How to shrink clothes without damaging them
If you have clothes that you can’t wear because they are too big. We propose some techniques on how to shrink clothes without damaging.
Sometimes we buy a piece of clothing without trying it on and discover that we have a larger size or just after dieting, we lose weight and the clothes that were tight before us, now we are too baggy. In these cases, if we do not want to get rid of the garment we can try to shrink it.
There are several methods to shrink clothing, but if we don’t have enough precautions, we can damage it. In addition, sometimes it is very complex to get the clothes to shrink enough as it depends on the material with which it is made, so you should keep in mind that you may not achieve the expected result.
How to shrink clothes made in cotton or polyester garments
- Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil.
- When the water is boiling, put the garment you want to shrink upside down in the water and help yourself with a wooden spoon to remove the garment in the water.
- Leave the garment in the boiling water for at least half an hour.
- Take the garment out of the water and leave it in a bucket until it cools.
- Put the garment in the dryer at a high temperature.
- Try the garment and if you haven’t shrunk enough, repeat this method.
Another method to shrink cotton or polyester clothing
- Put the clothes you want to shrink in the washing machine. Notice that the garments are upside down, otherwise, the color may deteriorate.
- Wash with hot water.
- Dry the items to shrink in a high-temperature dryer.
Try the garment, if it has not shrunk enough, repeat the process just after finishing the first attempt. Polyester usually shrinks progressively when the heat is applied, so if you try again, it will give you an even more shrunk garment.
How to shrink wool clothing
- Insert the woolen garment to shrink in a bucket with warm water.
- Remove the garment in the water with your hands, so that the wool is soaking well.
- Take out the garment and wrap it in a towel, until the towels get wet and absorb the excess water.
- Make a sack with the towel so that the woolen garment cannot easily come off.
- Put the garment together with the towel in the dryer.
- If you want it to shrink a lot, set the temperature high, in case you want it to shrink less, set the warm temperature.
- Try the garment, if it hasn’t shrunk enough yet, repeat the process.
How to shrink nylon clothing
Nylon is difficult to shrink by applying heat, this happens in general with all synthetic fiber clothing. The reality is that we most likely spoil the garment, since the heat causes the fibers to melt, however, you can try the following method being very careful not to overdo it:
- Leave the garment inside out in a bucket with hot water and squirt ammonia to prevent the color from deteriorating.
- Wait an hour.
- Take the garment out of the water and wrap it in a towel to absorb excess water.
- Dry the garment in a dryer using medium temperatures or apply heat with a dryer.
- Repeat the process until the garment acquires the appropriate size.
- Risks when trying to shrink a garment
Having to subject the garments to high temperatures so that they shrink it is possible that we spoil the clothes or their fibers, shortening the useful life. On the other hand, the heat does not help to keep the color of the garment alive, so it is possible that the colors get worse looking somewhat aged and muted. This is how to shrink clothes.
In general, we should try these methods when we no longer believe that there is a better alternative or when we do not mind putting at risk the clothes we want to shrink. The most advisable thing is to consider taking the garment to a sewing professional to adapt the clothes to your figure so that you do not need to punish the fabric, the prices for making arrangements are usually not excessive and in the long run, it is worth it.
