Sometimes situations may arise when your favorite T-shirt has decreased in size - this usually happens after washing. If you like to shop online, you can mix up the size and then you will have to either resell the purchased item or simply throw it away.
But don’t rush into drastic actions; there are several ways to stretch a product in length, width, increase it by a size, or return it to the previous size. It all depends on the type of fabric from which the product is made.
How to make a T-shirt a size larger
Perhaps you incorrectly determined the size of the product when you made a purchase in an online store, or the T-shirt shrank after washing, or you gained weight - in any of these cases the situation can be corrected.
T-shirts made from natural fabric most often shrink in size after washing. Cotton fabric tends to shrink when exposed to high temperatures.Manufacturers add a synthetic component, elastane, to cotton, which prevents the product from pilling and tightening during and after washing. If trouble does happen and you need to increase the T-shirt by one size, you need to take a large towel, lay the wet product on it, carefully level it and dry it in this form - the T-shirt should return to its previous size.
Important! To avoid troubles after washing, carefully read the information provided on the product label. Manufacturers always indicate the temperature permissible for washing. Be sure to follow the instructions provided.
There are two methods: stretching by washing and mechanical method
By washing
Items made of synthetics or combined materials should be soaked in cold water and thrown into the washing machine. Select a delicate wash program, do not add powder or gel, just run the program. Dry the product vertically, hanging it by one edge. Also, after washing, the T-shirt can be carefully laid out on the bedspread and evenly stretched in all directions. Leave the item to dry - this way it will stretch one size.
Knitwear can be stretched using hair conditioner, vinegar 3% and a simple sponge:
- Take a bowl of warm (but not hot) water and soak the product for 5 minutes.
- After five minutes, gently squeeze it out.
- Empty the water from the basin, put a T-shirt in it and moisten it with hair conditioner.
- Start stretching it, if you can’t do it well, add more conditioner.
- Rinse the item and wring it out a little.
- Distribute the T-shirt in the bathroom.
- Soak a sponge in vinegar and move it over the fabric, stretching it slightly.
- Select the delicate wash program and start the program.
- Rinse the item with regular fabric softener to get rid of the vinegar smell.
- Dry vertically.
Mechanically
You will need gauze, an iron, a clothes line and clothespins.
- Place the item in a bowl of water no higher than forty degrees and leave for ten minutes. Pull it out and squeeze it out with utmost care.
- Be extremely careful with drawings or prints - do not over-squeeze, as this may damage the image.
- Gently straighten the damp T-shirt on the ironing board and cover with gauze. Gently stretching it in the directions you need, steam it.
- Do not steam pictures and prints.
- Do not dry the item completely - secure it with the neck down using clothespins on a clothes line and leave to dry.
The collar on a T-shirt is stretched: what to do and how to solve the problem
Surely you have encountered this unpleasant problem - the product is new, but the neck or collar has stretched unsightly after washing or normal wear. Don't throw away the item, it can be saved. You will need patience, as well as a needle and thread.
- Carefully open the collar placket - usually it is double. Divide it, make it single and longer. Sew together and you will have a longer strip of fabric for the trim.
- Take a T-shirt and use an iron to trim the stretched neckline, fold it in half along the shoulder seam.
- Take a strip of fabric, fold it in half, apply it to the shoulder seam of the T-shirt, pulling it slightly, sew it in a circle. Stop three centimeters before the joint. Connect the ends of the strip and sew them together, and hide the seam in the fold of the strip.
- Then sew the missing 3 centimeters to the neckline. The T-shirt is ready.
How to stretch a cotton T-shirt
Wet the item, place it on a flat surface, and stretch it to the sides. Using an iron at minimum temperature, iron the cotton with force, while pulling it to the side. Place the fabric on a towel, stretch it, secure it at the edges, and wait for it to dry.
Stretch cotton wide
You will need the help of another person. Wet the product and lay it on a towel. You should pull it wide, and at this time let the other person hold the bottom of the T-shirt, pressing it against the towel, so the product will not become shorter.
Stretch cotton lengthwise
Wet clothes in cool water and add regular shampoo. Squeeze it a little, spread it on the board and stretch it lengthwise. Secure the item with a weight and wait for it to dry.
A T-shirt shrank after washing: how to stretch the product without asymmetrical deformation
After washing, place the item in cold water and wring it out lightly. If you are in good health, wear it - this way the fabric will follow the contours of your body without asymmetrical deformation of the product.
What increases the likelihood of a T-shirt stretching?
Sometimes a problem occurs when a T-shirt stretches unevenly. To avoid this, you need to carefully study the information on the label.
What to look for when buying a new product
- To buy a quality item of clothing, pay attention to the following nuances:
- The shoulder seams should run exactly along the edge of the humerus.
- Check the seams of things made from materials that stretch - they should not unravel.
- The sleeves of the product should not be tight; to check this, bend your elbows - if something is too tight, the item does not suit you.
- There are fabrics that wrinkle a lot when worn - these are natural materials such as linen or cotton.To check, squeeze the fabric in your fist; if it is very wrinkled, then you need to decide for yourself whether it is worth buying it.
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