How to stretch a wool sweater if it shrinks? 9 ways to stretch a shrunken wool sweater

Woolen items are very beautiful and comfortable to wear, but they are capricious and finicky to care for. During the next washing in the machine, the item may shrink, change size or shape, then it will no longer be possible to wear it. Experienced housewives have long discovered several ways to return things to their former size and shape.

Reasons why woolen items shrink after washing?

A number of factors tend to change the characteristics of a woolen item after machine washing. Housewives should definitely study them to avoid an unpleasant situation:

unsuitable care product (most gels and powders change the structure of the fiber and deform the item; before putting it into the machine, you should carefully study the manufacturers’ recommendations and choose a suitable powder that can carefully care for delicate wardrobe items);
a sharp change in temperature (when machine washing, it is not recommended to set the temperature above 30°C, this will definitely cause the fibers to react, and you should also not intensively spin and rinse the product);
incorrectly selected mode (for high-quality care and preservation of product characteristics, you should choose either a specially selected mode for washing wool, or simply a delicate mode);
the material is of poor quality (in this case, it is almost impossible to avoid the sweater losing its shape during care).

The possibility of a delicate care regime and the right detergent are the key to safe washing . If this is not possible, then the sweater is washed by hand with the addition of mild detergents.

Only regular careful care will help keep a woolen product in its original form for a long time.

How to fix?

If a woolen item has shrunk, you can try to save it. When choosing a method, it is worth considering a number of key factors in order not to completely ruin your clothes:

Initially, you can re-wash only by hand.
Use only cool water.
To make the fabric softer, use conditioner during the rinsing process; it is better to choose a special one for wool.
When drying horizontally, stretch the sleeves at the same time, making sure they are the same.
To wring out, use terry towels.

The more viscose and cotton a sweater contains, the greater the chance of restoring the size of the product.

Table vinegar

Using vinegar is one of the popular methods of returning a product to its previous parameters.
It is difficult to stretch knitted items and products made of dense material. In this case, it is advisable to use table vinegar. With its help, you can increase the length and width of the sweater without damaging its color. You can use vinegar to fix wool and cotton items. The procedure follows this scheme:

Soak the knitted item in cool water.
Squeeze out the mixture and transfer to an empty container.
Spread and pour hair conditioner on top.
Wait a minute and then start stretching.
Rinse and place in a bowl of vinegar.
Try again to stretch it with a damp sponge along the length of the pile.
Wash as usual.

Hydrogen peroxide

It is better to use the substance for light woolen items, so as not to spoil the color. If a white item shrinks after washing, a pharmaceutical product, namely hydrogen peroxide, can save it. To stretch a shrunken wool pullover, proceed as follows:

Prepare a solution: for 8 liters of cold water - 4 large spoons of peroxide. Use 3% substance.
Dip the product into the solution until it is completely covered with water.
Leave for an hour and a half.
Take out the clothes, wring them lightly, do not rinse.
Stretch on a horizontal surface, adjust the necessary places every 15 minutes.

Turpentine and ammonia

For pre-soaking, you need to make a solution with ammonia and turpentine.
If a large knit sweater has shrunk, it is possible to return it to its original size. Turpentine and ammonia are used; the components can be purchased at the hardware department and pharmacy. In order for a woolen item to stretch, it needs to be soaked. The solution requires water at room temperature in two basins. The stretching procedure goes as follows:

In one basin (5-6 liters) dilute turpentine and ammonia. In this case, use 3 times less of the first substance. In general, the active ingredients should be 200 ml.
Soak the item in the solution and leave for half an hour.
Transfer the product to another basin. It is important that the water temperature in it is the same.
Lay out to dry horizontally.

After turpentine, the wool becomes soft and easy to shape into the desired size.

Steaming with an iron

An iron with a steam function will help quickly solve the problem.
If after machine washing your dress has shrunk and you need to return it to its original parameters as soon as possible, you should try a method that does not involve washing. An iron with a steam function is suitable for this. To stretch wool fibers you need to proceed according to the following scheme:

Turn the product inside out and lay it out on a special board.
Carefully straighten the sleeves, making sure there are no wrinkles.
Moisten a large piece of gauze and place on top.
Turn on the minimum temperature mode and the steam function and slowly walk through the item, after the iron mark, do the tightening.

