Any way to save a misshapen shirt?

April 3, 2015 2:49 PM

Hello askmefi! I've sadly ruined a favourite top by drying it in a way that has stretched it out. Please hope me reshape it!

The fabric is very soft and thin, I think a viscose blend, and I hung it to dry by the little ribbon attached to the shoulders (I thought that's what those ribbons were for?). The weight of the wet fabric has pulled the shirt out of shape, so that there are very obvious peaks where the ribbons attach to the body of the shirt.

Pictures to show what I mean

Is there any way to fix this? Thanks in advance!

posted by mossicle to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

Response by poster: http://m.imgur.com/a/A469S

Sorry, pictures here
posted by mossicle at 2:49 PM on April 3, 2015

What does it look while you wear it? A day's wear might even out the fibers a bit and then maybe you can rewash it and dry it flat.
posted by vunder at 3:01 PM on April 3, 2015

Personally would try washing again and then drying flat or over a drying rack. Viscose is usually pretty flexible. I can't tell if that label is just decorative or has care instructions, but it would also be worth following them (if it has any).
posted by Athanassiel at 3:02 PM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Also the ribbon is to help it stay on the hanger. Many tops I've gotten say to remove the ribbons before wearing.
posted by Athanassiel at 3:05 PM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'd wash out again, gently, and let it dry flat.
posted by Attackpanda at 3:27 PM on April 3, 2015

The first thing I'd try is re-wetting it and letting it air dry laid flat over a drying rack and see how it turns out.
posted by amaire at 3:33 PM on April 3, 2015

Response by poster: Thank you for the answers - I have re-wet and will try drying it flat. The care instructions just said to hand wash, do not wring, and hang to dry.
posted by mossicle at 4:13 PM on April 3, 2015

Instead of wringing, take a towel, lie it on the towel, and roll it up in the towel. You can then press the towel to help remove moisture. Put another clean dry towel down and put the garment on that after pressing out the excess moisture as I just described. You can put a bag underneath the towel so that the moisture doesn't get into the surface of your table.

I do this with things I've knit by hand. You can also purchase pins that do not rust that you can use to pin it flat onto something like a yoga mat or a towel over a garbage bag. Wetting and pinning can help you push it into the shape you want.

Also, you don't have to re-wet by soaking it. You can lay it flat and then spray it with lukewarm water. This will work best if you pin it flat.
posted by sockermom at 4:48 PM on April 3, 2015

Assuming you get it back in shape, in future just hang it on a hanger to dry and it should be fine. The drying flat is just to get the current misshapenness out.
posted by Athanassiel at 7:42 PM on April 3, 2015

As Athanassiel said, the ribbon is to help the shirt stay on the hanger--you usually see them either on slightly fancier shirts or possibly shirts with some sort of neckine that makes them likely to slip off. The hanging part of the hanger should go between the ribbon and the back of the shirt; the ribbon isn't meant to be used by itself (wet or dry) like you're hanging the neck of an apron onto a nail.
posted by spelunkingplato at 12:15 PM on April 4, 2015