How to Starch Jeans? | Easiest Way - Housekeepingbay
Updated on Sep 11, 2022
7 Minute Read

How to Starch Jeans?

How to make your jeans stiff as a board? We know a couple of easy tricks!

If you are going to an event or a party, and you want to wear jeans there, you may often figure it out – right the night before the occasion! – that your jeans are a bit out of order and they need a good portion of starch!

So how to starch your jeans at home so that they look like they have just returned from the professional cleaner’s? You may think it is difficult but believe us, this is not a big deal at all. And we will prove that to you easily.

How to Starch Jeans Like the Cleaners

If you have been wondering how to starch blue jeans pants heavy so that they look like cowboy denim, there is one well-working method that you can stick to. You will simply need to launder your jeans using a liquid starch and then spray more of it over the denim item after the washing. But let us explain it step by step in detail.

To starch your jeans at home, you will need to prepare the following things:

  • laundry detergent
  • liquid starch
  • spray bottle
  • clothesline
  • ironing board
  • iron

And, well, don’t forget about the washing machine and your jeans! So now that you are completely equipped, let’s get started.

  1. Launder the jeans by themselves using warm water and the washing product
  2. Add liquid starch instead of fabric softener during the rinse cycle. Use the amount of it prescribed on the bottle
  3. After washing, hang the jeans to dry on the clothesline
  4. Now fill the pulverizer with more liquid starch (do not dilute it!) and spray the denim laid on the ironing board. Remember that the jeans must be damp
  5. Iron your jeans using a no-steam setting and a hot iron

That’s it! Now you will have a pair of extra-stiff jeans, perfect for those who hate wrinkles on their denim. Also, if you like to have creases on your jeans, starch will help to make those even sharper and stay like that longer.

And keep in mind that, for heavy starching, using its liquid alternative is the best since it gives the optimal results with the least effort.

How to Starch Jeans Like the Cleaners

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How to Starch Jeans With the Heat Press

If you want your jeans to stand on their own like those of cowboys from Texas, you will have to learn how to make heavy starch jeans and how to heat press them at home!

So first of all, you need to wash your jeans and add liquid starch (homemade or synthetic) instead of the fabric softener. Then, when the denim is dry, pulverize your jeans with some extra starch until damp. Do it from both sides!

Now you can fold the jeans and put them lengthwise on the ironing board. Make sure no wrinkles remain, otherwise, after pressing, they will be hard to get rid of!

When the jeans are laid and their legs are stretched until they lay flat, press the pre-heated iron on the fabric. Go over the pocket seams and waist and then down the legs. Then flip the jeans and repeat everything again.

We recommend heating the iron to the high-heat setting for the cotton-denim fabric blends.

How to Starch Jeans With the Heat Press

Foto76, via Canva.com

How to Remove Heavy Starch From Jeans

Even though many of us prefer starching jeans, sometimes starch is not quite what we want to see on our denim. How to remove starch from jeans? And is it possible to do this at all? Let’s figure this out.

First of all, removing starch from your jeans fibers is possible. No matter what starch exactly was used, the one made of corn or the synthetic one, removing it is rather simple. The only difference is that the synthetic starch will require more time for washing it off.

So if you starched your jeans with the corn or wheat starch, and now you want to get rid of it, simply soak the item in cold, warm, or hot water (depending on the care tag instructions). Natural starch disperses in water, so if you soak and then wash the jeans, it will easily come out. In case the starch still remains, add a cup of acetum into the next wash and repeat the cycle.

But what if you used a synthetic product? Then it will take you several washes to remove it since such a starch works like a glue when it gets onto the jeans fibers.

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Why Is Starching Jeans So Popular?

Well, if you are not a cowboy or a cowgirl, you probably never asked yourself why wearing starched jeans is so popular. However, treating your denim with starch does have several benefits.

  • starched jeans are way stiffer than unstarched ones which makes them look better
  • starched jeans are way less prone to wrinkling
  • if you wear your jeans with creases, starch can help to make them last longer and stay sharper
  • starch gives your jeans a superpower of dirt resistance!

As for the last point, it is indeed true. Cowboys and cowgirls appreciate their jeans being starched not without reason. When your denim is heavily treated with starch, even if you slide through the mud and let it dry, you will be able to easily get rid of it by rubbing your jeans! See, the starch creates a protective seal when penetrating the fiber, which means your jeans become harder to set a blot on.

Why Is Starching Jeans So Popular

Tinatin1, via Canva,com

How to Make Your Own DIY Home Starch

Normally, you can make use of a commercially made liquid starch for treating your jeans. But what if you need it right now and you have none at home? Don’t worry, this is not a big problem at all since liquid starch can easily be made by yourself using very simple ingredients! Choose yourself which of the two methods you will use.

  1. Mixing liquid starch in a spray bottle
  2. Preparing liquid starch in a saucepan on the stove

The first approach is way simpler. You will need to mix one cup of water with one or two big spoonfuls of corn starch right in a pulverizer. To get a homogeneous liquid, stir the mixture thoroughly so that there are no clumps. And then simply pulverize your jeans from both inside and outside. The stiffer the better! Then dry them by laying flat on the ironing board. Remember to keep the seams aligned!

