# Save this stretched out sweater



## SCsailor (Jul 2, 2008)

I'm wearing a great BB wool sweater that has unfortunately stretched at the waistband and wrists. Is there anything I can do to shrink it? I've read about trying hot water and a hairdryer. Anyone actually tried that with success? Thanks

Jerry


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## tripreed (Dec 8, 2005)

I got a sweater off of Ebay a couple of months ago that ended up being bigger than I thought it was going to be. I washed it once in cold water, then dried it in the dryer. After doing this, I found that while it did fit better, the waist was still a good bit bigger than I wanted (it seems like it had been stretched out by the previous owner and wasn't made this way). Next I did another wash, but this time used warm water and then put it in the dryer. It came out pretty good, and I figure it won't get much better than that. 

While some get up in arms about this technique, it works well enough for me. I should point out that this whole technique likely depends on 1. How much it needs to be shrunk down and how much shrinkage it can take in areas that aren't stretched out 2. The type of wool 3. The quality of the wool. I tried the same technique on a J. Crew merino sweater that had gotten stretched out and it shrank way more than I had intended it to. Anyways, all of that to say washing and drying will work, but it's a crap shoot.


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## Wizard (Feb 29, 2008)

tripreed said:


> I got a sweater off of Ebay a couple of months ago that ended up being bigger than I thought it was going to be. I washed it once in cold water, then dried it in the dryer. After doing this, I found that while it did fit better, the waist was still a good bit bigger than I wanted (it seems like it had been stretched out by the previous owner and wasn't made this way). Next I did another wash, but this time used warm water and then put it in the dryer. It came out pretty good, and I figure it won't get much better than that.
> 
> While some get up in arms about this technique, it works well enough for me. I should point out that this whole technique likely depends on 1. How much it needs to be shrunk down and how much shrinkage it can take in areas that aren't stretched out 2. The type of wool 3. The quality of the wool. I tried the same technique on a J. Crew merino sweater that had gotten stretched out and it shrank way more than I had intended it to. Anyways, all of that to say washing and drying will work, but it's a crap shoot.


My wife did that with a sweater... Now my daughter has new clothes for her doll! :icon_smile_big:

The principle seems good but since the sweater will shrink proportionately (leaving you with the same problem in a smaller size) can you selectively shrink it by dipping JUST the cuffs and waistband in water (hot or cold?) and then drying it again?:idea: Mind you, this is just theorizing. I have never done this and will leave the experimenting to someone else.


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

My wife used to knit a lot, and I recall there is a process called "blocking", in which, after the garment is complete, the knitter washes it or soaks it, then lays it out on an absorbent surface in the desired shape and size. It's a way of making sure that things that got lopsided or uneven in the knitting process can become symmetrical again. I don't know if it will work for a situation like this, where it sounds as though the problem is the loss of elasticity over time, but it might be worth a shot.


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## jamgood (Feb 8, 2006)

Dampen only the wrists and waistband and throw in the dryer, inside out. One learned this as a wee urchin's impoverishment of domestic servantry via a dynastic fortune lost in the demise of the commerciality of organic indigo. It ain't astrochemistry.

For a more permanent remedy, someone who is digitally competent can loop through the underside of the ribs four rows of elastic thread (available in black or white in the sewing section of stores) interspersed about a half inch throughout the horizontal length of the offending wrists and waistband. The same principle as elastic thread viewable in some, repeat some, athletic crew socks. The resulting elasticity is advantageous for those bulimic gourmands amongst us who find it necessary to unbuckle trou whilst dining "all you can eat" at Bubba's Bru'N'Q and the subsequent regurgitative relapse into wasp waist.


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## dshell (Mar 17, 2007)

*Thank you jamgood.*

Oh just this...


jamgood said:


> ...digitally competent...


...has made my day.


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## stewartu (Jan 12, 2008)

It is my understanding that aggitation is what causes wool to shrink. Thus the advice to hand wash things. 

I like the advice to just wet the areas to be shrunk and then put it in a dryer with no or very low heat so as to get the most aggitation of the garment. Repeat as necessary.


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