Cold water

A popular and safe method that can stretch shrunken clothes without damaging the fibers or color of the product. You need to use cold water, even ice water. Pour it into a basin and place the damaged woolen item. Keep it in water for as long as possible, constantly rinsing the product and pulling on problem areas. Then take it out and wrap it in a towel. Dry in a horizontal position, but so that the edges hang down. This method is suitable for large products; for example, the size of a hat cannot be corrected this way.

What to do if a wool sweater shrinks after washing?

If the product does shrink during machine washing, there are several simple ways to return it to its former shape. To do this, the jacket is again immersed in cold water and allowed to absorb a little liquid. There is no need to use powders or detergents. The sweater is then wrung out using a terry towel and laid out on a flat surface.

As it dries, you need to very carefully stretch the shrunken areas. You can also immediately attach the product to the base with a large number of pins, stretching it according to the desired size. It will take a lot of pins to ensure that all the parts are stretched and do not lose their original shape.

If the sweater becomes short after washing. It can be hung to dry on hangers. First, a towel folded several times is placed in the area of the shoulder seam. In this way, the housewife will avoid deformation of the jacket at the shoulders. The product will stretch under its own weight.

Particular attention should be paid to the cuffs and hem; they need to be stretched very carefully so as not to lose their shape. Otherwise, the sweater can be thrown out for being unpresentable.

Why do things made of wool tend to shrink?

Natural fabrics have this feature; synthetic clothing always stays true to size. Capable of shrinking cotton and wool items, especially with regard to the first wash. This is a reaction of natural fibers to moisture and temperature, so if you don’t follow the rules, your favorite sweater will become 1-2 sizes smaller after washing. This problem is caused by a number of reasons:

Temperature rise above 30 degrees.
Using standard powder with a large number of chemical components.
Incorrect mode selection. Washing wool products requires the use of a special function with delicate operation.
Vertical drying on a clothesline.
Exceeding spin norms by more than 300 rpm.
Drying on artificial heat sources: battery, radiator.

Preventing shrinkage of woolen items

In order not to look for answers to the question of how to stretch woolen items if they have shrunk immediately after washing, you need to properly and properly care for such sweaters and cardigans. The rules are very simple and easy to remember:

washing should be done by hand or in a washing machine on the “manual” or “delicate” mode with a minimum number of spin speeds;
as laundry detergents, it is better to use regular shampoo or special gels, the packaging of which contains a note that it is recommended for the care of woolen items;
Wool sweaters should be dried horizontally on a towel.

By remembering these simple rules, the housewife will be able to preserve the beautiful original appearance of the jacket for a long time. If the rules are violated and it is impossible to stretch a woolen product, the sweater will have to be sent to a landfill due to loss of external qualities.

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Is there anything that can be done?

To avoid deformation of things, you must adhere to the basic rules for washing wool.
First of all, you should understand that it is not always possible to correct the situation. If a wool product has been heat-treated and shrunk by 3 sizes, it will be difficult to return it to its original size. If your shirt shrinks after washing, use only methods that will not damage its color. Therefore, you need to be careful when handling abrasives and always carry out a test check.

Reasons for shrinkage

There are several reasons why an item shrinks in size after washing. These include:

Violation of the manufacturer's recommendations for washing and caring for the product.
Incorrect spin speed.
Washing water temperature is too high.
Features of the fabric. It is known that cotton shrinks by 3-5% after the first wash. Corduroy and tartan are most susceptible to this process, while poplin, satin, calico and cambric are slightly lower. Woolen items may be considered at risk.

Two factors most often negatively affect the condition of products: mechanical stress and high temperatures.

Preventing the problem

To avoid problems with loss of shape, you need to follow simple rules:

Always pay attention to the badges and labels on clothing. You can try to get things back into shape, but it doesn’t always work out. Clothes may become deformed.

There is a special mode for washing delicate items (satin, silk) and woolen items. Or use the manual program.
The water temperature should not exceed 30-40 degrees.
Spin should be absent or at the minimum level.
Use products for a specific fabric type.

Follow these simple rules and you won’t have to worry about the appearance and size of your clothes.

