Faded denim has a been a huge hit for many years. There was a time when every pair of new jeans looked brand new and straight from the dye bin. This created a few problems when it came to variety of color; you either waited for them to begin fading and to stop turning your skin blue or you washed them to death the first week trying to avoid that brand new look.
Then came the faded blue jeans, the stone washed denim; and it was literally stone washed. No longer did you have to do terrible things to the fabric of your jeans, the manufacturers did it for you many times with the use of harsh chemicals. This not only altered the color of the denim but created damage to the fabric as well, which soon became another big fad!
The idea of purchasing worn out jeans is fading away, like you once wished the color from your jeans had. Now the question is being asked, how can one preserve the color of their new denim jeans? There are a few tricks to accomplishing this but of course there will be initial fading for the first washing inspite of many efforts.
1) Washing your denims in cold water will help slow down the fading process and keep your jeans looking new longer.
2) Do not over dry them on heat setting above what is needed to dry the fabric. This will damage the fabric and cause them to fade much faster.
3) Remember to always turn your jeans inside out prior to throwing them in the wash. This will help any bleeding dyes to filter into the outside of the pants where you want the color to stay.
4) Set the color! This is done in cold water and the use of vinegar. Fill a basin or the kitchen sink with cold water, add the material to the water and pour Distilled White Vinegar over the fabric. Letting the fabric soak in the cold water and vinegar solution will set the color and reduce fading and bleeding of the dye.
Vinegar is an inexpensive product and can be found at every grocery store, not to mention that it is a beneficial product to have around the house for many other purposes as well. There are no harmful chemicals that can have an adverse effect on the fabric or your skin and the smell of the vinegar will removed after the first washing, which should be done immediately after the soaking.
By following this procedure you will also save your other fabrics, that may accidently slip into the wash with your jeans, as the dyes in the denim will now fade normally instead of bleeding out and losing a lot of color all at once.
As the denim gets re-washed and dried it will eventually start losing color inspite of your best efforts. In this case, if the jeans are still in good condition but you want to avoid that faded worn out look, you can purchase a fabric dye and color the denim giving it that brand new purchased look. If you choose to do this I highly recommend that you treat the denim with vinegar immediately after the dying of the fabric. When you color or dye your clothing at home it is common to lose more dye from the fabric in the initial washing than when they are purchased. This is because we do not have the machines to rinse the fabric as well as the manufacturers do.
I would also recommend that you run a cleaning cycle on the washer to remove any dye that may have remained in the tub; some washers will leave a small amount of liquid in the underside of the washing tub which escapes back into the tub during the next wash. This process can be as simple as just running a rinse cycle. When using dyes on your fabrics at home I would go ahead and use a gentle cleanser, either the laundry soap itself or by adding a bit of baking soda to the tube to freshen the basin.