A woman has shared her ‘lifesaving’ hack to salvage jumpers that have shrunk in the wash, and it’s so simple and quick that you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself
This trick to rescue shrunken jumpers has been hailed as “lifesaving”.
It’s incredibly frustrating to take a favourite jumper that’s perfectly comfortable and softly worn out of the washing machine, only to discover it has shrunk during the cycle.
This can leave you disappointed and unable to wear it again. However, a new hack from a content creator can help salvage jumpers that have shrunk in the wash, and it’s been dubbed absolutely “lifesaving” by those who have tried it.
It’s likely to become your go-to solution for when a dry clean only clothing item accidentally ends up in the regular laundry. The content creator – Violet Witchel – posted a video on her TikTok account: @violet.cooks, explaining exactly how to restore your shrunken jumper to its former glory. The hack has quickly amassed over 1600 likes and requires minimal effort.
In the video, Violet showed a jumper of hers that had disappointingly shrunk in the wash, but in the short clip she managed to return it to its original size. “If you accidentally put a wool or cotton cashmere sweater in the wash on hot and it shrinks up, this is my trick to get it back to normal, “the content creator explained. “Start by super generously spraying in wrinkle releaser, this will loosen the fibres. Then take a steamer. Put it on the highest setting and steam with tension.”
Violet showcased how to unshrink clothes, gripping the hem of her shrunken jumper and pulling it down while slowly moving a steamer from top to bottom in vertical lines. “You want to go slowly and repeat this process in all four directions,” she advised viewers.
“It seems counterintuitive to add more heat, but trust me it works”. In her video, Violet revealed the striking contrast between the left side of the jumper, which had been treated, and the right side that remained shrunken.
The left side dangled noticeably lower, suggesting it had reverted to its pre-wash size. To complete the fix, Violet suggested, “Repeat that process on all sides of the sweater and in all directions, and give it a good shake once you’re done.”
TikTok users were quick to express their enthusiasm for trying out the hack, with one commenting, “what a great idea”, and another shared their eagerness to attempt the trick after their “sweet daughter” accidentally shrunk their clothing.