I am a small sailor.
October 10, 2010 6:02 PM Subscribe
Should I try to shrink a wool shirt to improve the fit and, if so, how should I do it?
I just bought one of these cpo shirts. I got a size small, but it's just a bit too big and the extra-small was way too small. I'd like to shrink it up a bit, but don't want to go too far and ruin it. It's something like 75% wool, 25% acrylic. There is a little bit of acrylic lining around the inside of the cuffs and neck. Will saturating it with water, putting it in the gentle cycle in the dryer and keeping a close eye on it until I have it where I want it do the trick? Should I wash it gently in a machine and then just let it air dry? Is it likely to shrink up unevenly and ruin the fit entirely? What has worked for you?
I just bought one of these cpo shirts. I got a size small, but it's just a bit too big and the extra-small was way too small. I'd like to shrink it up a bit, but don't want to go too far and ruin it. It's something like 75% wool, 25% acrylic. There is a little bit of acrylic lining around the inside of the cuffs and neck. Will saturating it with water, putting it in the gentle cycle in the dryer and keeping a close eye on it until I have it where I want it do the trick? Should I wash it gently in a machine and then just let it air dry? Is it likely to shrink up unevenly and ruin the fit entirely? What has worked for you?
Response by poster: The tag says "dry clean, standard method."
posted by otolith at 6:06 PM on October 10, 2010
posted by otolith at 6:06 PM on October 10, 2010
Excellent! I feel sure that one of our craftier-with-sewing-and-clothes Mefites will be along shortly to give you a more definitive answer.
I have not personally tried shrinking these kinds of wool clothes, although I know that it is possible. My grandfather was an average-sized man, but his WWII Army outfit made an ill-fated trip through the laundry, and now will comfortably fit a 10 year-old boy.
With knitting, the keys to shrinking (called "felting" or more accurately "fulling") are heat, agitation, and soap. You take a bit of wool knitting, and either hand-wash it in the sink with great vigor, or throw it into the Hot cycle of your laundry machine.
Knitting tends to lose length, rather than width. I have seen many hand-knit former sweaters which end up basically the same width, but only ten inches tall.
Take measurements and write them down before you begin. Measure the shirt, and measure yourself, and make notes about what measurements you want the shirt to have.
I would start slow with this shirt. If you go overboard and over-shrink it, you cannot undo this operation. It's a one-way street.
A popular way to felt knitting is to put it in a bucket with detergent and hot water, and use a (CLEAN, IDEALLY NEW AND BOUGHT JUST FOR THIS PURPOSE) plunger. Probably you want to do this outside, or set it in the bathtub. Plunge away, and keep pulling it out periodically to check your progress. Ideally, your woolens felt before you plunger your arms off.
The lining will not shrink along with the wool fabric of the shirt. This can cause bunching and stuff, but if you only want to shrink the wool a little bit, it may not be a problem.
Frankly, given the price of the shirt (i.e. it's not a $2 thrift store find) I would probably be too chicken to try it. You can take it to a tailor who can Do It The Right Way, and probably for a pittance.
posted by ErikaB at 6:54 PM on October 10, 2010
I have not personally tried shrinking these kinds of wool clothes, although I know that it is possible. My grandfather was an average-sized man, but his WWII Army outfit made an ill-fated trip through the laundry, and now will comfortably fit a 10 year-old boy.
With knitting, the keys to shrinking (called "felting" or more accurately "fulling") are heat, agitation, and soap. You take a bit of wool knitting, and either hand-wash it in the sink with great vigor, or throw it into the Hot cycle of your laundry machine.
Knitting tends to lose length, rather than width. I have seen many hand-knit former sweaters which end up basically the same width, but only ten inches tall.
Take measurements and write them down before you begin. Measure the shirt, and measure yourself, and make notes about what measurements you want the shirt to have.
I would start slow with this shirt. If you go overboard and over-shrink it, you cannot undo this operation. It's a one-way street.
A popular way to felt knitting is to put it in a bucket with detergent and hot water, and use a (CLEAN, IDEALLY NEW AND BOUGHT JUST FOR THIS PURPOSE) plunger. Probably you want to do this outside, or set it in the bathtub. Plunge away, and keep pulling it out periodically to check your progress. Ideally, your woolens felt before you plunger your arms off.
