How to stretch shirts that are too small
As a tall man, dealing with these kinds of problems is somewhat just part of my life, and for all the tall people out there, I am sure you can attest to this. Not only is it hard to find clothes for taller people, but it can be costly, so when you go and shrink one of your shirts it can be quite the thorn in the side.
Something that can be pretty annoying is getting a shirt back from the cleaners, or pulling it out of the drier, only to find out that your shirt has shrunk ! Even worse if you are about to walk out the door and have that shirt planned in your outfit.
I am 6’3, and finding shirts for tall guys is already pretty difficult, so if you do manage to find a shirt that fits your extra long body and arms, you really value it and take care when washing and drying, but mistakes just happen.
But threat not, because stretching your shirt out is definitely a possibility, and you may not need to throw your favourite shirt out or add it to the hand me down pile just yet. But why do your shirts shrink? What are some reasons you can avoid.
Why are my shirts shrinking?
One of the main reasons our shirts shrink is going to be because of the drier. When you wash a shirt, the fabric will loosen and soften, and the sudden increase in temperature when you throw it in the dryer causes the fibers to contract really fast, thus shrinking your shirt.
If you wash your shirt in really hot water, this can also cause it to shrink, so be sure to check the label, and even go a little less on the temperature than advised to be on the safe side. I tend to wash everything at 30 degrees and also save a little on the light bill at the same time.
Wherever possible, it is always best to hang your shirts to dry, as gravity will do its job and the weight of the soaked shirt will keep the fibers from retracting upward, and you wont end up shrinking your shirt.
So how to fix a shrunken shirt
This will be the first step for the majority of the methods to stretch a shirt that will follow. How you prepare your shirt before you stretch it has an effect on the end result. If you just pull on your shirt, you may get a little breathing room, but you may also disfigure the shirt.
What you want to do to avoid this, is soften the fabric you are about to stretch so when you pull on it, the fibers won’t break and will extend in a uniform way. You don’t want to rip your shirt, just add a little more give.
Stretching your shirt using water
I will give you a few tips and tricks here of the best practices when using water to stretch your shirt. I have ruined a few shirts on my way to figuring this out, so I hope to help you avoid these mistakes so you too don’t damage yours.
You want to be able to get an even stretch, and there are some ways to make sure you achieve this thank you can only learn through trial and error. Thankfully I already made these errors for you, so what’s left is what really works.
I will add though, that these are the best methods I have found to work, but if you are creative and figure out a better way, please let me know in the comments and I would be happy to try this out.
1.Soak your shirt
What you want to do is get yourself a bucket, or if you don’t have this to hand, then a big bowl will do. You just want something you can put enough water in to submerge your shirt.
2.Add Conditioner to the water
Make sure the water is not hot or warm, room temperature will do just fine. If the water is too hot you might end up shrinking your clothes even more. Put your shirt in the water and push it down with your hands until submerged, and leave for around 20 mins.
3.Rinse your shirt
After the 20 mins have passed (you can leave it a little longer, nothing bad will happen) pour the water out, and refill the bucket and squeeze the shirt a few times to get the excess conditioner out of the fabric. Rinse and repeat until no conditioner remains.
These are the steps you need to follow when wanting to stretch your shirt using water.
Now we are ready for the stretching, the fabric has been softened and is in a prime state to be manipulated without causing damage. Now let’s go through the different directions in which we can stretch a shirt. Do you want it longer, wider, just the sleeves etc.
How to stretch shirts wider
After you have soaked the shirt, lay it out on a flat surface, preferable with a towel underneath to stop getting everything wet. Then put your hands inside the shirt on either side, and force your arms open outwardly. If you need more of a stretch you can do this in short bursts to open up the shirt a little more.
If you want to only stretch the waist part of the shirt, only pull at this part of the shirt from each end. If you want to stretch the width of the entire shirt, then make sure you put your hands inside the shirt the full length, then stretch.
I have found that if you try and stretch the shirt bit by bit working your way up, you get an uneven stretch, and can change the shape of the garment altogether.
How to stretch shirts lengthwise
Again, start by following the initial steps to soak and soften the fibers of your shirt. Now I have tried various ways of stretching shirts to get more length, usually when I buy it online and can’t be bothered to deal with the return process, or if I left it in the dryer a little too long. But this is what I found that works best and gives me an even stretch.
Lay the t-shirt flat on the floor, on top of a towel and place one foot each across the stitching of the sleeves, with the neck of the shirt facing you, and the bottom half of the shirt away from you.
Then you want to fold the bottom of the shirt over once, by just a couple of inches and grab the shirt by this fold and pull upwards toward the ceiling. I added the fold, because I have done this without folding many times and got an uneven stretch. I always ended up stretching out the sides more than the center.
This is not about power though so don’t go trying a personal best deadlift and tear your shirt apart. Apply a little force and tug gently a few times, check and repeat until you have the desired length.
How to stretch shirts to make them loose after washing
If you put your shirt in the washing machine, and follow the above steps to stretch either length or widthwise, you will be able to get a good stretch this way also.
Something I always do as a habit, as soon as my shirts come out of the machine and I am about to hang them up, I will grab them by the shoulders and shake them a few times to loosen them up just so they don’t shrink as they dry.
Stretching your shirt with a hanger
This is a pretty clever use of a hanger, and this works really well with cotton fabrics and polyester shirts as well. Once again, we are going to soak our shirt with water and conditioner, and squeeze out the excess water. Do not wring the shirt out though because this will cause the shirt to change shape and affect the stretch.
