Whether or not you believe in magic, you've at least once in your life performed this trick of transformation: as you remove your clothes from the dryer, what were once your favourite jumper and the best pair of jeans that hugged you in all the right places are now ill-fitting strips of wool and denim, shrunken to the size of a pea. “The horror, the irreversible horror!” you're tempted to cry. Don't succumb to the emotion; instead, believe in miracles, because you can indeed bring your clothes back from the shrink. But how? Read on and learn the magic behind the unshrinking of clothes.
Why do some clothes shrink in the first place?
Almost all fabrics suffer from some form of shrinkage after a wash and dry, due to the ways in which they're manufactured. Whether your t-shirt, for example, is machine-woven or hand-knitted, the shirt is pulled taut, and it becomes difficult to return the tee to its ‘factory settings’, no matter how careful you are. Water causes most yarns to relax, which reduces the fibres' tension, thus causing shrinkage. When you add heat and a washing machine's agitation, you're gearing up for guaranteed shrinkage. The most notorious textile that suffers from this shrivelling affliction is wool, whose individual threads react poorly to the washing machine and dryer's rough-and-tumble.
What fibres can be ‘unshrunk’?
While certain textiles won't ever go back to normal after a shrinking experience, most can be salvaged and transformed back into pieces which will fit a human being rather than a baby mouse. Synthetic fibres, such as polyester, are the least likely to shrink, as those yarns are usually made of one long and single filament; natural fibres, such as cotton, wool and linen, however, are usually much shorter, meaning that they are less stable and more likely to shrink.
How to unshrink synthetic fibres (polyester, acrylic, nylon, etc.)
Steam, steam and steam. Most professional dry cleaners reverse clothes shrinkage by steaming the shrivelled culprit within an inch of its life at a high temperature; practise a similar method at home by turning the garment inside out and, using a steam iron, gently pull at the seams enough to give them tension, wait until the fabric has cooled, and repeat.
How to unshrink natural fibres (wool, linen, cotton, etc.)
Thanks to the wacky world of #CleanTok, another unshrinking method has come into the picture, this time tool- and heat-free and perfect for natural fibres whose shrinkage is a bit trickier to reverse than their synthetic counterparts. This method works well with all natural fibres, including wool (however, be sure that the woollen garment in question has not been felted, or else it won't work).
Dissolve one tablespoon of hair conditioner or fabric softener to a bucket filled with lukewarm water and add the shrunken wool garment. Let it soak for about thirty minutes; afterwards, rinse the jumper of the conditioner and gently stretch the shirt back to its original size. Let it hang dry.
How to unshrink denim
There might be nothing worse than shrinking a perfectly-fitting pair of jeans. Luckily, denim shrinkage is reversible. There are two tried-and-true methods for unshrinking denim. The first is quite similar to the above techniques: fill a clean spray bottle with lukewarm water, spritz over the jeans and gently tug on them to get them back to their original shape. Let them air dry on a hanger.
The second unshrinking tactic is a bit stranger – but just as effective, if not more so. So long as your jeans haven't shrunk into oblivion, pull them on as much as possible (it's okay if you can't pull them up all the way), leaving them unbuttoned. Run a lukewarm bath or shower, then, with the jeans on, hop in, letting the jeans soak through for about a half-hour. Pull on the fabric as it soaks. When you're done showering in your clothes, pat the jeans dry with a clean towel and hang them to air dry. (Note that this method also works with too-small jeans!).