The lining will not shrink along with the wool fabric of the shirt. This can cause bunching and stuff, but if you only want to shrink the wool a little bit, it may not be a problem.
Frankly, given the price of the shirt (i.e. it's not a $2 thrift store find) I would probably be too chicken to try it. You can take it to a tailor who can Do It The Right Way, and probably for a pittance.
posted by ErikaB at 6:54 PM on October 10, 2010
I agree with everything ErikaB says. And I think this is probably not a good idea. The wool may shrink more in one direction than in the other (probably less of an issue with wovens than with knits, but still). The drape of the fabric will change, becoming denser, and this may affect the drape of the fabric. Pockets may get puckery. The acrylic is also a wild card... I've never tried to felt/full anything with that much acrylic.
Consider taking it to a tailor and just asking how much it would cost to take in. If it's $20 or less, I would say *definitely* do that rather than the shrinking, because shrinking the shirt (carefully) is labor-intensive and still somewhat unpredictable. When I've felted/fulled knitted projects I've done them in the washing machine in hot water (top-loader only) and hauled them out (wearing waterproof gloves so that I don't scald myself) every 10 minutes or so to check on them. Sometimes for hours. The plunger method is even more work.
Don't just put it wet into the dryer, though - if you really want to shrink this I think you will have better luck working on it in hot water, one way or another. It's the agitation that causes the felting.
posted by mskyle at 7:44 PM on October 10, 2010
Consider taking it to a tailor and just asking how much it would cost to take in. If it's $20 or less, I would say *definitely* do that rather than the shrinking, because shrinking the shirt (carefully) is labor-intensive and still somewhat unpredictable. When I've felted/fulled knitted projects I've done them in the washing machine in hot water (top-loader only) and hauled them out (wearing waterproof gloves so that I don't scald myself) every 10 minutes or so to check on them. Sometimes for hours. The plunger method is even more work.
Don't just put it wet into the dryer, though - if you really want to shrink this I think you will have better luck working on it in hot water, one way or another. It's the agitation that causes the felting.
posted by mskyle at 7:44 PM on October 10, 2010
Response by poster: If it helps inform answers, I'm looking for something like 1/4 to 1/2 inch of shrinkage at each shoulder and about the same on the sleeves, plus some general snugging up around the body.
posted by otolith at 8:20 PM on October 10, 2010
posted by otolith at 8:20 PM on October 10, 2010
Wovens generally do shrink more in one direction than another. Some types of thread will shrink more than the fabric, this does not look good.
From your followup, it sounds like you DO NOT want to shrink the whole thing evenly. Trying something with the dryer or dunking in hot water will also shrink the cuffs and make the shirt shorter.
Some dry clean only fabrics shrink when washed in _cold_ water, and some end up with a lot of colors running everywhere and the hand of the fabric changing.
I'd try a steam iron on the parts that are too big. I didn't click through on your link to see how much these shirts cost, but there is a chance that this may have undesirable results. If you will be wearing it tucked in, you can try this on a part that won't show first to see how well it works, otherwise if you can find a similar fabric that would be best to try.
Another advantage of going to a tailor is that the parts of the shirt that need to be "smaller" for it to hang well on you may not be the areas that initially seem to be "too big" -- it's hard to tell from your description, I can think of at least 3 different things you might mean by "shoulder."
For a 1/4" of extra fabric, personally I'd just wear the shirt as it is. If you decide to start doing pushups or something, you'll have some extra room for your deltoids.
posted by yohko at 8:51 PM on October 10, 2010
From your followup, it sounds like you DO NOT want to shrink the whole thing evenly. Trying something with the dryer or dunking in hot water will also shrink the cuffs and make the shirt shorter.
Some dry clean only fabrics shrink when washed in _cold_ water, and some end up with a lot of colors running everywhere and the hand of the fabric changing.
I'd try a steam iron on the parts that are too big. I didn't click through on your link to see how much these shirts cost, but there is a chance that this may have undesirable results. If you will be wearing it tucked in, you can try this on a part that won't show first to see how well it works, otherwise if you can find a similar fabric that would be best to try.
Another advantage of going to a tailor is that the parts of the shirt that need to be "smaller" for it to hang well on you may not be the areas that initially seem to be "too big" -- it's hard to tell from your description, I can think of at least 3 different things you might mean by "shoulder."
For a 1/4" of extra fabric, personally I'd just wear the shirt as it is. If you decide to start doing pushups or something, you'll have some extra room for your deltoids.
posted by yohko at 8:51 PM on October 10, 2010
why do you want to shrink this instead of just going to a tailor? you want rather precise shrinkage and shrinking through heat is anything but precise; the tailor will be precise. the kind of work you want done is simple and should be dirt cheap. go to a tailor!
posted by lia at 9:46 PM on October 10, 2010
posted by lia at 9:46 PM on October 10, 2010
oh man, i just looked at your profile and it turns out you're in new york. take the f to essex/delancey and stop in at one of the gazillion tailors on rivington or orchard. it'll take them less than an hour to do the alterations and probably cost you less than twenty bucks. our tailors are awesome!
posted by lia at 9:49 PM on October 10, 2010
posted by lia at 9:49 PM on October 10, 2010
Semi-related to clarify the above sock-knitting mention:
I see a lot of sock yarns that say 'superwash wool' and nylon/polyamide/etc. The superwash part makes it machine-washable, the nylon/whatever makes it a bit sturdier.
posted by Heretical at 11:01 PM on October 10, 2010
I see a lot of sock yarns that say 'superwash wool' and nylon/polyamide/etc. The superwash part makes it machine-washable, the nylon/whatever makes it a bit sturdier.
posted by Heretical at 11:01 PM on October 10, 2010
I expect that will ruin the shirt, wool isn't going to shrink evenly or how you expect - definitely do not try getting it wet and drying it to shrink. Take it to a tailor. If they can't take it in, the only options are: wear as-is, or return and buy a different brand of shirt.
posted by citron at 11:59 PM on October 10, 2010
posted by citron at 11:59 PM on October 10, 2010
I would not do it, from my experience with wool things shrunk by mistake. the result is ugly and can leave with you with a shirt that would fit a dog, not a person, if it shrinks the wrong way as wool tends to do. Seconding the person who recommended a tailor, if you really like the shirt. It can be made to fit just as you want it by skilled tailoring.
posted by mermayd at 3:14 AM on October 11, 2010
posted by mermayd at 3:14 AM on October 11, 2010
The thread (probably polyester) will not shrink to the same degree and will pull your shirt out of shape, as will any non-woolen interfacing. I see this a lot in thrift stores where people machine washed items with wool fiber that were supposed to be dry cleaned. Have a tailor take your shirt in a bit (he or she can use darts or take in the side seams).
posted by bad grammar at 5:03 AM on October 11, 2010
posted by bad grammar at 5:03 AM on October 11, 2010
I have found that wool (and wool blends) will shrink in length much more than they will in circumference. Thus, you could very easily end up with a shirt that is still a bit baggy, but shrunk up to your navel (an exaggeration, but an appropriate image.)
I would not try shrinking it.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:53 AM on October 11, 2010
I would not try shrinking it.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:53 AM on October 11, 2010
Response by poster: lia, are there any tailors that you'd specifically recommend? To be honest, I haven't had the best results with tailors in New York and none of my friends knows one that is consistently good.
posted by otolith at 8:58 AM on October 11, 2010
posted by otolith at 8:58 AM on October 11, 2010
for quick, easy things like having things shortened, i go to new express tailor shop at 92 rivington between orchard and ludlow. for anything complicated, i go to laura & melinda (named after the tailor's daughter) at 137 rivington between suffolk and norfolkâmustafa costs a bit more, but he can do complicated alterations and repairs the other tailor shops will say can't be done or won't do.
posted by lia at 4:08 PM on October 11, 2010
posted by lia at 4:08 PM on October 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
What are the shirt's care instructions? "Machine wash gentle," or "Hand-wash only"?
posted by ErikaB at 6:04 PM on October 10, 2010