What to do if things shrink after washing: how to stretch and restore shrunken fabric, how can you return your clothes to their previous size?

A jacket that has shrunk after washing or a dress that has shrunk in size is an unpleasant surprise for anyone.

You should not immediately send the item for storage or throw it away. There are several ways to revive a product that has become tight.

Read the article about what to do if things shrink after washing, what products will help restore their size and how to prevent similar problems in the future.

Reasons for shrinkage

There are several reasons why an item shrinks in size after washing. These include:

Violation of the manufacturer's recommendations for washing and caring for the product.
Read also: How to clean a fur coat at home without ruining it
Incorrect spin speed.
Washing water temperature is too high.
Features of the fabric. It is known that cotton shrinks by 3-5% after the first wash. Corduroy and tartan are most susceptible to this process, while poplin, satin, calico and cambric are slightly lower. Woolen items may be considered at risk.

Two factors most often negatively affect the condition of products: mechanical stress and high temperatures.

If the wool has not shrunk much or needs to be stretched a little

You can stretch a shrunken woolen jacket that has only slightly lost its previous size by putting it on a mannequin after a gentle spin, if the clothing should fit its, and therefore your, shape.

But, as a rule, there are not mannequins lying around in every attic or balcony, so you will probably have to pull a wet sweater over yourself.

To avoid discomfort when wearing it, it is better to periodically change clothes that come into direct contact with the skin. In four hours your favorite thing will be the same.

Stretching various shrunken tissues

Before choosing a method for stretching things, you need to decide what fabric they are made of. All materials react differently to high temperatures and chemicals. Basic recommendations:

Wool. This delicate fiber does not tolerate rough handling.
It's easy to overdo it when stretching, so you need to handle wool items with care. You can treat a shrunken dress or sweater with water, fabric softener, turpentine or a weak vinegar solution. You need to stretch the wool in small sections, systematically working through the entire surface.
Combined knitwear based on natural and synthetic fibers . All methods are suitable for stretching, except steaming. Particular attention should be paid to the mechanical effect on the fabric. To enhance the effect, you can use the washing machine by turning on the drying function. After its completion, the item is laid out on a flat surface and stretched by hand.
Jeans. This rough material is difficult to stretch, and shrinkage can be quite impressive. To cope with the problem, it is better to resort to the help of a steam generator. The product is pre-soaked with hair rinse.
Synthetics. The material does not tolerate contact with caustic chemicals and high temperatures. Therefore, it is stretched by first soaking it in cool water or vinegar solution.
Cotton and linen . Fabrics are prone to shrinkage, which often occurs due to washing in hot water. To stretch a thing, it can be soaked in any of the listed solutions, and then subjected to mechanical stress. It is recommended to stretch the product by hand, since high speed in the washing machine can aggravate the problem.

To understand which method is applicable for a particular item, you need to carefully study the label. It indicates the permissible washing and ironing temperatures.

The letter “A” circled means that dry cleaning is allowed with all known solvents according to the usual regime.

How to stretch their cotton clothes

Cotton is a material with a composition of natural fibers, so violation of the washing temperature or improper drying can cause the fabric to shrink.

To correct this unpleasant situation, you can use the following method:

Pour hydrogen peroxide or vinegar into a container with water (3 tablespoons per 10 liters), soak clothes in the solution for 30 minutes.
We place the soaked clothes on a dry towel and begin to stretch them to the desired size.
Leave to dry. We perform the procedure 3 times.

Advice! During subsequent washing, choose only the correct mode and a mild detergent.

Going to dry cleaning

If an expensive item has shrunk and there are concerns that trying to stretch it on your own may lead to damage, it is better to seek help from professionals.

Many dry cleaners provide a service to resize shrunken clothes . To do this, they have special steam dummies and safe chemicals available.

The cost of the work depends on its complexity. For example, you can help stretch a shrunken woolen sweater for 350-500 rubles, and a silk dress for 500-700 rubles. The price needs to be clarified in a specific establishment.

Before submitting an item for processing, you need to ask how long the item can be stretched and whether there is a guarantee that it will not be completely damaged. It is imperative to request a document confirming the fact of transfer of the product to third parties.

How to stretch knitted items

In order to stretch knitted items, you can use different methods:

First, soak the knitted item in warm water for 15 minutes, then wring it out and stretch it in the washing machine. We dry clothes only in a vertical position.
Soak the item in warm water for 30 minutes, then wring out the clothing, but do it carefully, that is, do not twist it. Place on a dry towel, twist, leave in this position for 30 minutes. We unfold and steam the item with an iron until it is completely dry, while stretching the clothing in the right places.

