Shrinking experiment success - YouLookFab Forum

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Dressing

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Shrinking experiment success

anchie

Veteran

Apologies for being a forum hog today, but I am so excited I have to share. I manage to shrink number of pants and dresses today by washing and drying on higher temperature. I didn’t take a picture of the first batch but after everything came out better then expected ( pair of black wool pants and two dresses ) I tried another dress, jeans and pants ( all Boden ). Second batch I took before and after pictures. What is the verdict? Not sure if you can notice but dress is much shorter now and waist is in correct spot, it was way too low before.

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Dressing

19 replies

Latest reply was from karen13

April

Veteran

Wow, Anchie -- I'm no fit expert, just wanted to say that the only time I have shrunken things in the dryer, it has been a complete disaster and very much not on purpose.

So good on you for doing it well!

rachylou

Veteran

Yes, I do see a difference! You’re very brave, lol! Makes you wonder...

taylor

Veteran

Oh, wow! The shrinking experiment is working ! SCORE:)

I’m with April here. Most of my successful shrinking has been purely accidental, and didn’t turn out well for me

DonnaF

Veteran

Congratulations! Well done! This never works for me or else I shrink by accident (to my detriment). Glad you were able to save so many items. I don’t think I would be brave enough to give wool pants a spin in the dryer.

slim cat

Veteran

I definitely see the difference - the dress fits just right and yellow ( and red ) pants show your figure well. Ironing could probably stretch things a tiny bit again but it is a success nevertheless .

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I especially see in the yellow pants and it is very impressive!

Column

Veteran

I`m so happy for you, Anchie. Glad you stuck to your health plan and changed the clothes rather than the other way around! You look sensational.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

This worked brilliantly! It must depend on the fabric composition but this is entirely wonderful! You still have spring things now!

anchie

Veteran

LOL I was not that brave since all this item would be donated and I did not have anything to loose by trying that.
I am very happy how dresses turned out. Pants and jeans are still not perfect, and they would probably stretch some more with wear, but it is a big difference and I think they are now worth taking to the tailor for additional modifications.
Those items were all natural fibers, don’t think this would work on polyester or even on blends. I am going to try to shrink some more after this success.

Bijou

Veteran

What a great way to get some more wear out of these items.

notsaf

Veteran

What a great result! So happy for you, since you really deserve a good break wardrobe-wise.

Kathie

Veteran

Wonderful!! FWIW, I have to “shrink” that Phoebe dress every other time I wash it. Mine can easily stretch out by 2-3”. I’m so glad the pants worked. With a bit of tailoring, they’ll be perfect.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Excellent! So glad you have pants that fit now.

hereforthecake

Your experiment was indeed a success! I sometimes do this if I find I am "between sizes" with a certain item. I'll buy the larger size and then wash it in the hottest water & put in the hottest dryer setting.

(Obviously I'm talking about casual, mostly cotton, items....not silk gowns)

Helena

Veteran

Wow, it looks like you tailored them! Great job.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

That dress has worked particularly well,l wouldn’t have thought that the waist would lift like that.

Anonymous

Good

Anonymous

Excellent experiment! I’ve been doing this for a while as like @hereforthecake I often find I am in between sizing and the slight shrink has made a world of a difference for jean fit!
I also make sure to use Downy fabric softener with my wash and Oxi cleaning option; this seems to clean them better and help with the slight shrinkage as those additions prevent stretching of clothes.

karen13

Veteran

Congrats! I see the improvements. I’ve done this with a few items. I typically take measurements before and after washing and then every 5 or 10 minutes. I find knits tend to shrink a good bit more in length than width.