Cotton, a natural plant fiber that comes from the seed shell of the cotton plant, can be a fickle fabric. Because of cotton's tendency to stretch and shrink as it dries, almost everyone has a story to tell of cotton laundry catastrophes, from shrunken t-shirts to over-tight jeans. Occasionally, however, a person may have to shrink a cotton cloth specifically. Fortunately, there are a couple of easy ways to accomplish this.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Boiling Water
Step 1. Choose your fabric
Make sure it is 100% cotton. Realize that the process that will shrink it is permanent, so make sure you really want to shrink the garment you're using this method on.
If the label says "pre-shrunk", your efforts may be in vain. Give it a try, but know that any method of shrinking it won't be as effective. It could also be that it shrinks in some places but not others. Is it worth a try?
Step 2. Boil a large clean pot filled with water
Make sure you leave enough space to put the fabric in without the water overflowing. If you want, you can add a cup of white vinegar to keep the colors from fading.
Step 3. Soak the cotton in boiling water for about 5 minutes
As some color loss might happen, it's important to shrink each garment separately (unless they're all the same color, of course)..
If you want your garment to shrink just a little, bring the water to a boil, remove it from the heat and wait 5 minutes before putting the fabric in. The longer you wait, the less it will shrink. Placing it directly in boiling water can shrink to lose 2 sizes
Step 4. Carefully remove the garment from the water and place it in a dryer
Set the dryer on the highest possible option and let your garment dry until completely dry.
You are handling very hot objects at the moment. be careful! Use an oven mitt, or towel to protect your hands - don't directly touch anything that hasn't cooled down
Step 5. Repeat these steps as many times as needed until the fabric is the size you want
It will shrink for the most part on the first round, but may shrink a little bit more with each subsequent boil.
Method 2 of 3: Wash / Heat Dry
Step 1. Choose your fabric
Again, make sure it is 100% cotton and that you really want to hold her. If it's not 100%, it might still shrink - just probably not that much.
If it's 100% cotton but "pre-shrunk", you may want to evaluate the options you have. It may not shrink at all, shrink only in places, or shrink normally
Step 2. Put only the fabric you want to shrink into the washing machine
Do not start the washing program with other fabrics or clothes that do not need to be shrunk or that could fade during washing. At very high temperatures, colors can fade more easily, so it's best to avoid this risk.
Step 3. Set the water temperature for both washing and rinsing to "warm" and start the washing machine
Some recommend adding an enzyme solution to the wash, but this is not confirmed. However, you may want to add a cup of vinegar if you are worried about discoloration.
Step 4. Place your fabrics in the dryer once the wash is complete
Again, set the dryer to the highest possible heat and wait until the fabric dries completely. If you want it to shrink only 1/2 - 1 size, however, consider checking mid-cycle. You don't want it to shrink too much!
A good woven cotton t-shirt will shrink between 1 and 3% on average. That doesn't sound like much, but for a 35 "arm that means 1" will disappear
Step 5. Repeat these steps until the fabric is the size you want
The first time you shrink it will be the most effective, but you could shrink it a little more with a couple of more washes.
Method 3 of 3: Iron
Step 1. Boil the cotton cloth in water
Follow one of the previous methods for this step.
Step 2. Take it out of the water and place it on the ironing board
Step 3. Lay a fabric on the cotton garment
This step is important to prevent damage from direct heat.
Step 4. Iron the garment until it is completely dry
You will notice that it has shrunk.
Advice
- Use crease resistant fabrics, you will have better luck with those.
- Do not use pre-shrunk cotton. There is little to restrict yet, and it may do so erratically.
- Use only un-sized fabrics.
- If you are absolutely determined to shrink this item, consider taking it to the laundry room. They might have a few tricks up their sleeves to sort this out.
Warnings
- Be careful when using any of these methods on fabrics that have designs or graphics on borrowed printing. The images rarely resist after the process of shrinking the fabrics.
- Always be careful when throwing objects into or out of boiling water.
