If you don’t have a spray bottle, you can just dip the waistband area in lukewarm water, but be prepared to get water everywhere. You can also try stretching your jeans right after they get out of the washing machine. [2] X Expert Source Paul Julch, MAPersonal Wardrobe Stylist & Speaker Expert Interview. 17 September 2020.

Don’t pull on the jeans when they’re buttoned, as you can pull the button out. Also, grab just below the waistband and at the waistband. Stretch the jeans that way, too. You’re trying to loosen up the fibers, so you want to stretch more than one direction. Don’t grab onto the belt loops, as you can pull them off. You can also purchase pant stretchers that will do the stretching for you. You wrap the waistband around the stretchers, then turn the crank to stretch the pants out.

You can also have someone help you stretch out the jeans. They grab one side, and you grab the other.

If you must use the dryer, turn it on low heat.

The water will help the jean fibers relax while your body will do the actual stretching.

Hot water can cause the jeans to shrink. Don’t use soap because then you’ll need to rinse them out thoroughly.

You can achieve the same effect by just wearing the jeans as you normally would without water, but it will take longer. [10] X Research source

Get out when the water cools down.

If you want to speed up the process a little, you can place them in the washer on the spin cycle, but don’t let them go through a rinse cycle. You can also hang them up outside to dry on a clothesline.

Make sure to cut right along the seam, which is where the pants are stitched together on the side. You’ll have a “V” when you stretch the area out slightly. This process will add an extra piece fabric on each side of the waistband, which will make it slightly bigger.

If you want, you can use thick elastic here, instead. Keep in mind it will show if you wear a tucked-in shirt.

To tack the edges in place, hold the fabric pieces together, and insert the pins down through the fabric from the outside of the cut. Come back up through the fabric on the inside of the cut to hold the fabric and pin in place.

Go down one side of the “V” you cut and up the other. With a needle and thread, tie a knot in the thread. Run the needle in and out, on the outside of the cut jean edge along the “V,” using a basic running stitch. [17] X Research source

Repeat the process on the other side.