How To Shrink A T-Shirt

A good friend of yours gave you this really nice T-shirt. You love everything about this T-shirt. The color, the print, and the design, you just have no complaints. However, this T-shirt that seems so perfect just has one ‘big’ flaw. Yes, it is the size of the T-shirt. It’s just so big, that you cannot even think of wearing it and stepping out of your house. However, this T-shirt means so much to you. It has been given to you by a good friend and you want to do justice to the friendship by wearing it all over town, but then how do you achieve this end? The situation really is not as complicated as it seems. It, in fact, is going to be extremely easy to fit yourself into this much loved, but oversized T-shirt. All you’ve got to do is follow a few simple steps to ‘shrink your T-shirt’. Yes, you read that right. You can actually shrink your T-shirt at home and don’t really need to throw it away. Read on to gain access to instructions and tips on shrinking a T-shirt.

Tips On Shrinking A T-Shirt

You Will Need:

A cotton t-shirt
A bucket of hot water
A detergent to help preserve the colors on your t-shirt
A dryer or a washing machine with a dryer

Instructions:

Begin by heating the water. The water shouldn’t be too hot, just hot is more like it. Washing your T-shirt in water that is more hot than it should be will only cause your T-shirt to shrink more than you would want it to.
Once you’ve got your water to the right temperature, add half a teaspoon of the detergent or washing powder to the bucket. The detergent shouldn’t just be any detergent. You need to be investing in a washing powder that helps preserve the color of your T-shirt and the graphics, if any, on it.
Post adding the detergent to the bucket, pour in the hot water and stir for a second or two. Now proceed to wash your T-shirt with the hot water. Just be wary of your hands. You don’t want to end up with a burn or anything close to one.
Now that you are done washing your T-shirt, squeeze out the excess water and place it in a dryer on high heat. Remove the T-shirt when it has almost dried. Don’t wait for the T-shirt to get as ‘dry as a desert’. This will keep you away from getting the best out of the next step.
This step will see you ironing your T-shirt. Ironing a T-shirt that’s just about dry will encourage additional shrinkage and will also give you a T-shirt that’s absolutely dry and sans creases.

Tips And Warnings:

Some shirts are pre-shrunk. This will make it almost impossible for you to shrink your shirt a second time, since your shirt has already been pre-shrunk.
Also, remember that a shirt that has been through the above-mentioned shrinking process will shrink only once. It is not really possible for a T-shirt or a shirt to shrink down to desired extents. However, if you’re lucky, your T-shirt may just shrink down to a desirable size.
The above-mentioned shrinking process will work only on 100% cotton T-shirts. Do not try this procedure on a T-shirt that is not 100% cotton.
The T-shirt will not shrink evenly. Expecting your T-shirt to shrink evenly is just as good as expecting to find both food and water in an arid wasteland.
This technique of shrinking shirts is not suited for fitted T-shirts. Do not even think about trying it out on the same.

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