How to “shrink” an item to the desired size using washing?

When does the wool “shrink”?

A material such as wool, due to its naturalness and natural characteristics, can easily be modified under the influence of various sources. First of all, woolen items shrink when washed at high temperatures . Natural hairs curl, compact and “fall off”, which makes the product warmer, but significantly reduces its size.

Important! Items containing both real wool and artificial fibers can behave completely differently. Some things containing synthetics do not shrink at all, some only stretch. Therefore, for products with a mixed composition, methods typical for natural woolen items may not always be suitable.

Useful comments on how to wash acrylic so that it shrinks

Acrylic is a popular material that is similar in appearance to wool, but is more affordable and practical to use. Despite easy care, it has one drawback - stretching from frequent wear. To return your clothes to their previous appearance, do the following:

1. Set your machine to the delicate wash option. If there is no such function, then set the temperature to 30 degrees and the minimum spin mode.
2. Place the item in a special washing bag and throw it into the drum.
3. After washing and spinning, the item should be slightly damp.
4. Then place it on a flat horizontal surface, previously covered with a clean cloth.
5. Leave the product in this form until completely dry.

The results of the actions taken will remain for a month. Repeat if necessary. To prevent acrylic items from stretching, it is better to store them folded on shelves.

Washing rules to make woolen items shrink

In order to “plant” a knitted item, you need to pay attention to several parameters. If you follow all of them, you will be able to carry out the procedure without incident, as a result of which you will have a sweater of the ideal size.

Temperature

First, pay attention to the label on your item, as the temperature at which it should be washed is always written above it. Since we are pursuing slightly different goals and want the product to change slightly, we should “conjure” with the temperature regime. Typically, the optimal temperature for washing wool is 30–40 °C , but we need to increase it by 20 °C to make clothes smaller.

Mode

The best option is to wash the item by hand . However, if you are lazy or simply don’t have enough time, use a washing machine. To do this, set it to one of the following modes:

• "wool". Its settings are usually set to a small number of revolutions. This is a good feature because at high speeds a wool sweater can change from adult to child size;
• “hand wash”, “children’s mode”. These programs are also quite delicate, so they are suitable for washing.

Hand knitted item

The problem with hand-knitted items is often that there may not be a tag on it indicating the specific material and the required washing temperature . If you are sure that the hat you bought from a craftswoman is truly completely natural, then you can try reducing its size by steaming. Do this through a cloth so as not to damage the delicate texture. If you do not have accurate information about the composition of the yarn, then it is better to wait with steaming. Try reducing it using the washing method.

Machine knitted item

An important feature of wool products is that they will retain the shape in which they dry . Therefore, if dried incorrectly, even machine knitting can suffer and stretch. This can be corrected by drying the sweater again. For this:

• wash the sweater or just soak it well in water. It must be completely saturated. If you are afraid that it will shrink very much in the water, then use a contrasting method: do not immediately soak the item in too hot water;
• After this, remove the clothing, but do not wring or twist it - this will damage the fibers again. It is better to place it on a flat surface (for example, in a bathtub, basin or on a special board) in a free position and allow excess water to drain;
• wrap it in a thick cloth or terry towel that will absorb unnecessary moisture. This method will replace traditional squeezing;
• change the fabric or towel, spread it on a flat surface, and place your sweater on top. Give it the desired shape, for example, lay a collar or adjust it in length. This is the form the product will be in when it dries.

Important! Wool takes a long time to dry; at room temperature it can dry for 2–3 days. Make sure that it does not acquire an unpleasant musty smell, so if necessary, change the towel on which it lies.

How to “plant” cotton at home?

Practice shows that a cotton T-shirt stretches even faster than a wool sweater. But even in this case, it is possible to adjust the shape of the thing. It is worth considering that when working with cotton, restoration is only possible if the clothing was sewn correctly. If the threads are located and directed incorrectly, then nothing can be done.

Cotton products give maximum shrinkage in the following cases:

1. Machine wash using very hot water and maximum spin.
2. The product can simply be dipped in boiling water. True, even a short stay of a colored product in such hot water can provoke it to shed. But just five minutes of treatment will reduce the item by size, a quarter of an hour in boiling water and the clothes will become 1.5-2 sizes smaller.
3. If you don’t want to risk the color of the item, then it is better to wash it in the traditional way, and then put it in an electric dryer.

We evaluate the result based on the completely dried product. If you can't do anything the first time, you shouldn't even try again. The positive effect most likely will no longer occur, but the item will ultimately be damaged. In this case, you will have to contact a studio or update your wardrobe.

How to wash so that only the sleeves shrink?