Universal ways to restore shrunken items

There are methods that are suitable for all types of fabrics:

Before stretching your clothes, dilute 10 g of baking soda in 1 liter of water. Soak the cloth in water for 10–12 hours.
Wash as usual using powder.
Then mix 1 liter of water with 5 tablespoons of wine vinegar. Leave it in resolution.
After 2-3 hours, rinse and dry.
Prepare a mixture of the following ingredients: 2 liters of water, 1 tablespoon of ammonia, 1 tablespoon of colony or 40% diluted alcohol, a drop of turpentine.
Leave for up to half an hour.
Rinse.
Unfold and shape into the correct shape.
Use slightly warmed milk.
Soak clothes in it for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Remove, rinse and dry.

Getting rid of pellets

As a rule, pills appear on woolen items of poor quality. This does not mean that the yarn was somehow made incorrectly or that the fabric was defective, but that the cheapest types of wool, consisting mainly of guard and dead hairs, were used to make the material.

There are several ways to get rid of pellets:

If the item is very shaggy, loosely knitted, and the pellets are large, the easiest way to cut them off is with sharp scissors with a thin blade. It is important to remain vigilant so as not to accidentally cut the threads.
In other cases, you should use a special clipper for cutting pellets. It is inexpensive and very convenient.
You can also use a regular safety razor - the more blades it has and the sharper they are, the easier it is to get the product in order. In this case, there is a danger of damaging clothing, so you should not use the razor by pressing it too hard against the woven or knitted fabric.
If there are few pellets, nothing will prevent you from removing them manually, simply tearing them off the threads. This process is somewhat reminiscent of plucking a chicken.

In the future, so that the pellets form in smaller quantities and less actively, you should use special detergents designed for wool for washing. They add components that help soften the fibers and reduce their tangling.

How to restore the original appearance and size of a shrunken coat

Hardly anyone dares to wash their expensive cashmere coat on their own. That is why we will talk about relatively small children's products made from mixed coat fabric. They are the ones who most often suffer from the baby’s carelessness and the mother’s inexperience. Washing a soiled coat in the machine is a simple matter, but most often this method leads to the clothes going to the neighbor’s child, who is a couple of years younger. You can still try to bring the coat back to life.

First you need to soak the item in the following solution: 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide per 10 liters of cold water.
Keep the product in it for two hours. Peroxide will help the fibers become more elastic.
While the coat is soaking, gently stretch it with your hands.
After completing the water procedures, lightly wring out the material and lay it on a towel to dry. As you already know, towels should be periodically replaced with dry ones, and the thing itself should continue to be stretched with your hands until completely dry.

Clothes made of wool will be the size of your child for a long time if you learn how to properly wash, dry and stretch shrunken clothes

Professional advice

Regardless of whether the item is wool or silk, it can always be restored if you listen to the recommendations of experts.

Why do clothes shrink?

There are many reasons why your dress, T-shirt, shirt or even pants may shrink. The most common of them are presented below.

You are choosing the wrong spin cycle in your washing machine. For example, there are situations when a woolen jacket cannot be spun, and its owner sets the spin speed too high.
The temperature when washing will also affect your dress, pants and even curtains. Try not to deviate from the values recommended by the manufacturer.
The fabric itself. Remember that silk shrinks much more than any other type of natural or synthetic material.

If you choose the wrong washing temperature, the fabric may lose its structure as a result. In addition, the mechanical impact of the “washing machine” will have a detrimental effect on cotton and knitted clothing.

Do not despair ahead of time, because you can always find a way out of every situation, even the most deplorable one. Sit back comfortably and try to remember all the recommendations of professionals that can be useful to you in a situation when your T-shirt, dress, curtains and other things suddenly shrink.

What things can be restored

Fabrics made from slightly twisted threads with long fibers shrink the most. Unfortunately, such things cannot be returned to their original size. You can give them a second life by altering them, giving them to a friend or making a cozy sofa cushion.

In the following cases, you can try to restore the sweater:

If the knitwear has a mixed composition.
When a thing is knitted from tightly twisted threads.
If the pile in the threads is short.

How to prevent things from becoming deformed?

It is impossible to prevent clothing from shrinking if it is located near it. It all depends on the structure of the fabric and its quality. Care and proper washing of clothes play a significant role.

A few recommendations to help avoid the problem of deformation:

Cotton and wool fabrics shrink from the first wash, so it is recommended to purchase such clothes one size, or even two sizes larger;
It will be important to maintain the required temperature. The recommended temperature for washing in a washing machine is no more than 40 degrees ;
Always turn on the delicate cycle on your washing machine.