

Checking your jeans every few minutes will ensure they aren’t shrinking too much or getting damaged in the process.

Remember that there’s always the possibility of damaging your jeans when exposing them to extreme heat.

In addition, overheating can also be hazardous to the dryer and so it’s important not to overdo it. 

You can turn your Abercrombie jeans inside out before putting them in the dryer to reduce the risk of damage.

If your jeans haven’t shrunk enough after the first dryer cycle, you can put them in the dryer again.

You should continue to check on your jeans regularly throughout the procedure.

4. Iron Your Jeans

While most of the shrinking will happen in the dryer, there’s still something you can do afterward to further assist the shrinking: ironing your jeans.

Because Abercrombie jeans have a cotton content of 90% or more, choosing a steam iron over a regular iron is pretty much a necessity.

Steam-ironing Abercrombie jeans is simple and can enable you to shrink specific areas of the garment.

The best way to use a steam iron on your Abercrombie jeans is to lay them flat on an ironing board and, holding the steam iron about half an inch away from the fabric, release steam onto the jeans.

Continue doing this until you’ve covered the entirety of your jeans once or twice.

There’s always a risk of injury when dealing with steam from a steam iron, so be extra careful.

5. Try Them On

Now that you’ve completed the shrinking steps, it’s essential to try your jeans on.

Trying your jeans on after shrinking them is crucial to assess the shrinkage. 

In the unlikely instance that your jeans are too small after shrinking them, you can home-stretch them to reverse the shrinking somewhat.

In addition, if your jeans require further shrinking, you can repeat the process, starting from step 2 (since you’ll have already researched your jeans).

While knowing whether or not your jeans fit well can be tough, there are a few guidelines that are pretty much always valid for jeans.

The first is that if your jeans are sliding or falling down your waist, they are likely too big. 

There are two ways you can fix this: further shrinking your jeans or wearing a belt.

Both are effective; however, if your jeans’ legs are the correct length, it might be worth going for the belt because further shrinkage would shrink the legs too.

Furthermore, you can test the fit of your waistband using your fingers.

If you can fit one or two fingers between the waistband and your waist, they’re likely a good fit. Any more than that means they are probably too big.

You can tell if your jeans’ legs are a good fit simply by looking at them.

If there is bunching at the bottom or the ends of your jeans are dragging, there’s too much leg length. In this case, you should consider shrinking your jeans again.

On the other hand, if your jeans are exposing too much of your ankles, they’re too short.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below you’ll find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about shrinking Abercrombie jeans.

Do Abercrombie And Fitch Jeans Always Shrink In The Dryer?

Abercrombie and Fitch jeans’ high cotton content means that they will usually shrink in the dryer. Preparation can be made by putting them in the washing machine, followed by a high-heat, short cycle in the dryer. Check on your jeans regularly.

Abercrombie and Fitch jeans should shrink in the dryer, but you have to do it the right way.

Wash the jeans at high heat for the duration of a short cycle before putting them in the dryer.

Using the “agitation” setting is recommended if your washing machine has it.

Can I Shrink Abercrombie’s 90s Jeans?

Abercrombie 90s are typically 99% cotton, meaning they should be susceptible to shrinking. First, wash them, then put them in the dryer. Both washing and drying your 90s jeans should be done at high heat. Ironing your Abercrombie jeans afterward can also contribute to the shrinking.

Shrinking Abercrombie’s 90s jeans is usually slightly easier than shrinking their standard jeans due to the higher cotton content.

Conclusion

To summarize, you should be able to shrink Abercrombie jeans by researching, washing, drying, and steam-ironing them. Be wary that there’s always the chance of shrinking your jeans too much.