How long before your shirt stops shrinking?

[new obsession]

Just curious how long everyone thinks it takes before a given shirt stops shrinking when laundered.

I have Brooks Brothers shirts that seem to never shrink, and I have CT shirts that seemed to shrink about 1/2 to 3/4 inch everywhere within the first few washings. Just got some jantzens and I am hoping for more of a Brooks Brothers experience than CT. Eager to try and order more and wondering how long I should wait to see about adjustments.

Do you think it makes a difference that I have all of my shirts professionally laundered?

 

[imageWIS]

I usually take 3 washes in the gentle cycle, warm / cold water and 3 machine drying's in the gentle cycle to shrink items down before tailoring.

Jon.

 

[j]

Originally Posted by new obsession

Just curious how long everyone thinks it takes before a given shirt stops shrinking when laundered.

I have Brooks Brothers shirts that seem to never shrink, and I have CT shirts that seemed to shrink about 1/2 to 3/4 inch everywhere within the first few washings. Just got some jantzens and I am hoping for more of a Brooks Brothers experience than CT. Eager to try and order more and wondering how long I should wait to see about adjustments.

Do you think it makes a difference that I have all of my shirts professionally laundered?
IIRC CT shirts are notorious for shrinking - the collars on washed shirts are often below the size. I have only one, a 16, and it is tight on my neck which measures 15.5ish.

 

[new obsession]

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

On a similar note, I'd like to know when I can expect the waists of my trousers to stop shrinking. I have pants that I've owned for years, and yet the fit at the waist seems to continue getting tighter and tighter. Must be some sort of manufacturing defect.

I have the same problem with my hats, but then again maybe you have to be perfect to have this problem, and I doubt there are many people as all around wonderful as me, or at least that's what all the important people I know keep telling me.... There it goes again, have to get a new hat

 

[j]

Originally Posted by new obsession

I have the same problem with my hats, but then again maybe you have to be perfect to have this problem, and I doubt there are many people as all around wonderful as me, or at least that's what all the important people I know keep telling me.... There it goes again, have to get a new hat

At that rate you're also going to have to scoot back from your desk, or buy a monitor with a nosehole in the middle..

 

[new obsession]

Originally Posted by j

At that rate you're also going to have to scoot back from your desk, or buy a monitor with a nosehole in the middle..

I already thought of that, as I typically think 200 steps ahead and am prepared for every circumstance which may arise, which is why I have so many hats already made... whoops, have to switch to a bigger one again.

-Thus endeth my posting of this running gag...

But I am still curious about the experience of others re shirt shrinkage.

 

[Shirtmaven]

Fused collars continue to shrink even after 2-3 washings, because comercial laundries suck.

The person who takes the collar and places it on the buck before pressing should pull and stretch the collar, but they do not.

Here is a professional secret.
Take the collar. Hold it tightly at the ends of the collar band. pull the collar back and forth across a smoth surface like a bureau. This should give you a 1/2" more room.


Carl

 

[new obsession]

Originally Posted by Shirtmaven

Here is a professional secret.
Take the collar. Hold it tightly at the ends of the collar band. pull the collar back and forth across a smoth surface like a bureau. This should give you a 1/2" more room.

I presume you mean to pull it over the edge of the bureau. Sort of like how you smooth out a dollar bill on the edge of a vending machine when it is too wrinkled to go into the machine. Thanks for the tip.

(By the way, likely e-mailing you tomorrow to make appointment, as part of my great shirt experiment

)

 

[Shirtmaven]

yes. trying to button a collar that is 1/2" too small is just like trying to force a crinkled soft dollar bill into the soda machine.

 

[Holdfast]

Washing at home, I find 80+% of the shrinkage occurs after the first wash with most of the rest on the second. Beware though, shrinkage is very variable between makers - Zegna hardly shrink at all, just tighten up to the perfect fit; whereas Ede shrink noticeably (not enough to need to take a larger than normal collar size though). You might just to experiment.

 

[luk-cha]

all cotton products will shrink a total of arould 3-5% with in the first 3 washes -but it will also relax and give a little too just like vintage levis 501's. some fabrics will be treated before hand like with modern denim they call this process stanforization this will minamise all shrinking - some if continue to shrink is just basicly poor fabric!

 

[Roger]

Well, the accepted way to avoid excessive shrinkage is to wash in lukewarm water (at the warmest) and hang to drip dry. Never, ever put them in a dryer. It's the dryer that does most of the shrinkage. I've washed my shirts this way (albeit in cold water) for ages and have had only minimal shrinkage over many washings--maybe 1% total.

 

[Roger]

Originally Posted by Shirtmaven

Fused collars continue to shrink even after 2-3 washings, because comercial laundries suck.

The person who takes the collar and places it on the buck before pressing should pull and stretch the collar, but they do not.

Here is a professional secret.
Take the collar. Hold it tightly at the ends of the collar band. pull the collar back and forth across a smoth surface like a bureau. This should give you a 1/2" more room.
Carl
Carl, that's a very useful tip. Can this procedure also be used on sleeves that have shortened up some? Somehow, I doubt it, but thought I'd ask.

 

[Shirtmaven]

That trick will work on Cuffs but not sleeves.

Shirt Fabrics are sanforized so that shrinkage is controlled to 1-3%

Carl