how to fix stretched out sweater arms?

[BrettChaotix]

I love thin slim fitting sweaters/cardigans... I love wearing them with the sleeves pushed about 1/2 way up my forearms... I don't love how after a few wears the arm holes get stretched out so much that they keep sliding back down.

Does anyone know a quick/easy trick for tightening/shrinking these sleeves?

 

[gqreader239]

what material is it? My cheap merino wool sweater shrinks back to perfect when i dryer it with my other clothes.

 

[BrettChaotix]

Originally Posted by gqreader239

what material is it? My cheap merino wool sweater shrinks back to perfect when i dryer it with my other clothes.

usually cheaper wool or wood/acrylic blends. I'm trying to avoid the dryer as much as possible because I don't want to shrink the whole sweater.

 

[robin]

I haven't tried doing this with wool blends, but with my merino and lambs wool sweaters I give part of the sleeves a quick soak in hot water and then air dry them. They will shrink and tighten up nicely.

 

[BrettChaotix]

Originally Posted by robin

I haven't tried doing this with wool blends, but with my merino and lambs wool sweaters I give part of the sleeves a quick soak in hot water and then air dry them. They will shrink and tighten up nicely.


That was an idea I was considering too, maybe a hot soak and hitting it with a hair dryer

 

[j]

Steam from an iron helps in most cases, but some sweaters just stretch right back out. There's really no cure for those except don't push them up your arms. (I have the same habit, so those sweaters get retired quickly.)

 

[phooi]

I think it depends on the material and the quality of the sweater. I've noticed that my nicer cashmere and merino wool sweaters will shrink back to its original shape after a day or so after wearing them. The biggest offenders are cotton sweaters. Once they stretch out, you have to wash & dry them to get them to shrink back.