A few tips on how to wash things to make them shrink

foto16602-1In the process of wearing or improper care, things can stretch, losing their original shape.

In some cases, it is quite possible to return clothes to the desired parameters if we adopt simple methods of exposure - washing and drying.

Let's figure out how to wash a thing so that it shrinks - at what water temperature, how to make it to shrink cotton, synthetics, jeans and other fabrics?

Sitting limit of things

foto16602-2If you need to make a thing smaller, you should take into account the composition of the fabric and the model of the product.

In most cases, the product shrinks in all directions, becoming not only, for example, narrower, but also shorter. Correct sewing of things is also important when the threads of the material have an appropriate weave.

Reducing products by one size or two can be achieved quite simply. But if you need to make a thing less than 2 sizes, not every method is suitable, and it is possible to do this not with all wardrobe items.

Easiest to plant cotton fabric... She quickly and actively reacts to high temperatures. When immersed in boiling water for only 5 minutes, the garment can shrink to size.

Keeping in boiling water for a quarter of an hour allows things to shrink 2-3 sizes. But this method is only suitable for white cotton. Colored cotton under intense exposure to high temperatures can shed and lose the brightness of colors.

It is almost impossible to reduce a thing by more than 2-3 sizes by washing without losing its appearance and style.

The role of water temperature in shrinking different fabrics

High exposure temperature, as well as changing hot water to cold water are the most effective ways reduction of products. The practical application of each of the methods should take into account the type of material.

Cotton

foto16602-3Natural cotton white color can not only be processed in hot water, but also boiled.

If the fabric is colored, contains a printed pattern or decorative elements, such processing is unacceptable.

What can be done:

  • the temperature, which is indicated on the label for the product, increase by 15 ° С;
  • add 150-200 units to the usual spin indicators.

Synthetics

Polyester, spandex and other synthetics it will be difficult to reduce greatly with the help of any washing methods. You can try washing on the normal cycle for synthetics and wring out at medium values.

Another way is long-term exposure in cold water - it is this that contributes to the shrinkage of synthetics.

A synthetic product, if it has not settled, will either have to be thrown away, or given to be re-stitched in the atelier.

Silk

Natural silk cannot be exposed to high temperatures: hot wash, hot air dry, hot steam. Silk requires careful handling, otherwise the item may be damaged.

The clothes are soaked in warm water for half an hour. After that, rinse, squeeze and hang in a draft.

Jeans

foto16602-4Cotton jeansmade from lycra-free fabric can be made slightly smaller by washing in hot water. It should be borne in mind that the shade of the trousers will brighten.

For washing on a machine, set:

  • temperature from + 60 ° C to + 90 ° C;
  • spinning - to the maximum;
  • automatic drying possible.

This method is not suitable for processing denim stretch fabrics, since the lycra contained in it is not allowed to overheat.

Linen

When processed in hot water linen clothes can fit one size... For these purposes, it is possible to use a washing machine or carry out manual processing.

Linen products are often embroidered. If things have this or that decor, then you should not reduce the size by exposure to hot water - the appearance will suffer.

Wool

Natural wool sits very well. Under the influence of hot temperature, a thing can be very much reduced - literally 2 times. The water temperature for shrinking clothes should be chosen about 15 ° C higher than usual.

To achieve the effect, the product is soaked for a short time. After that, they are washed in cold water. With prolonged soaking, the wool tends not to shrink, but to stretch.

Jersey

foto16602-5It is very easy to spoil a knitted item, therefore it is better to act manually, very carefully:

  1. Pour water into the basin at a temperature slightly (10 ° C) higher than indicated on the tag.
  2. Dip the thing for a quarter of an hour.
  3. Squeeze the thing through a towel.
  4. Dry horizontally on a towel.

Washing options

For the purpose of shrinkage, it is possible to use a machine wash or hand processing. If the option for hand washing is selected, then you can monitor the process and, if necessary, take action. Intervention may be required, for example, when fabric sheds.

In the washing machine

Using a washing machine to shrink stretched clothes is a popular and straightforward option. To reduce the size you will have to break a number of washing rules in a typewriter, namely:

  • set the temperature regime to 20 ° C higher than the one recommended by the manufacturer;
  • drying - at high temperature;
  • use spin.
In this case, even in the usual washing cycle with spinning, the thing will be exposed to intense temperature effects. This effect will help the product become smaller.

The higher the temperature, the higher the likelihood of shrinkage. As a rule, these are 1-2 sizes.

Manually

foto16602-6When washing products by hand, as with machine washing, it is possible to ensure processing in sufficiently hot water - as long as your hands can withstand.

Another option is using the contrast temperature technique... It is most convenient to implement it manually.

