DIY Waxed Denim Skirt

About a month ago I purchased a waxed denim skirt from beautifulonemodest.com. I fell in love with the texture, sheen, and over all look of the skirt. I decided to search for another one that was not by Micheal Klien. Fifty-eight dollars is a bit too much for my taste and budget. The more I searched the more I discovered that waxed denim skirts are 1. Impossible to find and 2. when you do find them they are horribly priced. One site had them listed for 140 dollars. Ouch.
As I researched waxed denim skirts, I stumbled upon multiple diy tutorials. I watched several videos and read a few blog posts detailing the process. Stunned and quite happy with the ease and low cost of the process, I decided this was a task I wanted to take on too.

For the cost of two bars of otter wax (don’t use candle wax, candle wax has been treated and doesn’t produce the same results. Believe me I tried, and it was unimpressive), and two days of curing, you can have a denim skirt that looks like faux leather without the high cost of coated denim.

If you want to give this a try yourself, here’s what you’ll need:

1-2 bars of otter fabric wax. (I got mine on amazon). I will warn you though, otter wax is rather smelly. So find a place to work where you have a decent air flow.
A lint roller
A denim skirt (don’t use regular denim. The result is awful. Go for a black, brown, gray, navy, or burgundy denim).
A hair dryer
A clean work surface
24-72 hours for curing.

Step 1: Prepping.
In order to get the best results there are three things you need to do. First: wash and dry the skirt you want to wax. 2. Clean and prepare your work station. I chose to do mine on the kitchen table and I laid down tinfoil over the surface of the table to prevent wax from getting on the table top. 3. When your skirt is dry, lint roll the front and back. Lint rolling will get rid of an excess hair or dust particles not removed in the initial wash. 4. Set your blow dryer on the highest setting and heat the otter wax for about 10-15 seconds. Do the same to your skirt. This will help give you even strokes.

Step2: Waxing.
Lay the skirt flat on your work surface. With long even strokes in a downward motion, use the otter wax bar to apply wax to skirt following the grain of the skirt. Personally, I like to start with the seams and waistband on the front of before moving the main sections of the skirt. Rub in any excess or lumps of wax with your hand.
Smooth out the wax with you hand. It is easiest to do this as you are waxing your skirt. Rubbing the wax into your skirt will help create a water proof seal and will help give your skirt a nice sheen and that faux leather look after the curing process.

This is what my skirt looked like after doing only one side. The left side is waxed and I've rubbed the wax in with my hand. The right side is unwaxed.

This is what my skirt looks like completely waxed but uncured.

Step 3: Curing.
Curing is a two-step process. You should let the skirt cure in two batches that way you don’t lose wax from the front of your skirt as you’re working on the back of your skirt. Curing also prevents the loss of wax onto other items in your house, like your sofa. How it works. Place your skirt on drying rack (or leave it a work workstation if that is an option for you) in a warm dry spot for 24 hours or until the tacky feeling of the wax has gone (in some cases this can take up to 72 hours. Side note: the cooler and wetter/humid the area where you are curing your skirt the longer it will take for the skirt to cure).
My skirt took 72 hours on each side because I cured mine in a room where a fan was running for part of the day.

Step 4: Waxing.
Flip your skirt to the other (unwaxed side) and repeat steps 2-3.

Tip: If you are worried about the transfer of wax onto your work surface, place parchment paper on it before laying down the waxed side of your skirt as you work on the second side of your skirt.

Note: There are other tutorials that suggest using a blower dryer to give you the same sheen and finish. I found this to be total tosh. I tried it and it only served to make my skirt looked streaked, dirty, and horribly discolored. After chatting with customer service at the otter wax company, I learned that the best melted wax results will either come from 1. Rubbing the wax in with your hand or 2. A professional grade heat gun as hair dryers do not generate adequate and even heat.

Honestly though, you don’t need the heat gun. By rubbing the wax in with your hand on the skirt, you’ll still get the nice sheen and faux leather look.

Caring for your waxed denim skirt.
Taking care of you waxed denim skirt comes with different care instructions than with your other clothes.

1. Do not use soap
2. Do not use detergent
3. Do not dry clean

So how do you clean your waxed denim skirt? It isn’t has hard as it might seem and you have three very easy options.
1. Turn inside out and soak in cold water. Gently scrub with a sponge. (remember no soap or detergent).
2. Spot clean. With a bucket of cold water, soak dirty and gently clean with a sponge. Customer service at otter wax also suggested using a tooth brush to gently spot clean areas of the skirt.
3. Fold skirt and place it a gallon freezer bag. Place the bag in the freezer for 24 hours. Freezing the skirt for 24 hours will break down odors and bacteria.


Below are a few before and after pictures of the skirt I waxed.


Before:

Front after curing:

Back after curing: