I got a perfect shirt, just the right colour I wanted and an amazing print. Now the problem was that the shirt is too big for me. I know most have been facing the same situation. Are you wondering how to shrink a shirt to fit you perfectly? Well, we will give you information on the best ways to shrink your shirt.Â
Most of you might be wondering, does cotton shrink? If you have cotton, then good for you. Cotton is known to shrink better than any other material. Let’s talk about What do you need to know before shrinking a shirt?
Things You Need To Know Before Shrinking a Shirt
The key factor to look into before shrinking any shirt is the fabric content. Stop wondering about how to shrink clothes. The secret behind shrinking any clothes, be it a dress shirt or a denim shirt, is applying heat. Â
This minimizes the size of the shirt automatically. However, the fabric content plays a great role in how fast your shirt will shrink.Â
Fabrics containing natural fiber like linen, satin, and cotton, shrink faster than non-fiber fabric. This brings us to the question, does polyester shrink? Well, polyester and other fabrics in its class like nylon may take some time to shrink. If you know the fabric content of the shirt, you will be able to know the effort you will put into shrinking the shirt
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How to Shrink a Shirt
We will give an overall guideline on how to shrink a shirt. If you don’t want to go through a complex process, here is a simplified process for you.
- Before doing anything, you must check the label of the shirt to know the type of fabric
- After checking the fabric type, wash the shirt using hot water
- The next step is using a tumble dryer. Place your shirt in the dryer
- Repeat the above steps to achieve the perfect shirt size. The number of times you repeat the process depends on the fabric typeÂ
Ways of Shrinking a Shirt
There are many techniques in which people use to shrink a Grandad Collar Shirt. For us here we will look at 5 of the most effective ways. Trust us, this shirt shrinking techniques will work perfectly. I mean you will find one perfect way to shrink your shirt depending on the material.
How to Shrink a Shirt in Hot Water
- Make sure you use the highest water temperature to wash your shirt in a washer. The hotter the water, the best the results.
- Let the shirt wash until the wash cycle is over. In that way, the shirt will shrink better
- After the cycle is completely dry your shirt at medium heat setting
- With that, your shirt will fit you perfectly
How to Shrink a Shirt in Boiled Water
- For these methods, you need a pick a big pot and boil enough water in it.
- Take your shirt and place it in the boiling water. In case you need your shirt to shrink through many sizes, place the shirt in the water immediately after removing the pot. What I mean is that the time you place your shirt in the boiling water depends on how much you want to shrink it. Lesser shirt shrinking will not need very hot water like more shrinking
- Leave the shirt in the boiling water for some minutes. If you want more shrinking, leave the shirt in the water for more time.Â
- After you are fully satisfied with the soak-time, drain off the water. Don’t pick up the shirt immediately. Leave the shirt to cool in a way that you can hold it without burning off your hands.
- Squeeze excess water and leave the shirt outside to dry
- After drying, you can enjoy wearing your shrunk shirt
How to Shrink a Shirt in a Washing Machine
This is known to be the most effective way of shrinking a shirt. I mean, if you fail in all the methods, there is no way you can fail in this one. Instead of using other complex techniques, you can just use a washing machine at the comfort of your couch.Â
- Put the shirt in the washing machine
- Set the machine’s settings to the highest temperature
- Start the machine and relax on your couch as the cycle goes on
- After that, dry the shirt
How to Shrink a Shirt in a Dryer
- Make sure that your shirt is turned inside out for this method\
- Use cold water to wash your shirt
- Then put it in your dryer and set it to ‘HIGH’ or ‘HOT’
- Let your shirt dry for as long as the dryer can handle. Most dryers offer 60 perfect minute
- Repeat the drying process until you achieve the perfect shirt size
How to Shrink a Shirt in Scissors Technique
Your shirt might be bigger in terms of length other than width. This is where the scissors’ shrinking technique comes in.Â
- Use a pencil and a ruler to mark the point you want your shirt length to be all-around it
- Use a pair of scissor to cut through the mark
- Just that way, you have the perfect shirt length
How to shrink a shirt Common Question from our readers
1. Does Shrinking a Shirt Work?
Yes. For shirts with fiber fabric, shrinking is very effective. However, shrinking still works even for non-fiber fabrics. They just require more effort.
2. Do hanging the shirt outside shrink it?
Shrinking requires a high level of heat. Hanging the shirt outside might not provide it with enough shrinking heat.
3. Does polyester shrink?
Polyester is a non-fiber fabric. It will surely shrink. However, you will put in too much effort to shrink polyester.
4.Can boiling water damage cotton clothes
This will depend on how many times you boil the cloth inside the water. However, just ordinary boiling water will not damage cotton clothes
Pro Tips For Beginner
- Put one cup of white vinegar to retain the color of a shirt
- Wash colored shirts separately
- If you have more than one shirts, shrink them all together
- The hotter the water, the more effective it will shrink
- For dryers make sure the shirt is inside out
Conclusion
Shrinking a shirt is not hard. It just needs a little patience, especially for non-fiber fabrics. We hope you found the information helpful. Thank us later when you achieve a perfectly fitting shirt. It doesn’t matter how big the shirt is, shrinking techniques always work.
