Sweaters are beautiful and comfortable, they keep you warm in cold weather. However, such products are quite finicky to care for. Improper washing can cause the item to shrink.
If this happens, there is no need to despair. There are several ways to help cope with the problem.
In this article we will tell you how to stretch a sweater (made of wool and other materials) that has shrunk after washing, and how to return it to its original size.
Reasons why a wool sweater shrinks after washing
Proper washing of woolen fabrics is considered almost an art; few people manage to wash wool clothes without them shrinking. Shrinkage of sweaters and cardigans usually occurs for several reasons:
- Wash in hot water. The temperature in the machine must be set no higher than 30-40 °C, otherwise shrinkage of the wool fibers will inevitably occur.
- Unsuitable powder. For wool items, it is recommended to use special cleaning products designed for sensitive fabrics. Regular powder negatively affects the structure of the yarn, and as a result it turns out that the sweater has shrunk and needs to be stretched back.
- Incorrect spin. It is best to load a woolen sweater into the machine in such a way as to avoid shrinkage, separately from cotton and synthetic fabrics; this will make it possible to set not only a low temperature, but also a low spin speed. You can’t squeeze the wool at high speeds; it shrinks, and then you have to think about how to stretch it.
- Quick drying - in the built-in dryer of the washing machine, on a heating radiator, using a hair dryer. You can dry a sweater made of natural wool only naturally, at normal room temperature, otherwise after drying it will turn out that it has shrunk noticeably.
The main reason for wool shrinkage is not hot water, but the temperature difference during rinsing.
Important! For woolen items, the main threat is not so much high temperatures as sudden changes.
After a high-temperature wash, the sweater will instantly find itself in cool water when moving to rinse, which is why the wool fibers will shrink, and it will turn out that the item needs to be stretched.
Compositions and solutions for stretching shrunken wool
It is impossible to predict in advance how natural wool will react to chemicals. But since there is nothing to lose anyway, and the sweater is unsuitable for wearing, you can also try the following remedies:
- vinegar solution. First, prepare a solution: dissolve half a liter of table vinegar in two liters of water. The water should be at room temperature. Soak the shrunken sweater in this liquid for at least one hour. Then rinse in clean water and stretch as described above;
- hydrogen peroxide. Three tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide are dissolved in five liters of cool water, and the product is soaked in this solution for half an hour. Then rinse and dry on a towel in a stretched form;
- ammonia and turpentine. In five liters of water, dissolve a tablespoon of turpentine and any alcohol solution, vodka or cologne, then add three tablespoons of ammonia alcohol. A spoiled pullover should be soaked in the resulting mixture for 30-45 minutes, from time to time the item should be tossed and turned over. Then, without rinsing, they move on to stretching the sweater. To get rid of the smell, after completely drying, the sweater is placed on hangers and ventilated on the balcony.
Don't be upset if, despite all your efforts, your wool sweater doesn't look perfect after improper washing. This can no longer be achieved.
How to restore a wool sweater after washing
If, based on the results of washing, it turns out that the jacket has shrunk a lot and is almost impossible to put on, it makes sense to use home methods of stretching clothes. In most cases, the sweater can be returned to normal size, especially if you try to save it right away.
How to stretch a wool sweater that has shrunk after washing by re-washing it
Sometimes you notice that a sweater has shrunk immediately after washing - when you first try to put on a washed item. In this case, the best way to return the clothes to normal sizes is to re-wash them. The wool fibers have not yet had time to consolidate in their new state, so they can usually be easily stretched back out.
To prevent the sweater from shrinking even more after the second treatment, this time it is necessary to load it into the machine according to all the rules, separately from synthetic and cotton items, in the delicate wash mode.
The temperature in the machine is set to 30 °C, and the most gentle spin mode is selected - at the minimum number of revolutions.
It is better to add a mild liquid detergent to the powder cuvette; it will have a more gentle effect on the wool fibers.
You can stretch the product back if you soften the shrunken wool fibers
After proper re-washing, the item is removed from the drum, straightened and hung in a warm room to dry, while slightly stretching the fabric with your hands. You cannot try to speed up the process in any way, so that the sweater does not shrink again; it should dry naturally, even if it takes longer.
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How to stretch a wool sweater after washing with hydrogen peroxide
If the sweater has become smaller, then you can improve the situation with hydrogen peroxide. This product is in every home medicine cabinet, so preparing the necessary solution is not difficult.
Use peroxide as follows:
- 10 liters of cold water are taken into a large basin or bucket;
- dissolve 2 large spoons of peroxide in them;
- The solution is mixed, and then the shrunken sweater is immersed in the liquid and left for half an hour.
After this time, the sweater must be removed, gently wrung out with a towel, straightened and hung to dry. While the item is drying, you need to approach it from time to time and gently pull the jacket in different directions with your hands, returning it to its normal size.
How to stretch a shrunken woolen jacket after washing with turpentine
An effective way to stretch a jacket that has shrunk is to use turpentine, ammonia and regular vodka for this purpose. As in the previous case, you need to fill a large container with lukewarm water and add 2 large tablespoons of vodka and turpentine, as well as 6 tablespoons of ammonia.
Turpentine, ammonia and alcohol help with stretching
You don’t need to keep wool clothes in this solution for long - only 10 minutes. Then the item is dried naturally, in the process stretching the wet fabric with your hands so that the sweater does not shrink again.
Attention! The effective method has one drawback - turpentine and ammonia have a characteristic pungent odor that can linger on the jacket for some time.
How to stretch a shrunken wool sweater after washing with vinegar
Vinegar is considered a proven solution for treating sweaters, although many are wary of using it. But, despite the fact that vinegar is a strong food acid, its composition is quite safe for wool, provided that the correct proportions are met.
