Unfortunately, many people are familiar with the unpleasant situation when, after washing, things become one size smaller. This is especially true for clothes made of wool and other natural materials.
The shrinkage of a jacket after water procedures is directly proportional to the content of natural threads in it.
What to do if your favorite outfit shrinks? Let's look at several different options that will help stretch it back.
How to return a jacket to its original size
Please read the label carefully before starting work., which can tell you what material the item is made of.
Some methods for restoring the original size are universal, while others are suitable for a specific type of fabric.
Therefore, it is necessary to carefully approach this issue so as not to further harm the knitted product.
How to stretch a wool sweater in length and width
For items made of wool, the following several methods for returning to size are ideal.
First way
- Fill a basin with warm water and soak the shrunken woolen jacket in it for half an hour.
- After that, take it out and gently squeeze it out with your hands.
- Try not to twist to avoid distorting the fibers of the fabric.
- It is also undesirable for liquid to drain from clothing along one edge. Therefore, it is better to carefully lay out the knitted sweater in the bathroom on a wire rack, if there is one.
- Otherwise, roll it up, wrap it with a piece of gauze and hang it to dry for half an hour.
After this procedure, the product should increase significantly in length and width.
Important! To stretch the jacket, you need to dip it in warm water! Boiling water or a hot solution over 50 degrees Celsius can deform a woolen product so much that after complete drying it can only be thrown in the trash.
It is strictly forbidden to transfer things from hot to cold water. A sharp temperature change has a detrimental effect on their size and shape.
Second way
For soaking you need prepare a special solution: 1 liter of warm water and 2 tablespoons of boric acid. It is an excellent relaxer for woolen products.
Instead of boric acid, you can use regular 5% table vinegar in proportion 5 tbsp. l. per liter of water.
Attention! This method should absolutely not be used for products made of synthetic fabric. Otherwise, they may be seriously damaged by the acid.
How to stretch sweaters knitted from other fibers
In addition to wool, there are also several “problem” types of fabric, which include cotton, synthetics and knitwear.
Let's look at methods that are ideal for these materials.
Cotton products
A cotton sweater that has shrunk is “reanimated” using the following method. 
- Mix in 5 liters of warm water ammonia, vodka and turpentine in a ratio of 3: 1: 1.
- Cotton clothes are placed in this solution for 20-30 minutes, then lightly wrung out and left to dry naturally.
- At the same time, it is periodically stretched in the desired direction.
Advice. For white cotton, you can additionally use 1 cup of milk. Only after soaking will it be necessary to rinse the jacket thoroughly in plain clean water.
It happens that the sleeves stubbornly refuse to return to their original position, despite the fact that the rest of the part has already returned to its shape. Then it’s worth repeating the procedure again, but now soaking and stretching only the sleeves themselves.
How to stretch a knitted sweater
A good result for working with knitwear products is achieved by using hair conditioner.
- Apply it to the jacket and soak well.
- Leave it like this for 10-15 minutes, and then try to stretch the jacket in the desired direction. The fibers of the fabric in combination with the hair product become very elastic, which helps to return to its original shape.
- Instead of conditioner, you can use baby shampoo or a simple soap solution.
Method of stretching a synthetic jacket
- After soaking in a warm mixture, the wet item should be laid out on a large terry towel.
- Then you need to roll everything together and leave for 10 - 15 minutes. This will help absorb excess liquid, but the jacket will be damp.
- After such drying, you need to put the item on the ironing board and thoroughly steam it with a hot iron, stretching it to the desired length or width.
- Upon completion of ironing, you must lay the jacket on another terry towel in a horizontal position and leave it until completely dry. Try to avoid exposure to sunlight during this procedure.
Useful tips for stretching knitted sweaters
- A very interesting option is to put the product on yourself after preliminary soaking. After putting on a wet item, you can stretch it a little with your hands, moving from the stomach to the sides. This method is not very unpleasant, but it gives quite decent results for products made of any material. Ideally, a mannequin would be suitable to make stretching more convenient. You can also ask someone who wears clothes a couple sizes larger to wear a wet sweater.
- To stretch in length, additional weight is often used during the drying process. The main thing is not to overdo it, so as not to overtighten the product. To preserve the design or print, it is advisable to iron the area before soaking.
- It is best to carefully study the tags on things immediately after purchase. It lists all the actions that can be performed with them without the risk of losing their previous size. After all, it’s easier to prevent shrinkage than to suffer with restoration later!
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