Have you ever wondered why your cotton t-shirts always shrink? Whether it’s after just one wash or maybe after a few, it always seems to happen. The answer lies in the structure of cotton fibers and the impact several factors have on your favorite piece of clothing. So, let's have a look at cotton shrinkage and figure out how you can maintain your cotton t-shirts proper size.
Cotton quality
When it comes to understanding shrinkage, it all starts with the fabric composition. Cotton can vary in quality. Lower quality cotton, often characterized by short-staple fibers, is more prone to shrinkage. These short-staple cotton fibers have more ends exposed on the fabric surface. During washing, these exposed ends tend to entangle and interlock, causing the fabric to contract. On the flip side, premium cotton with long-staple fibers exhibits greater stability, resulting in less shrinkage over time. Long-staple cotton fibers have fewer ends exposed and offer greater strength and stability, reducing the likelihood of entanglement and minimizing shrinkage.
Hot water and heat in general aggravate shrinkage by causing the cotton fibers to absorb more water and swell. When cotton fibers are exposed to hot water, they can settle into a more compact arrangement. The heat facilitates the movement of fibers, allowing them to find a closer, more stable configuration, resulting in shrinkage.
Blending cotton with other fabrics
One solution many manufacturers use to reduce shrinkage is to blend cotton with other fabrics. Spandex, polyester, nylon and modal are all popular choices for cotton blends. Spandex, when blended with cotton, adds stretch and recovery properties to the fabric, making it more resistant to wrinkles and less prone to shrinkage. The elasticity helps the garment maintain its shape over time, providing comfort and flexibility. Polyester, nylon and modal all have attributes which can reduce the amount of shrinkage you may experience with a t-shirt as well as enhance its durability. The amount of these fabrics added to cotton can vary as can their effect on the amount of shrinkage your t-shirt may experience.
Pre-shrunk
Another aspect to consider is whether your t-shirts are pre-shrunk or not. Pre-shrunk garments have undergone a process that minimizes further shrinkage, offering a more reliable fit over time. There are several methods used to pre-shrink t-shirts such as washing and drying, steaming and chemical treatments. These are even combined sometimes. So, when choosing your next cotton tee, keep an eye out for pre-shrunk t-shirts. This doesn’t guarantee that your t-shirt won’t shrink but it should make care of your shirt less of a worry.
So how do we minimize shrinkage?
The first thing you should always do is read the care label. This will tell you what the manufacturer feels is the best way to care for your cotton t-shirt. But here are some general pointers.
- Wash your t-shirt in cold water on a gentle cycle.
- Dry on the lowest setting.
- If you are ok with hang drying, then do it. It’s a big help.
- Use a mild detergent when washing.
- Minimize how often you wash your t-shirt.
Tolerance Apparel premium cotton t-shirts
Now, let's talk about our premium cotton t-shirts. At Tolerance Apparel we use a high-quality cotton/spandex blend as well as a Pima cotton/spandex blend. Just using these cottons greatly reduce the amount of shrinkage you will experience with any shirt you buy from us. The spandex that is added not only further reduces shrinkage but helps in making the t-shirt more comfortable to wear and more durable. Our shirts were tested by a third-party international lab and have been proven to shrink less than 2%. Considering our shirts are washed and dried twice prior to packaging, much of that shrinkage occurs before you receive it. This was one of my big frustrations when shopping for cotton t-shirts, so it was a priority for us to minimize shrinkage as much as possible in designing our t-shirts while maintaining the comfort of cotton we all love. I also always had to hang dry my t-shirts, which I hated, so our t-shirts do not need to be hung dry. Just dry them on a low setting.
High quality t-shirts
As you can see there are a lot of factors that determine if your t-shirt will shrink or not and most likely it will. The best way to reduce the risk of this happening is to know how to take care of your t-shirt and most importantly, buy a high-quality product. Buy a product where the people who made it already thought about these problems and tried to solve them for you. Like we did here at Tolerance Apparel, I’ve been through this just like you and have gotten rid of too many t-shirts after one or two washes. Check out our premium cotton t-shirts and finally end the frustration. You won’t be disappointed.
