Here's How to Unshrink a Sweater and Salvage

Your Go-To Outfits

We hope you haven't tossed it yet, because this works.

By Maria Carter
Jan 17, 2020

It’s a lazy laundry day as normal as any, until your heart sinks as you fold your go-
to merino wool sweater and it’s a third of the size it was before the wash cycle. Or,
maybe your spouse assumed laundry duty this week and accidentally put
something in the dryer that wasn’t supposed to go in there. Perhaps you even got
distracted and didn’t hear the timer go off.

Accidents happen, and we’ve all unfortunately had our fair share of clothing
washing woes. There’s the classic "turning your white sheets pink from a leftover
red sock," or "mistakenly taking the 'dry clean only' tag as a suggestion." We’d
argue though, that shrinking your clothes takes the cake as one of the most
frustrating things to happen in the laundry room (yes, worse than learning how to
clean an iron, how to clean a dryer vent, or—gasp—how to clean a washing
machine).

If you happen to find yourself in this situation and are frantically Googling “how to
unshrink a sweater,” not all hope is lost. Even if your favorite cashmere ends up
looking like it belongs to your six-year-old niece after a wash or dry, don’t toss it
or buy a new one. Dry your tears, because there’s a magical solution for stretching
your best knitwear back to its former glory (even more magical than a laundry
egg!). And it’s a safe bet you already have the sweater-saving tools on hand at
home.

So, first thing's first—take a deep breath, and hold off on dumping that hoodie in
the donation pile just yet. Try this simple trick to bring wool, cotton, cashmere, or
any other natural fiber clothing item back to life. (That includes cotton T-shirts,
many sweaters, and jeans, all of which you should be able to bring back to their
original, stretched-out state—but note that you'll have less luck with material
blends and synthetic fibers.)

Fill a sink with lukewarm water and a capful of baby or hair conditioner.
If you're unshrinking a wool sweater, you may need more conditioner—about 1/3
of a cup. You can also use a gentle wool wash like Eucalan or Woolite for
delicates.

Add the sweater and let it soak for 10 minutes.

This will relax the clothing's fibers.

Drain the sink of water.

Leave the clothing item inside the sink during this step. Once it's fully drained,
gently squeeze the garment, removing excess water. Do not rinse it with clean
water or wring it dry.

Place a bath towel on a flat surface and lay the sweater over it.

Roll the towel up, with the clothing in it, to absorb more water. The garment
should be damp, but not wet.

Place the sweater on a fresh, dry towel.

Gently stretch the sweater to its original shape while it's still damp. Keep it flat
until it dries, preferably on a drying rack. Voilà!

Can I unshrink wool and other clothing items?

Wondering how to unshrink wool socks, or maybe even your favorite merino wool
throw? The same process holds true—you'll just need to adjust your water and
conditioner ratio accordingly. For smaller apparel items, including wool hats, use
about a dime size of conditioner. As for a larger piece of knitwear, depending on
the size, consider moving to the bathtub for more room. According to Wool Me,
you can also toss in a bit of mild detergent to help freshen up the fabric.
Source: https://www.countryliving.com/home-maintenance/cleaning/a36242/shrunken-sweater-trick/
This Is The One Clothing Hack That Everyone Should
Know
Had a favorite shirt shrink in the wash? No worries! You can use this simple 3-step
method to unshrink shirts, pants, and more to return them to their original shape!

I’m guessing that at some point in our lives, most of us have experienced the deep
despair of having accidentally shrunk a favorite clothing item in the wash or dryer
because we forgot to read the laundry care symbols on the clothing item. And after
cursing the heavens or eating your feelings, you may have even resigned yourself
to tossing that shrunken item in the donation pile. And while I can’t go back and
change the past, I can offer you an easy way to prevent such a tragedy from
occurring in the future!

Today I’ll be sharing a simple 3-step method you can use to actually unshrink your
clothes. I’ve used this method dozens of times at this point (because I never seem
to learn from my laundry mistakes), and it has worked like a charm every time. :-)
I’ll also share some useful tips about using this method to unshrink specific
materials, which you can find near the bottom of the post. So let’s get started!
Here’s what you’ll need:

• Bucket or sink
• Baby shampoo
• 2 large, clean bath towels

How To Unshrink Clothes

Step 1 – Soak

Fill a sink (or bucket) with lukewarm water then add a capful of baby shampoo to
the water.

Place the item you want to unshrink into the sudsy water. Let it soak for a minute
or two, then gently knead the item with your hands to help relax the fibers.

Remove the item from the water and gently squeeze it to remove some of the
water. (But don’t wring it or rinse it out!)

Step 2 – Absorb

Lay out one of your big, clean bath towels and lay the clothing item flat out on top
of it.

Roll the towel up from one end so the clothing item is wrapped inside. Press on the
towel gently to absorb the excess water, then unroll the towel.

Step 3 – Reshape

Grab your second clean bath towel and lay the damp piece of clothing out on it.

Use your hands to gently stretch the item out to its original size. Finally, leave the
clothing item on the towel and allow it to air dry completely.

A Note On Rising: You’ll notice the directions don’t mention anything about
rinsing out the shampoo water. That’s because in my experience, this process
doesn’t leave very much soap behind in the clothes, and the little soap that does
remain seems to help keep the fibers pliable during the stretching process. So I see
no reason to fret over it! :-)

BONUS: Tips For Unshrinking Specific Materials

When it comes to unshrinking, some materials are more forgiving than others.
Here’s what you can expect according to what material your item is made out of:

Cotton & Cotton Blends

These are probably the easiest materials to unshrink. Follow the steps I outlined
above and you’ll have your item back to its original shape in no time!

Cashmere, Wool, & Other Animal Fibers

It’s a little more difficult to stretch these materials back out, especially with tight
knits, but this method can still work well. Try gently pulling and stretching the
garment while it’s still submerged in the sudsy water.

Synthetics (Polyester, Rayon, Etc.)

This method can works really well on synthetics, but it’s easy to go overboard and
stretch them too far. Just be very gentle when stretching them back into shape.

Denim

To unshrink clothes like denim and denim blends, try a different approach. First,
put the jeans on and sit in a lukewarm bath for about 15 minutes. Then dry yourself
off so the jeans aren’t dripping wet, and move around in them for about an hour
afterwards.

Source: https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/how-to-unshrink-clothes/