If you are not satisfied with only the sleeves in a knitted product (for example, you pulled them unsuccessfully when putting on a sweater), then you can try to reduce only their length or width. For this:

• spray the sleeves with water from a special spray bottle or simply wet them carefully without touching other areas;
• lay the item horizontally again, straighten the sleeves and give them the required shape in length or width;
• wait for it to dry.

Advice! You can also try simply steaming only the sleeves. The main thing is that hot steam does not get on the main part of the blouse.

Comments on how to wash a knitted item so that it shrinks

Knitted items also shrink well, so it is better to wash them by hand, since after machine washing they can shrink so much that they will only fit on a child. The principles described below will help you quickly return woolen items to the correct size.

1. In what water should you wash wool items? For this, water is suitable, the temperature of which should be 15-20 degrees higher than that indicated on the tag. Soak the clothes in it for an hour, then hand wash them in soapy water. Rinse in cold water and, without twisting, place on a clean natural towel for half an hour. Then hang in a ventilated place until completely dry.
2. In cold weather, information on how to wash a wool hat so that it shrinks will be useful. If the headdress is clean, do the following:

• Wet your hat.
• Place it on a hot radiator to dry, having first laid a clean natural cloth on it.

Attention! This method is suitable for any woolen item that needs to be reduced by 2-5 centimeters. If the product is dirty, wash it, rinse it well and you can begin to reduce it.

How to wash something made from several different materials?

If the product contains both natural and synthetic materials, pay attention to the specific composition and recommended temperature conditions . Unfortunately, synthetic things are quite difficult to revive.

For example, it is almost impossible to shrink polyester. However, we advise you to try reducing the size of the item first only in those areas that have stretched. Also, do not immediately use extremely high temperatures - the wool contained in the composition may still shrink to child size. It is better to use the contrast wash method.

How to prepare clothes

First you need to decide on the material from which the clothes are made. The possibility of the item shrinking and the method that can be used will depend on this.

The composition is indicated on the label on the reverse side. If this information is not available, you can use a thread pulled from the inside of the side seam. A small piece of clothing is sewn to some items in this area.

The thread must be carefully brought to the fire. An ordinary match or lighter will be enough. If the material has melted, it means it contains a lot of synthetic fibers. If it lights up, the fabric is natural.

Before the procedure, do not forget to check all pockets, make sure the seams are intact and there are no holes, fasten the zippers and unfasten the buttons.

Ways to prevent woolen items from stretching after washing

In order to avoid the not-so-pleasant procedure of shrinking your favorite sweater, follow some rules during and after washing it:

• If possible, wash it in warm water by hand or use a delicate machine wash cycle;
• do not twist it when squeezing, let the water drain in its natural position;
• Do not dry the item in a vertical position: always lay it out on a flat surface;
• do not dry it on a hot radiator or in the open sun, as it will not only lose its shape, but may also fade;
• it must be ironed either through a cloth or by steaming without contact with the hairs;
• Do not dry or store knitted sweaters on hangers - they will definitely stretch out. It's better to keep them folded in the closet.

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Additional ways to shrink things

There are also these options:

1. To shrink cotton, you don’t need to use washing - a good ironing with steam is enough. Wet clothes should be ironed using steam constantly.
2. The simplest and surest way is to take your purchase to a studio, where they will accurately measure the required dimensions and do everything quickly, without ruining the fabric or stretching it even more.
3. You can sew up your purchase yourself by carefully ripping the fabric along the seams and removing excess material. To do this, there must be a sewing machine and all the tools necessary for such work at home. The easiest way to sew in skirts, where you often need to open only 1 of all seams, measure the required dimensions and cut off excess fabric.

How to wash synthetic clothes

Most clothing is made from synthetics. This includes polyester, which is the most widely used, as well as a number of other materials. A huge number of things are produced from it: from underwear to jackets. “Planting” synthetics is very simple. To achieve a smaller size, for example, of a T-shirt, you can do this:

1. Place the wash at the maximum permissible temperature with a medium spin or soak the T-shirt for 15 minutes in 30°C water and wash.
2. Hang on the balcony in direct sunlight until completely dry.

This method is suitable for any synthetic items.

How to wash and dry cotton clothes

Cotton is one of the most popular materials for making clothes. Many people prefer to purchase things that consist of it. This material fits very easily. Therefore, if you need to shrink, for example, a cotton shirt, there will be no problems. There are 3 ways to achieve the result.

1. Place the item in the washing machine.
2. Set the temperature to 60°C.
3. The spin can be set to standard, and the drying can be set to maximum (if available).
4. Turn on.

Method two:

1. Soak the product in very hot water for 30 minutes.
2. Squeeze it out and fill it with ice water. Wait 20 minutes.
3. Squeeze and place on a dry towel.

1. Carefully place the item on the ironing board.
2. Iron thoroughly at maximum temperature using the steam function.

Each of these options should help plant any cotton product.