We all dread shrinkage on our clothing items but your clothes shrinking in the wash is just something that can happen at any point in time. While there are techniques that can help prevent it, the risk is still always there. So, what should you do if your favorite sweater suddenly gets shrunk in the laundry machine?
The Shrinking Nature Of Sweaters
While shrinking is something that can occur in all kinds of fabric materials, it is to be said that this is a problem more likely to happen to your sweater fabric.
Yes, it might sound a little cliché but your sweaters have a very high probability of getting shrunken than other clothing items.
So let’s say you empty your laundry machine only to find your sweater or sweaters (because this can happen to multiple sweaters at once) have shrunk? First of all, don’t panic, we all know no one will enjoy seeing their clothes shrunk after a wash, but in case you experience such, it is something that can be fixed!
Regardless of what you might have been told, you can still rescue a shrunken sweater if you act fast and apply the right technique. Unfortunately, this isn’t a task people know how to do but don’t worry I’ll explain all that you need to know to unshrink your sweater.
Unshrinking your sweater is basically about getting the fabric fibers to relax and if you stick to these five steps diligently, you can get your sweater fabric back into shape in no time at all.
The Five Steps To Effective Sweater Unshrinking
So, let’s take a look at all you need to be familiar with in order to get your sweater back to its initial condition. Now before you start this process, you are going to be needing a few supplies, don’t worry they might sound strange to you initially, but with them, you can accomplish great things.
So, what are these supplies I kept talking about? Well, it’s simple, all you need is some baby shampoo and some corkboard item, they might be odd components but you can get your sweater back into shape with those two combos.
1. Get Washing
Start the restoration process by preparing some warm water in a bucket or washing up bowl. Add two or three tablespoons of baby shampoo to the mixture, stir the mixture evenly, and then you’re ready.
Start by lightly washing the sweater, add 2 drops of shampoo into the sweater’s fibers by hand and stir evenly.
Ensure you are very gentle though because you don’t want to risk overstretching the sweater, once you’re through and you’re satisfied with the result, leave the sweater for fifteen minutes before beginning the draining process.
2. Rinse The Sweater
This step is self-explanatory, simply remove the fabric from the soapy water and then rinse it in some cool water (cold water is best). Doing this will get rid of the shampoo, try to also be very gentle during these procedures and move your hand from one spot to another to squeeze out the water.
Whatever you do, don’t try to swing or ring out the sweater to drain the water; doing this will just cause more damage.
3. Roll Your Sweater
OK, this is where things might start to sound a little strange but stay with me because despite how odd this may sound it does work (if you do it well). For this part of the process, you’ll want to spread your sweater in a large dry towel and then roll it gently.
Doing this will remove any remaining moisture from your sweater and help dry out the fabric fibers. It’s very essential that you ensure they are as dry as possible as doing this will give you the best possible chance of restoring your sweater to its initial state.
4. Get Your Corkboard Ready
So, back at the start of these procedures, I stated two important things you would need, you’ve already used the baby shampoo and now we are left with the corkboard. You’ll need to pin your fabric to the corkboard to help it air dry.
Be a bit hard at this point cause you’ll need to make sure the sweater is taut but don’t overdo it lest you could damage the fibers.
5. Re-Stretch And Re-Pin Every Few Hours
To finalize the whole steps, try to repeat step four every couple of hours, yes it might sound like a difficult task but after several turns of stretching and re-pinning, your sweater should be back to its original size.
A Side Note
Sometimes, you may not quickly get that expected result, but don’t let this put you off, it could take a few turns of consistent repetition for your sweater to return to its normal size.
Prevent Shrinking Down The Road
Just following a few straightforward cleaning tips when washing your sweaters will prevent more mishaps and saves you repeated headaches down the road.
Immediately your sweater starts shrinking, and the probability that it won’t stop shrinking is very high. To prevent this problem, it is better to just hand-wash it, especially when it’s (according to the label) made of particularly shrinkable fabrics like wool and cotton.
Avoid the common practice of mixing your shrinkable sweater or other fabrics with a regular wash. The best way to sort out your laundry activities is to do it carefully so that another accident doesn’t happen.
While the above statement is the best recommendation from experts, running it through the washing machine is inevitable sometimes.
so to reduce the risk of using the machine, only use cold water settings when washing. Also, do not take your sweater to the dryer, just let it air dry instead to avoid further shrinkage.
There you have it, now you know what you have to do to rescue your favorite shrunken sweater.