How much does cotton shrink in the wash?

Question

i got this new cotton sweater that i REALLY love its one of those knit kinds of sweaters. I LOVE it and even tho its only two days my sister (who's older than me, and FATTER) borrowed it (i didnt want her to, but my dad made me) and she stretched it out kinda. So I was hoping I could shrink it back... but would it then shrink TOO much? how much does cotton shrink in the wash?

well its mainly the arms that she stretched out and the left side hands loosely cuz she stretched it :'(((((( she's not like humongously huge and made it GIGANTIC. It's only some stretched out...

its 100% cotton and a knit shirt...

Answer 1

i think a normal washing would help it return to shape. try that before you try shrinking it.

Answer 2

There's no set amount for cotton to shrink. It's all according to the type of cotton, the yarn count it's made into, the way it's knitted of woven, and the way it was finished in the mill. Some cotton will only shrink a little while some will be as much as 10% or more ( 30" pants would become 27" pants). If it is labelled washable, go ahead and wash it and dry it as recommended and see how it comes out. If it's still too big after that, go with a little hotter wash water and a little hotter drying temperature if needed.

Answer 3

First try washing it and air drying it. Lay it out on a flat surface with a towel underneath it for a few hours. That might be enough to snug the fibers back up.

If that doesn't do it, wash it again and tumble dry at medium heat. That should snug it up a bit. If it still isn't enough, do it again, but dry it on high heat.

The idea is to gradually shrink it instead of doing the high heat drying right away. Cotton knits can shrink a whole size or two if they are washed in hot water and then dried on high heat.

Answer 4

Wash with laundry machine set for warm/ not hot water and permanent press or gentle cycle. Do not -- place it in your drier. Hang on a plastic hanger, button or zip the sweater closed, flop each sleeve over the shoulder so the weight of the wet fabric doesn't create a hanger bump at the shoulder or stretch the sleeve longer. Check the sweater daily, moving and shaping; throw the sleeve over the shoulder so the other side of the sleeve is exposed to the air. Gently spread and shape your sweater as it dries on the hanger. If you hang it outside on a sunny day, it'll dry faster. In the room, it might take several days.

Target sells a small platform in their laundry section where you can spread a sweater to dry in a horizontal position. Maybe you can block it to the shape you want it in.

If you want to throw it in the drier, do it only for about 10 - 15 minutes or so and then pull it out to finish drying on a hanger.

If a sweater shrinks because of too much heat or over drying, sweater could become too short or shoulder and bodice & sleeve could become too narrow and there is no way to correct that, once it occurs.