How do you unshrink woolen garments?

Question

I inadvertently washed my mother's jumper (which I thought was machine washable) in warm water and it has shrunk - is there any way to reverse the problem? I seem to remember hearing something about washing it in Epsom Salts...

Answer 1

Look what I found:

When wool gets wet and warm, the fibers in the wool lock themselves together and don't want to let go, resulting in shrinkage (you can get wool warm or wet, but not both). To unshrink the wool, soak the garment in warm water with a mild soap for about 10 minutes. This unlocks the fibers in the wool. Then lay the garment out on some towels in a cool place. Stretch the garment out to its original dimensions. The stretching pulls the unlocked wool fibers away from each other. Allow it to dry. The absence of heat from the drying process allows the wool fibers to set in place without locking together and shrinking the garment again.


Or this:

STEP 1: Soak the garment in a tub with a mixture of hair conditioner and water. Gently pull the sweater to reshape.
STEP 2: Try another method if that doesn't work: Dissolve one ounce of sodium borate (borax) in a couple of tablespoons of hot water, add the mixture to a gallon of lukewarm water, immerse the garment and pull gently into shape. Rinse in a gallon of warm water with 2 tbsp. vinegar.
STEP 3: Soak the garment in warm water with a mild soap for about 10 minutes to unlock the fibers in the wool. Lay the garment out on some towels in a cool place but don't rinse. You can roll it up in the towel to absorb the excess water.
STEP 4: Then stretch the garment out to its original dimensions. The stretching (also called blocking) pulls the unlocked wool fibers away from one another.
STEP 5: Allow the garment to dry for any of the methods mentioned above.


I learned something! -Good Luck!

Answer 2

Woolen Clothing

Answer 3

Good luck Darlin.Plan on buying Mom a new jumper

Answer 4

Sorry it can't be done. But did you ever wonder why sheep don't shrink in the rain?

Answer 5

once washed and shrunken you have felted the wool and now its had it. sorry

Answer 6

To my knowledge you can't. You can try getting it wet and stretching it some gently but I think you might be s.o.l.

Answer 7

I don't think you can unshrink wool.

Answer 8

You don't. It's shrunk and that's the end of it. Sorry.