Proven methods for stretching a wool sweater

Reasons why a woolen item may shrink

There are a number of factors that influence the fact that blouses and other knitted wardrobe items shrink:

Wrong detergents chosen. Some powders are not suitable for wool. They change the structure of the yarn. As a result, clothes fall off. To avoid this, it is better to use special powders and gels.
Rapid temperature change. The wool threads that make up a sweater or pullover shrink not because they are exposed to high water temperatures, as such, but as a result of a sharp change during the transition from the washing process to rinsing. Therefore, you cannot set the temperature above 30 degrees.
Wrong mode selected. Automatic machines usually provide the ability to wash wool clothes. You can also choose a delicate wash option.
Rough pressing and drying. You should not squeeze woolen items at high speeds. They should also be dried in a special way, without resorting to the capabilities of the washing machine itself.
Poor quality material. If the sweater is made from a bad base, it is almost impossible to avoid losing its shape during the next cleaning.

How to properly wash and clean a coat

To prevent a wool, drape or cashmere coat from shrinking or becoming deformed, you need to properly wash or clean the product. This material is cleaned with a soft brush. To remove strong and difficult stains, you can soak the brush in water or soap solution. For cleaning and washing, it is better to take this coat to the dry cleaner.

At home, outerwear made of wool, drape or cashmere can be washed in a delicate cycle or a special cycle for wool at a temperature not exceeding 30 degrees. Products are washed by hand at a temperature of 20-25 degrees. For washing, use special soft gels or shampoos that are suitable for this type of material.

Before washing, be sure to remove metal objects and fur elements, collar and cuffs. If possible, unfasten or open the lining and wash and dry separately. Turn the coat inside out, fasten the zippers, buttons and snaps. Place the product in a cover or laundry bag, or in a regular duvet cover or pillowcase.

Add wool conditioner when rinsing. Wash without spinning and drying in a washing machine! After water procedures, wrap your coat in a light terry towel or sheet to absorb moisture. Then lay the clothes on a horizontal surface and leave to dry in a well-ventilated area.

The coat should only be stored upright and dry in a closed closet. You can use special covers for clothes. Once every two to four weeks, take out and air the products. Regularly clean the material from dust and dirt using a special soft brush. For more information on how to properly wash, store and dry a woolen coat, read the link https://vsepodomu.ru/garderob/mozhno-li-stirat-sherstyanoe-palto/.

What to do if the sweater shrinks after washing

There are many ways to stretch a shrunken wool sweater.

You can return the product to its original size by placing the clothing in cold water for ten to twenty minutes. No powders or other detergents are required. After this, the sweater should be slightly wrung out and placed in a towel.

It is better to choose a terry towel

Lay the jacket flat. For this purpose, for example, a washboard or a stand laid across the bathtub is suitable.

You can even place a wet sweater on the floor by placing a folded sheet under it. Let it sit like this for half an hour.

Then, every twenty minutes, the item must be stretched so that it returns to its previous size in width and length. This must be done extremely delicately.

When returning the jacket's shape vertically, you need to grab it in the area of the seams - top and bottom. Particular care should be taken with the cuffs and neckline. Otherwise, they will lose their shape and the jacket will have to be thrown away.

An improved way to dry while stretching is to pin the sweater to the fabric on which it is lying. To ensure that the product does not warp after drying, you need to use a large number of pins.

If it shrinks vertically and becomes noticeably shorter, you can dry it on a hanger. To prevent the jacket from losing its normal shape when stretched in such a way in the places of contact with the hanger, you must first place a towel folded several times on the base for drying.

All you have to do is wait until the item dries naturally. As this happens, it should stretch under its own weight.

If the jacket is knitted by hand, it can even be recut. You will have to rip it apart at the seams, wet the individual parts and baste them wet to dry additional inserts. After this, dry and resew.

How to stretch a shrunken wool sweater using solutions

If your wool sweater has shrunk after washing, you can use one of the recipes for rinsing and soaking in special compounds that are prepared at home. The wool will become more elastic and soft. It will be easier to stretch it.

Soak the product for a couple of hours in two liters of water with tartaric acid added to it (10 tablespoons). Then rinse the jacket.

