If you plan on ironing your jeans to really make those creases stand out and get rid of any offending wrinkles, do so when the jeans are still a bit damp. Avoid using the dryer to dry your jeans. There is a good chance your jeans will shrink in the dryer, so if you want to avoid that, it’s best to just let them air dry. [7] X Research source Soaking your jeans in cornstarch water will result in very stiff fabric. Keep this in mind when deciding how stiff you want your jeans to be and what kind of look and feel you’re going for.

Add 2 tbsp (18. 8 g) of cornstarch to 2 cups (473 mL) of cold water and mix well. If you’re looking to make your clothes even more stiff, add 1 tbsp (9. 4 g) more of cornstarch and stir to combine.

Make sure you’re not adding any other clothes to the load that you don’t intend on starching. You probably don’t want to starch your favorite hoodie or t-shirt.

Shake or stir your starch before adding to make sure that the starch particles are evenly distributed. Do not add fabric softener. Fabric softener basically has the opposite intended effect as starch, so you should only be using one or the other. If you can’t manually select when you want your washer to stop, set a timer to make sure you catch when it’s entering the final rinse cycle. Make sure that the water level is high enough to cover your jeans completely so that the starch will get distributed evenly.

If you machine-dry your jeans, be warned that they may not come out as stiff as you would like and that they may end up shrinking. [12] X Research source Your jeans should be left just a bit damp if you plan on following the next step and ironing your jeans.

To make your own spray starch, add 1. 5 tbsp (14 g) of cornstarch to 2 cups (473 mL) of water and stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved. The mixture should be cloudy even after the cornstarch is dissolved, so don’t worry if it’s not completely clear. Lastly, pour the mixture into a spray bottle.

The amount of starch you apply will depend on how stiff you want your jeans. If you only want some light starching done, spray the jeans until they’re just damp. However, if you want heavily starched jeans that’ll stand up on their own, don’t be afraid to really let loose with the spray. [17] X Research source Give the spray bottle a couple good shakes before spraying the starch to make sure that the mixture hasn’t settled.