How to Unshrink Clothes in a Few Easy Steps
From expensive fabrics to meaningful gifts, clothes deserve to be taken care of. Unfortunately, not all items can handle the washing machine and dryer.
Whether you forgot to read the tag, or someone else in the family was on laundry duty and didn’t know what to hang dry, clothing mishaps happen. More specifically, your favorite sweater comes out shrunken to two sizes smaller, or your jeans no longer button—even though they fit you a few days ago.
Luckily, some laundry mistakes are reversible, and we’re here to show you how to flip your favorite garments back to their original state. Read on to find out why clothes shrink and how to unshrink them.
Photo via Claire at Pillarboxblue
Why Clothes Shrink
Many fabrics are totally fine going through the washer and dryer, which is why more clothes make it through entire laundry cycles than ones that must be put aside for special care. It really comes down to the fabric, which is why it’s so important to get to know your clothes and read their tags.
Materials respond to heat and rotation differently:
Cotton
As durable and comfortable as cotton clothes are, they’re prone to shrinkage because, under heat, cotton fibers lose tension and relax, shrinking down when the clothes start to cool off.
Many manufacturers will actually pre-shrink cotton clothing before retailing it so that initial shrinkage is over before it reaches the consumer.
Animal-based fabric
Animal-based fabric like wool is made up of a bunch of tiny little proteins in its fibers. The combination of heat and movement in a washer/dryer can cause the proteins and frays in the fabric to latch onto each other and bind fibers closer together, therefore shrinking the garment.
Synthetic fabric
Synthetic fabrics are pretty resistant to shrinkage. In fact, it may take several hot wash and dry cycles before you even realize that your polyester or rayon garment has shrunk. Harsh detergents can also cause the fibers in synthetic fabrics to shrink.
Denim
It happens to just about everyone: Your freshly clean and folded denim jeans fit a little too snugly. That’s because heat from the washer and dryer relaxes the denim fibers, causing them to expand and then contract when they return back to room temperature.
Pick Your Denim Right
How to Unshrink Cotton Clothes
How you unshrink clothes is dependent on the material you’re working with. Here, we’ve covered cotton, wool and other animal fibers, and denim.
We’ll show you how to unshrink cotton clothes with conditioner. Conditioner, which softens and relaxes hair, will soften and relax cotton fibers so that they can be stretched back to their original tension before they were heated.
Tools and Materials Needed
- Lukewarm water
- Hair conditioner (make sure there are no added dyes)
- Bath towel
- Safety pins
1. Fill Sink with Water
Plug your sink drain and fill it with lukewarm water. Add in the shrunken cotton garment.
2. Add Hair Conditioner, Soak
Add two tablespoons of hair conditioner to the sink. Use your hands to work the conditioner into the fabric and stretch the fibers at the same time. Soak the garment for 30 minutes.
3. Drain Sink
Drain the sink and wring out the fabric. Do not rinse out the hair conditioner.
4. Dry Flat with Safety Pins
Lay the garment flat on a towel. Roll the garment up in the towel to remove excess moisture. Unroll, then use safety pins to pin each side of the garment flat onto the towel.
Allow to fully dry and it should be ready to wear. However, if the garment does feel stiff from the conditioner, wash it according to the garment’s tag directions and let it air dry to avoid shrinking it again.
How to Unshrink Clothes from Wool and Other Animal Fibers
Precious fabrics like wool and cashmere need to be treated with care. Here’s how to undo shrink damage to get your clothes back to their original condition using borax and some shaping.
Tools and Materials Needed
- Lukewarm water
- Borax
- Rubber gloves
- Bath towels
1. Fill Sink with Water
Plug your sink drain and fill it with lukewarm water. Add in the wool or other animal fiber-based garment you’re trying to unshrink.
2. Add Borax, Soak
Add two tablespoons of borax to the water and clothes. Use rubber-gloved hands to work the powder into the fabric and stretch the fibers at the same time. Let the garment soak for 30 minutes.
3. Drain Sink
Drain the sink. Gently wring out the fabric, being careful not to damage it, but do not rinse out the borax.
4. Stuff the Garment with Towels, Hang Dry
Stuff the garment with towels until it appears close to its original size. Stretch out the garment and smooth out the silhouette, then let dry with the towels still inside.
How to Unshrink Clothes Made from Synthetic Fabrics (Rayon, Polyester)
Although synthetic fibers don’t shrink as easily as the above fabrics we mentioned, it still happens. As with cotton, conditioner is successful in relaxing synthetic fibers so they can stretch back to their original taut state.
Tools and Materials Needed
- Lukewarm water
- Hair conditioner
- Bath towel
- Safety pins
- Steamer
1. Fill Sink with Water
Plug your sink and fill it with lukewarm water. Add in the synthetic fiber garment.
2. Add Hair Conditioner, Soak
Add two tablespoons of hair conditioner to the sink. Use your hands to work the conditioner into the fabric and stretch the fibers at the same time. Soak the garment for 20 minutes.
3. Drain Sink
Drain the sink and gently squeeze out the garment. Do not rinse out the hair conditioner.
4. Gently Stretch and Steam
Gently stretch the fabric to release stiffness. Place a handheld steamer over the fabric to further loosen the fibers.
5. Dry Flat with Safety Pins
Use safety pins to pin each side of the garment flat onto a towel. Allow to fully dry.
Photo via Claire at Pillarboxblue
How to Unshrink Denim
All you need to loosen up tight jeans is some lukewarm water and your hands.
Tools and Materials Needed
- Clean spray bottle
- Lukewarm water
1. Fill Up the Spray Bottle
Use a clean spray bottle that doesn’t have leftover cleaning residue from other products in it. Fill the bottle with lukewarm water.
2. Lay Denim Flat
Lay denim flat on the floor, smoothing out the silhouette, and if you’re working on pants, leave room between the legs of the jeans.
3. Spray the Denim
Working in sections, spray the water on each pant leg (or section of whatever article of denim you’re working with). Once the section is noticeably damp, use both hands to pull and stretch the section of the denim. Repeat until all sections of the denim have been soaked and stretched.
4. Air Dry
Hang the denim clothing item to air dry.
Take a Denim Bath
Photo via Chas' Crazy Creations
How to Prevent Clothes from Shrinking
Fibers prone to shrinking require special attention when it comes to cleaning them. For fibers like the ones listed above, avoid heat and tumbling by washing your garments by hand in cold water with a little laundry detergent.
If you must wash them in the washing machine, wash them in a delicate setting with cool water and let them air dry. When in doubt, always check the washing instructions on the tag of the garment.
Unshrinking clothes may seem like a daunting task, but with the right techniques and tools, it is a fairly simple process. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can unshrink clothes and bring them back to their original size and shape.
Do you have any laundry woes you need help with? Ask your questions below!
Frequently asked questions
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