Advice! If a knitwear item does not stretch well, then soak it in hair conditioner.

If the proposed methods do not help to stretch the item, then you can use a special clothes expander or take it to a studio. But if the item has become small due to excess weight gain, then you should put the clothes aside until better times.

How do you like the article?

Prevention

To prevent things from shrinking in the future, you need to follow simple recommendations:

Pay attention to the information on the product label.
Wash items at a temperature not exceeding 30 degrees.
Buy cotton items 1.5 sizes larger, as they shrink the most.
Do not expose items to sunlight.
Use suitable detergents for washing and follow the spin speed recommendations.

You will find maximum useful information about washing clothes and various fabric products here.

How to stretch something with baby shampoo

This simple method will allow you to stretch any clothing - from a T-shirt to sweatpants. To do this, you need to prepare a bowl, baby shampoo and two large towels.

Fill the bowl with water, pour in baby shampoo, shake until a light foam appears, soak the clothes, while kneading them slightly with your hands so that the solution can penetrate between the fibers.
Then we take it out and squeeze it, but lightly, and under no circumstances rinse or twist it.

Now we take a dry large towel, straighten it, put the soaked clothes on top and roll it up, while pressing well on it. This will remove excess moisture.
Then we put it on the second large dry towel and begin to pull it in all directions. It won't take much time.
Let the clothes dry naturally.

Important! The next time you wash already stretched clothes, you cannot use automatic drying, otherwise the item will not only return to its previous size, but will also become even smaller.

Why do things made of wool tend to shrink?

Natural fabrics have this feature; synthetic clothing always stays true to size. Capable of shrinking cotton and wool items, especially with regard to the first wash. This is a reaction of natural fibers to moisture and temperature, so if you don’t follow the rules, your favorite sweater will become 1-2 sizes smaller after washing. This problem is caused by a number of reasons:

Temperature rise above 30 degrees.
Using standard powder with a large number of chemical components.
Incorrect mode selection. Washing wool products requires the use of a special function with delicate operation.
Vertical drying on a clothesline.
Exceeding spin norms by more than 300 rpm.
Drying on artificial heat sources: battery, radiator.

Return to contents

Why does it stretch?

The main reasons for the deformation of our sweaters are improper washing and improper drying. But these are far from the only “culprits” of the problem. Some things stretch even from prolonged wear, some - due to the bad habits of their owner. Some people like to stretch the bottom, the neck of the sweater, and pull out the sleeves to plunge into them to the tips of their fingers. All these manipulations lead to stretching of certain parts of the product.

The rapid deformation of a sweater also depends on the density of the loops. So, if a product is machine knitted, then it is denser and therefore less susceptible to stretching. But cozy hand-knitted sweaters, on the contrary, have weaker stitch density, no matter how hard the needlewoman tries. That is why “handmade” products are stretched more often under the influence of various circumstances.

Advice! Always before washing, drying and even wearing a sweater, read the information provided by the manufacturer about this product - on the label, packaging, and official website.

For all of the above cases, we have found universal ways to eliminate the consequences.

The sweater has stretched after washing: what should I do? 8 ways to get things back to their original shape

You just recently bought a new sweater or decided to wash your purchase after the store, when suddenly... From the basin or washing machine you take out an item that has significantly increased in size. As a result: after washing the sweater stretched. What to do? Don't worry, the problem can be fixed! We will be happy to tell you how to return the sweater to its former size.

Professional advice

Regardless of whether the item is wool or silk, it can always be restored if you listen to the recommendations of experts.

Why do clothes shrink?

There are many reasons why your dress, T-shirt, shirt or even pants may shrink. The most common of them are presented below.

You are choosing the wrong spin cycle in your washing machine. For example, there are situations when a woolen jacket cannot be spun, and its owner sets the spin speed too high.
The temperature when washing will also affect your dress, pants and even curtains. Try not to deviate from the values recommended by the manufacturer.
The fabric itself. Remember that silk shrinks much more than any other type of natural or synthetic material.

If you choose the wrong washing temperature, the fabric may lose its structure as a result. In addition, the mechanical impact of the “washing machine” will have a detrimental effect on cotton and knitted clothing.

Do not despair ahead of time, because you can always find a way out of every situation, even the most deplorable one. Sit back comfortably and try to remember all the recommendations of professionals that can be useful to you in a situation when your T-shirt, dress, curtains and other things suddenly shrink.