Shrink a Cotton T Shirt

If the t-shirt you got at an event or the cool shirt you brought home with you are too large, don't despair! Cotton fabric shrinks, so it's easy to bring that shirt down a few sizes. Read on for information about what makes cotton shrink and a few techniques you can use to shrink cotton reliably and quickly.

Steps

Using Hot Water

  1. Prepare a large, boiling pot of water. Clothing companies often stretch out their fabric so that less cloth is needed to manufacture a shirt.[1] Washing the cotton shirt, or submerging it, in warm water will help the cloth in the shirt shrink back to its natural state.
    • If you want to avoid the hassle of buying a shirt that's too big and shrinking it yourself, look for pre-shrunk garments when you shop. Pre-shrunk shirts are increasingly common.
  2. Once the pot is boiling, remove it from the heat and put a shirt in it. The warmer the water, the greater the shrinkage.[1]
    • If you want your shirt to shrink roughly 1-2 sizes, put your shirt in immediately after you remove the pot from the burner.
    • If you want your shirt to shrink roughly 1/2-1 size, wait 5 minutes before placing the shirt in the water.
    • If you want your shirt to shrink roughly 1/4-1/2 size, wait 10-15 minutes before placing the shirt in the water.
  3. Let the shirt soak in the water for about 20 minutes. You may have to alter the time based on the shirt size. Again, the longer the shirt is exposed to the hot water, the more it will shrink.
  4. Drain the water and let the shirt cool slightly before handling it. Be careful not to burn yourself if the water is still scalding.
  5. Dry the shirt. For slight to moderate shrinking, wring the shirt out and let air dry. To shrink the shirt by 2 or 3 sizes compared to its original shape, use a dryer instead, as the tumbling will cause it to shrink.

Using the Washer/Dryer

  1. Wash the shirt you want to shrink in a washing machine with hot water. Contrary to popular belief, dryer heat actually does not shrink garments! According to a fabric technologist for Whirlpool, shrinkage is caused when the fabric tumbles against the sides of the washer and the dryer.[1]
    • The movement of the garments inside your washing machine also affects how much the fabric shrinks. Washing machines that are front-loaders, meaning the machines' loading and unloading doors are in the front, produce less agitation, and therefore less shrinkage, than top-loaded washing machines.[1]
  2. Transfer the shirt to a drying machine and dry thoroughly. Remember, you don't need to blast your cotton shirt with heat (it's the tumbling action that causes shrinking), so use a medium-heat setting to dry.
  3. Remember that machine-drying your shirt can affect its appearance. Dark garments quickly lose their brand-new feeling when put in the dryer and subjected to repeated tumbling. This is because the tumbling action raises microscopically small fibers, giving them a "powdery" look.[1]
  4. Wear your newly fitted shirt. Enjoy the way your shirt fits better than it did before!

Tips

  • This does not work on all fabrics. It works best with 100% cotton and some wool types.
  • Wash multiple cotton garments you intend to shrink at once.
  • Wait a good amount of time for the heat of boiling water to subside in order to make sure you don't burn yourself when handling your shirt.
  • Make sure to let it air dry after the boiling water or put in in the dryer on low.
  • Once you have shrunk the shirt, it will not shrink repeatedly.
  • Add a cup of white vinegar to the water to keep colors from bleeding out. There will still be unavoidable color loss, so wash each garment to shrink separately.
  • For a quick and easy way to make a shirt appear shrunk (any material) just put on the shirt, take a hair tie/rubber band and tie the bottom if the shirt. Tuck the tied part in your shirt.
  • Shirts that are already labeled "pre-shrunk" cannot be shrunk further.
  • Some people add alum (from the grocery store's spice aisle) to the washing machine in an attempt to shrink clothing. It's unclear whether this is effective, and can weaken the fabric if overused, so try this at your own risk.[2]

Warnings

  • Don't try this with a graphic tee -- prints are likely to melt.
  • Shirts may shrink unevenly. This technique may not preserve the fitted style of women's shirts.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28623-2004Nov5.html
  2. ↑ http://www.dharmatrading.com/techniques/marbling-instructions.html
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