You can also take washing powder intended for wool, pour it into water, leave the sweater in it for half an hour, then rinse.

Squeeze carefully. Wrap in a waterproof bag and place in the freezer for a day. After waiting the required time, let it defrost and dry on a towel.

Another option: dissolve 20 grams of soda in two liters of water, soak the product in this mixture and let it lie there for twelve hours. Then wash with wool powder. It is better to use fabric softener while rinsing. It will give the sweater softness.

Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide will also help restore your sweater to its original size after washing.

Add two tablespoons of this product to a ten-liter bucket filled with cold water and stir properly.

Immerse a woolen item that has shrunk in the liquid for thirty minutes. Gently wring it out using a towel and then, while the item is drying, go over and stretch it into the correct shape.

Turpentine, alcohol and ammonia

If you have the necessary ingredients on hand, dissolve two tablespoons of turpentine, the same amount of vodka (cologne will also work) and six tablespoons of ammonia in five liters of water.

Soak a wool sweater or cashmere jumper in this liquid for an hour. Rinse under running water. The product will become elastic and will be easier to stretch.

Vinegar

Many people are wary of using vinegar. But it should be understood that weak acid solutions do not have a detrimental effect on woolen products.

Already in the production of wool, from which clothing is then made, such substances are used to clean it.

Therefore, you can safely use an acidic product to return the sweater to its previous shape and size.

Take room temperature water and vinegar in a 2:1 ratio, soak the clothes in this liquid for half an hour, and then carefully stretch them.

Hair conditioner

What else should you do if your wool jacket shrinks after washing? You can use completely original, at first glance, means. For example, hair conditioner.

Prepare water whose temperature does not exceed 30 degrees;
Rinse the item that has shrunk in it;
Remove from the water and place in a basin;
Apply hair conditioner evenly throughout the sweater;
After five minutes, stretch the jacket horizontally with your hands.

The product should increase in size by one and a half times.

It’s also good to use another recipe: add 50 ml of vinegar and conditioner to five liters of water. Soak the clothes in this mixture for ten minutes, then rinse and try to regain the lost shape.

It is also recommended to dilute one measuring cap of conditioner in a container with warm water and keep the sweater in this soapy solution for half an hour. Then rinse it well under running water and hang it on a hanger.

How to fix?

If a woolen item has shrunk, you can try to save it. When choosing a method, it is worth considering a number of key factors in order not to completely ruin your clothes:

Initially, you can re-wash only by hand.
Use only cool water.
To make the fabric softer, use conditioner during the rinsing process; it is better to choose a special one for wool.
When drying horizontally, stretch the sleeves at the same time, making sure they are the same.
To wring out, use terry towels.

The more viscose and cotton a sweater contains, the greater the chance of restoring the size of the product.

Table vinegar

Using vinegar is one of the popular methods of returning a product to its previous parameters.
It is difficult to stretch knitted items and products made of dense material. In this case, it is advisable to use table vinegar. With its help, you can increase the length and width of the sweater without damaging its color. You can use vinegar to fix wool and cotton items. The procedure follows this scheme:

Soak the knitted item in cool water.
Squeeze out the mixture and transfer to an empty container.
Spread and pour hair conditioner on top.
Wait a minute and then start stretching.
Rinse and place in a bowl of vinegar.
Try again to stretch it with a damp sponge along the length of the pile.
Wash as usual.

Hydrogen peroxide

It is better to use the substance for light woolen items, so as not to spoil the color. If a white item shrinks after washing, a pharmaceutical product, namely hydrogen peroxide, can save it. To stretch a shrunken wool pullover, proceed as follows:

Prepare a solution: for 8 liters of cold water - 4 large spoons of peroxide. Use 3% substance.
Dip the product into the solution until it is completely covered with water.
Leave for an hour and a half.
Take out the clothes, wring them lightly, do not rinse.
Stretch on a horizontal surface, adjust the necessary places every 15 minutes.