Then you just put your shirt on the hanger, and hang it somewhere it will get some indirect sunlight. You don’t want the shirt to dry too fast, you want it to hang in a damp state as long as possible. But you also don’t want your shirt to end up smelly because it was damp for too long, so indirect light and a little breeze if possible is perfect, just not in direct sunlight.
Stretching your shirt with weights
I stretch my gym shirts like this a lot, because I wash them all of the time, and many times I have to wash and dry them quickly, so shrinking happens pretty often. I will soak the shirt, place it on a hanger, and with some clips and string, I hang weights, or a water bottle from the other end of the string, and leave the shirt to hang overnight.
I don’t mind about overstretching my gym shirts, as they will get sweaty, tear, and if anything give me more room for comfort if I do overstretch them. I don’t buy expensive gym gear, but if you do want to take extra care, do not leave the weights hanging from the shirt overnight.
Stretching your shirt using heat
If you are in a pinch and don’t have the time to soak your shirt, you probably want to find a way to stretch your shirt fast. Place your shirt on a flat surface, or on an ironing board, and you can use this to warm up the shirt.
What we want to do is just soften the fabric enough so it loosens up, and allows us to stretch as opposed to break the fabric. Using the steam function of the iron, and if you don’t have this you can just spray a little water uniformly across the shirt or just wet your hands and rub them over the shirt, then go over the shirt a few times until it is warm to the touch.
Then following some of the previous methods we talked about, stretch your shirt in the desired direction, length or widthwise, or even just the sleeves if that’s what you want. Then go over the shirt with the iron a few more times to get the excess moisture to evaporate, and you have now turned your shirt from a small to a medium in less than 5 minutes.
How to protect your shirts from shrinking
Prevention is definitely better than the cure, especially when it comes to clothes that were already hard to find. This applies to everyone, I just come at everything from a taller person’s perspective. We can’t just run into any store and find a shirt straight off the rack most of the time, but everyone’s money is equal, and we don’t want to waste it, so let’s look at some things to avoid so you don’t shrink your shirts.
1- Air dry your shirts
Where possible, always air dry your shirts and all your clothes as a rule of thumb. If you are in a rush and think about using a source of heat to dry clothes, don’t, just wear something else, you will thank yourself later.
2- Use dry-cleaners
Maybe not for all of your clothes, but if you have shirts that require more care, like shirts made from cashmere or wool shirts that may have cost you a little more money, then the dry-cleaners are a good option.
The benefits of using a dry-cleaning service is they are professionals at what they do and deal with all types of fabrics daily, and if anything goes wrong with your shirts, they are liable to replace them.
3- Avoid drying with heat
Most shirts are made of cotton or a mix of cotton and another fabric. If you wash cotton in hot water it will most likely shrink. Wash your clothes in cold water, or check the label and whatever the recommendation is, cut it in half to be on the safe side.
Also, don’t dry cotton shirts in direct sunlight. Indirect sunlight is a much better option as even the heat from the sun is enough to shrink a shirt.
4- Trust the instructions
If you are like me, as soon as you buy a shirt you just rip the tag off because it bothers you, but before you do, have a look at the label, there is some useful information here.
It will tell you what temperature it is safe to wash at, if you can put it in the dryer, if the shirt is safe to iron etc. Manufacturers in general don’t want to tell you a bad product, and if you don’t take notice of the instructions and mess up a shirt it would be your own fault, but we would hold the brand responsible and never buy from them again.
5- Use the dryer sparingly and correctly
Again where possible air dry, but shirts made from polyester are much more resistant to temperature changes, so they are mostly safe to put in the dryer. But don’t over use it, run them on one cycle, and then hang them up if they are still a little damp. With the residual heat, what remains will just evaporate if you hang them in a ventilated room.
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FAQ’S
how to fix a shrunken shirt?
By using any of the above methods you will be able to stretch out a shrunken shirt. In short you want to dampen the shirt and manually stretch with your hands until you get to the desired size.
how to stretch cotton shirts?
Cotton shirts are the easiest to stretch as the fabric is so soft. Soak the shirt in water with some conditioner, and using one of the above mentioned methods stretch out the shirts until they fit you comfortably.
best conditioner for shrunken shirt?
I really just use any conditioner I have in the house. Or I will use some comfort or baby shampoo, but basically any type of conditioner that is safe to use with fabrics will do.
how to stretch out dri fit shirts?
The fibers used with dri-fit shirts are a mixture of cotton and a stretch fabric, but the same applied. You need to soak the shirt in water with some conditioner, and it may take a little more effort, but you stretch it out in the place you want a little more space with your hands, or on a hanger with some weights attached.
how to not stretch out neck of shirts?
The best thing you can do is not pull your shirt off from the neck. When you take a shirt off, pull from the waist and ease it over your neck and pay attention to not stretch the neck out when putting the shirt on as well.
how to fix a shrunken knit shirt?
If you are stretching a wool shirt, then you need to be careful. You still need to soak the shirt, but when you are stretching it just apply less pressure because wool will stretch a lot easier than most fabrics.
Final Words
So now you know all the best ways to stretch a shirt, and all types of shirts of different materials. It has been my experience that the better quality the shirt, the higher the gram of the cotton, and obviously the better care you take of a shirt the less likely it is to shrink.
Brands like Carhartt, Dickies, Timberland, Patagonia are really good quality shirts and I have some of these shirts that have been hanging around for a decade and you would be hard pressed to find anything wrong with them, but I learned to take care of my shirts out of scarcity of finding them.
So take care of your shirts so you hopefully never have to stretch one out, but inevitably this will happen, but you don’t need to give it away or throw it out, use our guide to help you bring your shirt back to form.
If you have any tips and trick you yourself has used, please let me know in the comments and I will give it a go.
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