If the t-shirt you got at an event or the cool shirt you brought home with you are too large, don't despair! Cotton fabric shrinks, so it's easy to bring that shirt down a few sizes. Read on for information about what makes cotton shrink and a few techniques you can use to shrink cotton reliably and quickly.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Using Hot Water

  1. 1
    Prepare a large, boiling pot of water. Clothing companies often stretch out their fabric so that less cloth is needed to manufacture a shirt.[1] Washing the cotton shirt, or submerging it, in warm water will help the cloth in the shirt shrink back to its natural state.
    • If you want to avoid the hassle of buying a shirt that's too big and shrinking it yourself, look for pre-shrunk garments when you shop. Pre-shrunk shirts are increasingly common.
  2. 2
    Once the pot is boiling, remove it from the heat and put a shirt in it. The warmer the water, the greater the shrinkage.[1]
    • If you want your shirt to shrink roughly 1-2 sizes, put your shirt in immediately after you remove the pot from the burner.
    • If you want your shirt to shrink roughly 1/2-1 size, wait 5 minutes before placing the shirt in the water.
    • If you want your shirt to shrink roughly 1/4-1/2 size, wait 10-15 minutes before placing the shirt in the water.[2]
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  3. 3
    Let the shirt soak in the water for about 20 minutes. You may have to alter the time based on the shirt size. Again, the longer the shirt is exposed to the hot water, the more it will shrink.
  4. 4
    Drain the water and let the shirt cool slightly before handling it. Be careful not to burn yourself if the water is still scalding.
  5. 5
    Dry the shirt. For slight to moderate shrinking, wring the shirt out and let air dry. To shrink the shirt by 2 or 3 sizes compared to its original shape, use a dryer instead, as the tumbling will cause it to shrink.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Using the Washer/Dryer

  1. 1
    Wash the shirt you want to shrink in a washing machine with hot water. Contrary to popular belief, dryer heat actually does not shrink garments! According to a fabric technologist for Whirlpool, shrinkage is caused when the fabric tumbles against the sides of the washer and the dryer.[1]
    • The movement of the garments inside your washing machine also affects how much the fabric shrinks. Washing machines that are front-loaders, meaning the machines' loading and unloading doors are in the front, produce less agitation, and therefore less shrinkage, than top-loaded washing machines.[1]
  2. 2
    Transfer the shirt to a drying machine and dry thoroughly. Remember, you don't need to blast your cotton shirt with heat (it's the tumbling action that causes shrinking),[3] so use a medium-heat setting to dry.
    EXPERT TIP
    Susan Stocker

    Susan Stocker

    Green Cleaning Expert
    Susan Stocker runs and owns Susan’s Green Cleaning, the #1 Green Cleaning Company in Seattle. She is well known in the region for outstanding customer service protocols — winning the 2017 Better Business Torch Award for Ethics & Integrity —and her energetic support of green cleaning practices.
    Susan Stocker
    Susan Stocker
    Green Cleaning Expert

    The action of washing and then drying is what shrinks cotton. You can expect unwashed cotton to shrink 20% when you wash and dry if for the first time.

  3. 3
    Remember that machine-drying your shirt can affect its appearance. Dark garments quickly lose their brand-new feeling when put in the dryer and subjected to repeated tumbling. This is because the tumbling action raises microscopically small fibers, giving them a "powdery" look.[1]
  4. 4
    Wear your newly fitted shirt. Enjoy the way your shirt fits better than it did before!
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Community Q&A

  • Question
    Will an organic cotton top shrink with this method?
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    Organic cotton is the same as cotton, just that it has been grown without the application of conventional chemicals. Its fiber structure remains the same, and as such, it will respond to the treatment in much the same way that a conventional cotton t-shirt will. However, and this is important, many conventional cotton t-shirts will have been treated with chemicals to reduce shrinkage; as such, an organic cotton t-shirt risks shrinking more and this possibility must be accounted for when seeking to shrink it, or you risk over-shrinking.
  • Question
    Can you shrink polyester and cotton?
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    Separately, yes this is possible: For shrinking polyester, see How to Shrink Polyester and for shrinking cotton, refer to the steps above for a cotton t-shirt, or see How to Shrink Cotton Fabrics for other cotton garments. It is harder to shrink a polyester and cotton blend because the whole purpose of combining polyester with cotton is to prevent shrinkage and produce an easy-care garment. You could try subjecting a top made from both materials to high heat washing and drying but don't expect much shrinkage to occur.
  • Question
    How can I unshrink a t-shirt?
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    wikiHow Staff Editor
    Staff Answer
    You can try by using warm water and an addition such as baby shampoo, then attempting to reshape the item with gentle pulling, then washing in cold water to prevent repeated shrinkage. For some help with doing this, see How to Unshrink Clothes. Stretching t-shirt fabric can cause it to become over-stretched and floppy though, so do stretch it with care and follow the principle of "a little goes a long way."
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About This Article

Susan Stocker
Co-authored by:
Green Cleaning Expert
This article was co-authored by Susan Stocker. Susan Stocker runs and owns Susan’s Green Cleaning, the #1 Green Cleaning Company in Seattle. She is well known in the region for outstanding customer service protocols — winning the 2017 Better Business Torch Award for Ethics & Integrity —and her energetic support of green cleaning practices. This article has been viewed 2,514,514 times.
24 votes - 81%
Co-authors: 80
Updated: May 6, 2021
Views: 2,514,514
Categories: Laundry
Article SummaryX

To shrink a cotton t-shirt, start by washing your shirt with hot water. If you can, use a top-loading machine, since the agitation will cause the shirt to shrink more. When the wash cycle is over, transfer the shirt into the dryer and tumble dry it on a medium-heat setting. If you don’t want to wash the shirt, you can put it in a pot of almost-boiling water for 20 minutes before putting it in the dryer. For more information about why clothes shrink, read on!

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