Turpentine and ammonia

For pre-soaking, you need to make a solution with ammonia and turpentine.
If a large knit sweater has shrunk, it is possible to return it to its original size. Turpentine and ammonia are used; the components can be purchased at the hardware department and pharmacy. In order for a woolen item to stretch, it needs to be soaked. The solution requires water at room temperature in two basins. The stretching procedure goes as follows:

In one basin (5-6 liters) dilute turpentine and ammonia. In this case, use 3 times less of the first substance. In general, the active ingredients should be 200 ml.
Soak the item in the solution and leave for half an hour.
Transfer the product to another basin. It is important that the water temperature in it is the same.
Lay out to dry horizontally.

After turpentine, the wool becomes soft and easy to shape into the desired size.

Steaming with an iron

An iron with a steam function will help quickly solve the problem.
If after machine washing your dress has shrunk and you need to return it to its original parameters as soon as possible, you should try a method that does not involve washing. An iron with a steam function is suitable for this. To stretch wool fibers you need to proceed according to the following scheme:

Turn the product inside out and lay it out on a special board.
Carefully straighten the sleeves, making sure there are no wrinkles.
Moisten a large piece of gauze and place on top.
Turn on the minimum temperature mode and the steam function and slowly walk through the item, after the iron mark, do the tightening.

Cold water

A popular and safe method that can stretch shrunken clothes without damaging the fibers or color of the product. You need to use cold water, even ice water. Pour it into a basin and place the damaged woolen item. Keep it in water for as long as possible, constantly rinsing the product and pulling on problem areas. Then take it out and wrap it in a towel. Dry in a horizontal position, but so that the edges hang down. This method is suitable for large products; for example, the size of a hat cannot be corrected this way.

How to stretch a wool sweater with steam

Ordinary steam will help stretch a wool sweater after washing.

The sweater needs to be soaked, wait until it is saturated with water. Then let the moisture drain. Lightly squeeze the product and place it on a flat surface.

Using a steam iron, iron the garment through gauze or a piece of white cotton fabric, stretching it occasionally. All this must be done until the sweater is dry.

Just keep in mind that this stretching method is suitable for things woven from half-woolen threads. If we are talking about 100% wool, the product cannot be effectively stretched.

Iron and vinegar

You can try a combined method of influencing clothes that have shrunk.

Wet the sweater or jacket so that the collar and shoulder area remain dry;
Remove excess water with a towel;
Leave to dry on a hanger;
Wet it again and place it on a flat surface, repeating the stretch every ten minutes;
Pour two tablespoons of vinegar into a glass of water, fill a spray bottle with this liquid;
After placing the sweater on the hangers, thoroughly spray it with the spray solution;
Turn on the steam function on the iron and, without touching the product, thoroughly spray it with steam on all sides.

Radical method

This method of stretching wool fabric is considered the most effective. It allows you to return woolen clothes to their original size in almost all cases. To restore the size of a coat or sweater, you need to follow these tips:

Clothes are soaked in cold water with the addition of a tablespoon of vinegar for 10 minutes.
After this, wring out the item a little so that the water does not drain too much, and put the clothes on yourself. Tighten the bottom of the product and sleeves well and walk until completely dry.

This is an unpleasant procedure, but quite effective. To prevent it from being cold and damp, you can wear a raincoat underneath. If there is a mannequin in the house, then put the clothes on it until it dries completely .

To make wool fibers more elastic, soak a coat or jacket in cold water, adding 2 tablespoons of peroxide per 7 liters. Soak clothes for an hour.

Dry cleaning

If home remedies do not help or you are hesitant to use them, you can stretch a sweater that has shrunk after washing by resorting to dry cleaning. Although, as practice shows, not every such service undertakes this. But in any case, no one will forbid you to talk to the receptionist.

A justified refusal of such work can be obtained if the sweater or jacket contains silk thread. As well as decorative elements made from materials that can deteriorate as a result of exposure to chemical stretching.

If possible, it is better to remove beaded decorations, appliqués and stripes from the item. You can return them to their place after the dry cleaning specialists have done their job.

If the wool has not shrunk much or needs to be stretched a little

You can stretch a shrunken woolen jacket that has only slightly lost its previous size by putting it on a mannequin after a gentle spin, if the clothing should fit its, and therefore your, shape.

But, as a rule, there are not mannequins lying around in every attic or balcony, so you will probably have to pull a wet sweater over yourself.

To avoid discomfort when wearing it, it is better to periodically change clothes that come into direct contact with the skin. In four hours your favorite thing will be the same.