Unshrinking a wool fabric or any other type of material made with wool is startlingly easy to do. It doesn’t need a lot of tools or a special brain, just some cold water in your washing machine or hot dryer.
Even though it might appear unlikely, unshrinking wool is very doable in a multitude of ways. Just remember that to get the best result, being gentle is very important.
Try to utilize some of the techniques you’ll be reading here to increase the fabric’s size up to a size and a half or at least add to its original size.
How to Unshrink Wool
When washing your wool fabric with a laundry machine, and a mishap occurs, find out the proper way to unshrink it with these DIY cleaning tips and get your fabrics back.
1. Use a Conditioner Bath
Washing your wool materials by hand(especially the merino type of wool fabric) is always the best idea for washing merino wool-cashmere, wool fabric, or any other wool garment. It’s also one of the most effective ways to unshrink cotton fabrics.
While using a washing machine is convenient, it offers minimal control and quickly leads to a shrunken garment.
What You’ll Need
- Conditioner Bath
- Washtub
- Lukewarm water
- ¼ cup hair conditioner
- ¼ cup mild detergent (optional)
Fill a washtub with warm or cool water (cool water works best). Try not to use hot water since this might have been the shrinking culprit in the first place. Add plenty of water, this will allow full submergence in the basin. Pour in the conditioner and mix it evenly with your hands.
Add a teaspoonful of detergent if the wool still needs to be washed. Dip the jumper into the washtub and let it soak for 30 minutes to an hour. Ensure no part of the fabric is out of the water. Remove it out of the water after about an hour.
Don’t wring it out, as doing this causes uneven shaping, but squeeze it gently to get rid of the excess water. Spread it on a flat surface and gently caress the wool fabric into the original shape.
Allow it to air dry. Wash it lightly in water to get rid of any leftover conditioner. Make sure it dries into the correct shape.
2. Soak Up Baby Shampoo
Hair conditioner isn’t the only amazing substance that’s effective for loosening the fabric fibers in wool. As long as the fabric hasn’t shrunken so bad and faded off from the cleaning mishap, baby shampoo can also be utilized here.
Fill the sink or basin with cool or cold water, filled enough to completely cover the wool fabrics. Add the baby shampoo to the mix and stir with your hands. Gently dip in the affected wool and allow it to soak for 30 minutes to an hour.
Bring it out and carefully squeeze out the remaining water. spread it on a flat surface and shape it into the initial form. Allow it to air dry then clean it off with cold water, so there is no buildup of the baby shampoo.
3. Unshrink Wool with Water Bath and Vinegar
Vinegar (due to its effective cleaning agent) is always a go-to for any home cleaning or fixing solution, making a vinegar bath allows you to untie the threads of stubbornly small shrunken wool fibers and is one of the earliest techniques to unshrink wool.
What You’ll Need
- Vinegar Soak
- 1 part white vinegar
- 2 parts water
- Water basin
To unshrink viscose fibers or your wool leggings, pour vinegar and water into any container that’s big enough to hold the garment. Set the wool material in the bath for about thirty minutes, making sure it is covered.
bring it out and squeeze it to release the remaining water. Lay it on a smooth surface and shape it to the desired position, and just as we’ve done before, allow it to air dry.
Towel Dry
Another effective option for drying out a wool fabric faster, or draining out the remaining water before stretching, is to make use of a dry towel. Get a large bath towel that will fit the material inside and spread it out on top of the towel, then roll up the towel with the fabric in it.
Doing this enables the towel to soak up excess water and helps to dry it out faster, once you finish the whole washing process.
Stretch The Wool by Hand
Spread the wool fabric on a flat surface, it’s preferably you opt for a soft one like a rug. Don’t pull on any single spot too much. Instead, stretch it gently in all directions.
The goal is to ensure the wool edges are straight and symmetrical, but larger this time. For shirts made from wool fabrics, focus on the sleeves, bottom edges, and also along the neckline. Repeat this several more times to obtain the perfect shape.
Stretch and Pin
Sometimes, even if the wool material is your favorite, we might not have time to sit and stretch for a long duration of time. So once the wool is dry, spread it on a corkboard and stretch it out gently by hand.
Immediately you stretch it to its best shape, get your pins, and pin it to the corkboard all the way around. Avoid using this technique if the affected wool is very small since the pins will pull at the edges (stretching out) and may create gaps in the wool.
How to prevent wool shrinkage
Fabric materials made with wool or with any blend of wool don’t need to be washed that often, especially not in a laundry machine. This is because the wool fibers self-regulate, keeping themselves free of sweat and sloughing off any dirt.
Try to hand wash clothes with vinegar, baking soda, or even a mild soap like Castile to get a good result. This technique also goes for washing hats and jackets, whether they are made from wool or any other type of fabric.
Using the above methods and learning how to unshrink wool is an easy process. We hope you can find the one that works wonders for you.