Maximum shrinkage - up to 2 sizes for most fabrics. Even more for wool.

What will the contrast of temperatures give?

Alternating contrast temperatures is a tissue shock therapy... If the product only needs to be reduced, then the detergents may not be used at all.

It is convenient to carry out such a procedure with a thing manually. Letting the size get smaller by 1 or 2.

The order of work:

  1. Prepare one bowl of very hot water.
  2. Prepare a second basin with very cold water, into which you can even add ice.
  3. Put the thing in hot water first.
  4. After a quarter of an hour, squeeze out.
  5. Transfer the product to a second basin of cold water.
  6. Repeat the process of exposure to contrasting temperatures several times.
  7. After a quarter of an hour, squeeze out the item and lay out to dry.

This method cannot be used for synthetic and silk fabrics.

Boiling

Not every thing can be boiled. This method is acceptable only for cotton and linen items that do not contain synthetic fibers and decor.

During the boiling process, the item must be periodically taken out and inspected in order to control the shrinkage process. Shrinkage can be significant - 2 sizes or more.

Air conditioning

Material that can withstand high temperatures can be treated with a fabric softener solution:

  1. foto16602-7Pour a bucket of boiling water into a separate container if the item is made of cotton or just hot if it is wool.
  2. Pour in 1 cap of conditioner.
  3. Dip the thing into the solution.
  4. Place polyethylene on top.
  5. Get the item in 5-10 minutes. As a result, the shrinkage should be about 1 size.
  6. Send the product to the automatic dryer if you need to reduce it even further by 1 size.

It is important not to use softener when washing synthetics so as not to ruin the item.

Drying according to the rules and without

Using drying in order for the thing to change by one size, it is necessary, even if you violate the usual rules of processing, to ensure that the thing does not lose its visual appeal.

Shrinkage can be facilitated by:

  • drying things on a radiator, previously covered with a towel;
  • the not completely dry product is ironed with an iron, trying to give the thing the right size;
  • use a hot stream of air from a hair dryer to speed up the process.

How to make to seat the product in a certain place?

Getting shrinkage in the right place of a thing is a very difficult task, and with an unwarranted result.

If the material can be steamed, the following method will work:

  1. Water is poured into an iron with a steam generator.
  2. Set the maximum heating.
  3. During ironing, a stream of steam is directed to the place that requires shrinkage.

foto16602-8To try to add a thing in the right place, you can try with a hair dryer:

  • wash a thing or just wet it;
  • spread out on a horizontal surface;
  • set the vein regulator to hot air;
  • directing a stream of heated air to that part of the thing that requires shrinkage, try to gather it with your hands.

Exposing the whole thing to high or, conversely, low temperatures, one cannot be sure that the product will take the form that is planned.

Failure of all attempts: what to do?

Making the thing smaller, and only in the necessary places, is not just a difficult task, but often impossible. Synthetic and blended fabrics are the most difficult to shrink.

It is practically impossible to reduce items with embroidery and other decor, smart clothes, as well as those that cannot be wet processed without damaging the thing.

If the item made of cotton, linen or wool does not shrink properly, the processing process can be repeated. But in cases where the methods of influence turn out to be ineffective, you will have to either say goodbye to the thing or give it to be altered.

9 recommendations

When shrinking a garment, you have to act with the risk that the garment may be damaged.

The following points should be taken into account:

  1. foto16602-9The type of processing for shrinkage directly depends on the type of material.
  2. White cotton fabrics can be exposed to higher temperatures than colored fabrics.
  3. For fabrics that are not subject to hand and machine washing, methods of sizing by means of wet processing are excluded.
  4. If washing is carried out not only for the purpose of reducing the size, but also for cleaning the item, the detergent must be selected according to the type of fabric.
  5. There is no universal temperature for a thing to settle; in each case, this indicator must take into account the composition and color of the fabric.
  6. Hanging wet clothes on a dry hanger can have the opposite effect - the clothes will stretch. Most of all it concerns knitwear, wool.
  7. We must not forget about the safety of washing for the thing itself. Too active aggressive action can not only lead to a decrease in parameters, but also render the material unusable.
  8. While the item is wet, do not twist it vigorously. This rule is especially important for delicate fabrics - knitwear, silk, wool.
  9. It is better not to expose a heavily worn, shabby thing to experiments with shrinkage.
Washing in an automatic machine does not always give the expected result, especially when processing at high speeds and in hot water.

Conclusion

Washing clothes for the purpose of shrinking allows you to shrink clothes, usually by one or a couple of sizes. But so that the product does not deform and does not become larger in the future, it should be properly looked after, washed, dried, ironed and stored in accordance with the established rules.

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