Last year, I ordered this gorgeous Sezane Emile cardigan sweater, wore it once, and washed it like I wash all of my other sweaters……with tender loving care. I took pride in keeping my sweater collection intact by washing everything with The Laundress Wool & Cashmere Shampoo on delicate, in cold water, and always hanging to dry. That’s basically what ‘hand wash’ means, right? Wrong. After years of what I thought was the best sweater care ever, I was shocked to find that my beloved new sweater had shrunk to child size! What?! How?! When I contacted Sezane’s customer service to ask what I had done wrong, they simply wrote back (in what I imagine was a gorgeous French accent) that I didn’t properly “hand wash”…… like with my actual hands. I was flabbergasted and confused. This has never happened to me. I’m here to tell you that it’s possible to fix a shrunken sweater.
Naturally, I panicked and was so upset that I just threw money down the drain when my sweet mother came to the rescue. “Just send it to me and I’ll fix it.” Note: I had just had a baby so doing anything else that wasn’t essential felt overwhelming, so sending it to my mom was the easiest option for me at the time. Bless our moms.
A few days later she sent me a photo with “Back to normal shape!”, and I was like um, HOW?! She told me it’s quite easy and when looking at the care instructions for a sweater, composition matters. This particular sweater was both alpaca and wool making it easy to shrink if not truly hand-washed. Noted! Now I always make sure to check the composition before washing one of my favorite sweaters, and also read the care instructions. I also highly recommend using The Laundress Wool & Cashmere Shampoo on every single sweater, even if synthetic. See my note below with an iphone trick if the tag is illegible and it just looks like washing instructions in hieroglyphs.
If you find yourself in this position, don’t panic. Try these easy steps and watch your sweater return to it’s original glory.
P.S. The main character of this story, my sweater named the Emile, is finally back in stock
HOW TO UNSHRINK A SWEATER
- Soak – Fill a sink, bucket, or your tub, with lukewarm water and add a small amount of hair conditioner or baby shampoo. Submerge the sweater and soak for 15–20 minutes or up to two hours. The conditioner or shampoo will help relax the wool fibers. Lukewarm water helps soften the fabric and makes it easier to stretch. Cold water makes it harder to stretch, and hot water can damage the fibers and cause further shrinkage. Baby shampoo or conditioner is milder than regular shampoo and is less likely to damage the wool.
- Stretch – Carefully remove the sweater from the water and gently press out excess water. Lay it on a clean, dry towel and reshape it to its original size. Don’t overstretch.
- Dry – Place another dry towel over the sweater and roll them together to absorb excess water. Repeat with a dry towel until the sweater is damp but not soaked. Lay the sweater flat on a dry towel and let it air dry. Avoid hanging the sweater, as the weight could stretch it out of shape and give the shoulders an awkward hump.
- Repeat – If necessary, repeat the process. It may take a few times if its REALLY shrunk but I promise you can get the original shape back.
If you look at your sweater’s tags, or any article of clothing for that matter, and can’t understand what the washing instructions symbols mean, there’s an iphone trick to help you! This is the coolest thing.
- Take a picture of the tag up close with your iphone
- Then in your photo album, click the “i” button at the bottom of the image
- It should automatically scan the symbols in the wash instructions and tell you what they mean! See below.
And because Winter stretches on here until May 1st, you may be like me and need a sweater refresh with a new yet spring-ish sweater. Function (staying warm) meets fashion (wishing it to be spring weather here). Below are the best of both worlds or check out my ShopMy Sweater Picks:
1. Hyacinth House Blue Embroidered Floral Sweater || 2. Pistola Alpaca Sweater || 3. English Factory Sriped Sweater || 4. La Ligne Marin Sweater || 5. Sezane Franck Jumper || 6. Quince Polo Sweater || 7. Tuckernuck Colette Cardigan (I own this a love!) || 8. Sezane Amiel Jumper || 9. Closed Crewneck
