Shrinking clothes: how to do it and benefits
Most often than not, a lot of people find themselves in a dilemma of how to shrink their clothes. One of the major reasons for cloth shrinking is as a result of weight loss. When you lose weight, your clothes tend to become saggy, hence there is the need to shrink them. If you’re in the category of persons that have lost weight, then congratulations; it was worth it.
For being diligent with intentionally losing weight, you might want to reward yourself with new clothes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, you deserve it. But if you want to save up some bucks on new clothes, then shrinking is a recommended idea. The good news is, you don’t have to get new clothes, and all you have to do is shrink the old ones. It can save you a ton of bucks.
Perhaps it wasn’t that you lost weight, but that the clothes you ordered online are a tat too big for you. Returning them is an option, but as you know, it might cost you to return them. So it’s probably best if you shrink them, which is a great idea.
Whatever the reason is for wanting to shrink your clothes, it is actually quite easy to do so. All you need is a dryer, washing machine, your afternoon, and you’re good to go.
Benefits of Shrinking
Before talking about the ways in which you can shrink your clothes, how about some benefits of shrinking?
- It saves you money from buying new clothes
Buying new clothes can be a bit expensive, especially if you live in a costly city. It’s even direr a situation if you love trends and fashion. But the fact that you lost some weight or the wrong-sized order came in for you shouldn’t be the end of the world. Even if you want to treat yourself to some new clothes, some of your old clothes may just be too nice to throw away. The best thing to do at this point is simply shrinking the clothes. It saves you money.
- Also saves you time
You might be wondering how shrinking your clothes will save you time? Well, it definitely saves you time. You might have extra cash lying around, but would you have the time to go out shopping? Shopping takes a lot of time; you might end up sinking your day into shopping, just to get the right outfit. Shopping might be fun, but it takes a lot of time. For persons who already have a busy schedule, the best thing would be to shrink your already existing clothes.
- It cuts down the impact on the environment
Using your clothes diligently has a way of reducing the impact it may have on the environment. This thought is something you should be conscious about. It also extends the lifespan of your wardrobe. It’s definitely better to shrink than buy new clothes.
What methods should you adopt in shrinking your clothes?
Before you consider shrinking your clothes, it is important to remember that not all fabrics are the same. Thus, the kind of fabric the cloth is would determine the shrinking method to adopt.
Cotton
Cotton is commonly used for cloth making and as such may consume most of your wardrobe space. The good news is, cotton is actually one of the easiest clothes to shrink. If the cloth is 100% cotton, all you need to do is run the garment through the washing machine in the hot-water setting. After that, you then put the garment in the dryer and let that baby spin on high heat. Ensure to keep a close eye on the cloth while it dries. Take it out of the dryer when it’s been shrunk to your desire. Take it out and then dry it in the open air.
Polyester and other materials
For materials like blend and polyester, you might want to use a different approach to reaching your goal. It may also take more of your time than you might expect. You would also need to be very careful when shrinking other kinds of materials. Because these materials are a blend, it would be more difficult to shrink, because getting the right temperature may be the issue.
The best way to avoid this issue is to first wash the polyester and blended clothes in cold water. Thereafter, you’d place the clothes in the dryer and tune up the heat at high heat. Don’t try using hot water to wash these kinds of clothes. In fact, avoid it. Always ensure your eyes are on the garments while there are in the dryer, so you get the right size. Once you get the right size, take the garment out of the dryer and put it out to dry in the open air.
When is the best time to see a tailor?
Perhaps you have followed the steps above and it still did not give you the expected result, then you might need to see a tailor. The chances might be that the material you have is not one you can shrink in the wash. Also, bear in mind, some of the clothes are already pre-shrunk. You may not be able to shrink more than has already been shrunk. These pre-shrunk clothes are actually to protect the customers from accidentally shrinking their clothes.
You may also want to see a tailor if you’re trying to shrink a much older cloth. It may be possible that the cloth itself has already gone through the shrinking process. It would then be a good idea to give such clothes to the tailor.
Taking your clothes to the tailor is actually quite easy, for those who haven’t been to the tailors before. Tailors can achieve the perfect fit on almost any piece of clothing you give them, except of course for the really technical designs. Many of the tailors fit and amend clothes at a pretty reasonable rate, making it an ideal option too.
Whether you want to shrink your clothes or give it to a tailor for mending, it sure beats buying new ones. It’s not that buying new clothes isn’t a good idea, the thing is, it’s much better to work on the old clothes.