If the sweater has shrunk, then to stretch it to normal size, you need to mix cool water and vinegar in a 2 to 1 ratio in a basin, and then immerse the clothes in the solution and leave for half an hour. After processing, the item is removed from the vinegar solution, gently wrung out, trying not to twist the fabric, and dried, remembering to try to stretch the wet sweater with your hands.
How to restore a shrunken wool sweater after washing with alcohol
If the sweater has shrunk, alcohol or high-quality vodka as a substitute can help return it to its previous size. Alcohol is usually used in combination with ammonia and turpentine - in 10 liters of water you need to mix 2 large spoons of alcohol, the same amount of turpentine and as many as 6 tablespoons of ammonia.
To prevent the mixture from harming the wool fabric, the sweater is immersed in the liquid for only 10 minutes. The wet item is wrung out in the standard manner without twisting and tried to be stretched to its original size while drying.
You can treat a shrunken jacket with hair conditioner.
Important! The point of treating with alcohol, ammonia and turpentine is that such a solution softens the wool fibers and makes the sweater, which has shrunk in size, more susceptible to stretching.
How to stretch a wool sweater after washing with hair conditioner
If the jacket has shrunk, you can soften the wool fibers and stretch the item to its original state using hair conditioner. The procedure looks like this:
- lukewarm water is poured into the basin; the temperature of the liquid should not exceed 30 °C;
- the jacket that has been damaged from the previous wash is soaked in this water and rinsed thoroughly so that the wool is completely wet;
- then the jacket is removed and transferred to another basin or into an empty bath;
- the conditioner is generously poured into the palm of your hand and evenly lubricated throughout the sweater, trying not to miss individual areas;
- The item is left for 5 minutes, after which it is gently stretched with your hands.
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The advantage of this method is that the air conditioner demonstrates high efficiency, even if the jacket is very shrunk, it can be stretched almost 2 times. The downside is that you will have to use quite a lot of cosmetic product.
Another way to revive a woolen sweater after washing is to simply dilute 1 capful of conditioner in a bowl of lukewarm water and put the sweater in this solution for half an hour. A woolen item can also be stretched properly, although the results will be less noticeable.
How to stretch a wool sweater after steam washing
An ordinary steam iron helps return a wool product to its usual dimensions. If the fabric has shrunk, you need to re-soak the item in cool water, then allow the moisture to drain without spinning, and then lay the jacket out on the ironing board.
Steaming also helps to stretch the wool back
Using an iron, the jacket is steamed through gauze or thick cotton fabric. From time to time, the gauze or cloth should be removed and, as the treatment progresses, try to stretch the wet clothing. You need to continue steaming along with ironing until the item is completely dry.
Advice! This method is best for stretching a sweater if it is made of wool blend. 100% wool items should be processed using other methods; ironing with steam may not give a good result.
Plain water will help fix the situation
How can you stretch a woolen sweater that has shrunk after washing using water?
You should proceed in this order:
Pour water into the basin (cold). Grasp the shoulders of the sweater with your hands and submerge it in water until completely wet. The neck and shoulders will remain dry. After this, to squeeze out excess liquid, wrap the sweater in a towel for 5-10 minutes. There is no need to unscrew it manually. Now the most important thing remains - to stretch the sweater to the desired size. To do this you will have to use force, but do not overdo it so that the threads do not eventually burst. When the procedure is completed, hang the jacket to dry on a hanger.
It is more convenient to stretch a sweater on a wide horizontal surface , such as a table.
It is more convenient to stretch a sweater on a wide horizontal surface
How to stretch a wool sweater after dry cleaning
If your wool sweater has shrunk a lot but really needs to be stretched, you can try taking the item to the dry cleaner. Specialists will be able to process woolen products in the most gentle and safe ways that will not damage the item.
Before you take your sweater to the dry cleaner, you need to remove all decorative elements, if any, from it - appliqués, embroidery, stripes, beads, etc. If they try to stretch the jacket along with such decorations, then either they or the clothing itself may suffer.
Not every dry cleaner can stretch shrunk woolen items. If experts consider that when processing an item there is too high a risk of irreversibly damaging it, then the sweater will have to be taken back.
To avoid stretching the items, it is better to initially wash them in cold water.
How to wash a wool sweater without shrinking
If a wool sweater has shrunk, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to return it to its previous size. Therefore, it is better to properly care for a woolen item from the very beginning, so that it does not have to be revived in principle:
- To prevent clothes from shrinking, wash them only in cool water. When switching to the rinsing mode, in this case there will be no temperature difference that is dangerous for wool fibers.
- For woolen clothes, it is better to use not a standard powder, but a soft gel or even hair shampoo; it will remove light stains well and will not damage the wool fibers.
- It is recommended to dry a woolen jacket on a horizontal dryer. Clothes are hung on hangers only shortly before the end of drying in order to lightly ventilate the item.
A woolen jacket should be dried at room temperature and in a shaded place. You cannot hang clothes in the sun, on a lit balcony, next to a gas stove or oven, or on a heating radiator. Any attempts to dry the wool quickly will result in the jacket shrinking greatly and making it difficult to stretch.
Woolen items should not be dried in the sun or on a radiator.
An iron comes to the rescue
A regular iron with a steam function will help stretch a shrunken woolen jacket. That device that once stood in your grandmother’s closet will not work, because you won’t have to iron your clothes.
Proceed in this order:
Fill the iron's water compartment with water. Dilute a tablespoon of vinegar in 1 liter of water in advance and pour the liquid into a spray bottle. Spray the sweater with it. Start steaming. It will be more convenient if you hang the jacket on hangers. Gradually stretch it to the desired size, alternating with steam treatment.
Do not touch the surface of the iron to the clothes, otherwise they will shrink even more and will no longer be restored.
