how can a shrunken wool sweater be reshaped to its original, or close
to it, size and shape? thanks.

Hi! This is always such a big pain :D. I think we've all been there at
some point or another.

Pinkfreud makes a very good remark about taking the sweater to a
professional (you do risk making the sweater more misshapen by doing
it yourself), but if you still feel a need to do this yourself, here
are a few ways you can do it at home. I've done it with vinegar before
and the key is to do it very gently, and to make sure that you stretch
all sides evenly... The key is to use a solution that acts as a fabric
softener to loosen the threads and allow them to be stretched. Vinegar
is the cheapest and simplest way to do that at home.

"To stretch a shrunken wool sweater, soak it in a tub with a mixture
of hair conditioner and water. Gently pull the sweater to reshape.

Another way to stretch a sweater would be to dissolve one ounce of
sodium borate (borax) in a couple of tablespoons of hot water, add the
mixture to a gallon of lukewarm water, immerse the garment, and pull
gently into shape. Rinse in a gallon of warm water with two
tablespoons vinegar."

(http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_tips/article/0,1801,HGTV_3206_1481180,00.html)

"Shrunken sweater saver – Boil a shrunken wool garment in one part
vinegar and two parts water for 25 minutes.  Reshape the garment and
allow to air dry."

(http://www.ci.richland.wa.us/enviro/natural_cleaning.htm)


To avoid having this problem again, check out this Sweater Care
article for more hints.

(http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_tips/article/0,1801,HGTV_3206_1481180,00.html)

I hope this helps!

leeann-ga

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Clarification of Answer by leeann-ga on 14 Nov 2002 13:18 PST

Whoops! Here is my search strategy and sources:

Search Strategy:
"reshape shrunken wool sweater"
"fix wool sweater"

Sources:

http://www.ci.richland.wa.us/enviro/natural_cleaning.htm
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_tips/article/0,1801,HGTV_3206_1481180,00.html

If you value the sweater, I strongly suggest letting a professional
service, such as a high-quality dry cleaner, do this.

Over the years, I have tried several methods of reshaping shrunken
sweaters, and have never had success (usually the garment can be made
larger, but it will be lumpy, and the texture is ruined.) The last
time I had a major shrinkage, I took the garment to a dry cleaner,
told them what size the sweater had originally been, and for five
dollars my problem was solved.