How to Make Your Own DIY Home Starch

Harshraj Gond, via Canva,com

With such homemade liquid starch, you will easily get the stiff look on your jeans, just like the one you have after the professional cleaners!

As for the second method, it will require a bit more time and effort, so if you are in a hurry, better don’t stick to it. What do you need to do? Well, you want to take a saucepan, and blend together two and a half cups of water and one and a half big spoons of corn starch right in it.

Make sure that you stir the mixture well since there must be no clumps! Otherwise, your homemade starch will have no effect. When the blend is well mixed, bring it to a boil for one minute. And afterward, let it cool down to room temperature, pour it into the spray bottle and use the same way as described in method one.

So now you know how to starch your jeans like cowboys do. Try it and we are sure you will enjoy wearing starched clothes as you never did!

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Frequently Asked Questions

⭐How long to soak jeans to get rid of starch?

Soak them for 1-2 hours.

⭐How to starch the crotch of jeans?

The best way is to spray them with water with cornstarch.

⭐How to iron and starch jeans?

You need to wash and pulverize your jeans with the liquid starch, and then press them with the hot iron to incorporate the starch into the fibers.

26 thoughts on “How to Starch Jeans?

Leave a Reply

  1. Olivia says:

    Hey everyone! Here’s the question, guys: are starched jeans still in style? I can’t remember seeing people wearing them, to be honest.

    1. Diana says:

      I haven’t seen them as well, to be honest. I guess starched jeans are not very popular with brands now, but for practical reasons, people probably still use them. 

  2. Tilly says:

    How do you make a liquid starch for starching jeans? Can anyone share the recipe, please?

    1. Hillary says:

      Hi! I can share the recipe I use. When I need to starch jeans, I make a starch spray by combining 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 cups of cold water in a bowl. Then, you need to stir it until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. And then just pour the starch mixture into a spray bottle and use it!

  3. Teo says:

    Hello. Thanks for such a detailed article! Could you recommend the best starch for jeans, plese?

    1. Isabella says:

      Hello! We are happy that you found this article helpful. Regarding your question, cornstarch is considered the most effective and thus the best starch for starching jeans.

  4. Oreo says:

    Hey guys! Can anyone explain the difference between starched jeans vs unstarched? I mean, what’s the point of starching them? Just to make them stiffer?

    1. Tina says:

      As far as I know, starch allows you to create a more prominent crease in the jeans that will last longer. Also, starch creates a sheen that can make your jeans look more professional.

  5. Dan says:

    Is there the best iron for starching jeans? Or can I use any iron?

    1. Dan says:

      I’m pretty sure any iron will work for starching jeans, as long as it has the mode for ironing jeans.

  6. Vivien says:

    Does anyone know how to starch jeans with an iron?

    1. Gloria says:

      Hi! I guess you need to wash them first. Then, apply a spray starch and iron your jeans. That should work.

  7. Richard says:

    Could you please explain how to starch jeans without an iron?

    1. Mariia says:

      Hello. If you can’t or don’t want to use iron, you can spray starch your jeans. They will stiffen anyway.

  8. Kate says:

    Does starching jeans make them tighter? Why do people Heavy starch jeans?

    1. Mariia says:

      Yes! So you can fix the wrong size of jeans. You get rid of all of that when you starch your jeans. Starch stiffens your pants, preventing the cotton fibers from bending. Second, starch causes your jeans to shrink. There is no give because the cotton has been stiffened.

  9. Jenny says:

    What’s the point of starching jeans? They look like they’re too stiff and sharp, I don’t like it, and I think it also feels rough when you put them on.

    1. Marina says:

      They have a number of advantages. For example, starched jeans don’t wrinkle, and are dirt-resistant. Many people are unaware that starched clothes are easier to clean because dirt and filth adhere to the starch rather than the fabric and wash away easily.

  10. Noemi says:

    What’s the benefits of starched jeans vs unstarched? My friend keeps telling me that she uses starch for almost all of her clothes but I don’t really see any difference.

    1. Nora says:

      They look better and fit you better. Since at least the European Middle Ages, people have used starch in their washing. Starchy ingredients (like bran) were boiled in water back then, and the water was then used to wash clothes.

  11. Elliana says:

    How to starch jeans without iron? I’ve heard that there are some methods you can use to do it quickly and easily.

    1. Amara says:

      You can just take them to the laundry and use starch. Wash your jeans in a washing machine with warm water and detergent on their own. In the rinse cycle, use liquid starch instead of fabric softener. Read the directions on the bottle because various kinds require different quantities. To dry your jeans, hang them on a clothesline.

  12. Rachel says:

    How to remove oil stains from jeans with corn starch? The blot is pretty fresh (was set yesterday evening), and I already treated it so it’s not that nasty as it was at the beginning. Thanks for any ideas!

    1. Jane says:

      Hey there. Well, if I recall it right, you simply need to place the jeans flat on a stiff surface and pile cornstarch atop the oily mark generously. And then just leave your denim for at least one hour undisturbed. The starch will absorb the oil like a sponge. Afterward, you can launder the jeans to remove the remaining spot if any.

  13. Rebekah says:

    How much does it cost to starch jeans? I want to try starching on mine but I’d like it to be done professionally for the first time. Do you think it will be expensive?

    1. Galilea says:

      Hi! No, actually, I guess it will cost you around six or seven dollars for one pair of jeans.

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