Linen pants are a wardrobe staple for any season, but they can be a hassle to care for because they tend to shrink after daily washing and drying due to their lack of stretch. If you have accidentally shrunk your linen pants, don’t worry, you can unshrink them and return them to their original size in a few easy steps. This guide will show you how to unshrink linen pants with the right steps and materials.
Table of content
Materials Needed
- Large capacity bucket
- Baby shampoo
- Two dry cotton towels
- Clothes hanger and clothespins
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1 Fill the bucket with water and baby shampoo
Add 1 liter of warm water to the bucket, enough to cover the linen pants. The water temperature is consistent with the room temperature in order to effectively relax the flax fibers. Add a teaspoon of baby shampoo to the water, mixing it with water for five minutes. It is safe and even helpful if your linen pants shrunk a lot. Soak the linen pants in water for up to 30 minutes while making sure the linen is completely covered with water. The water has to be kept slightly warm for the baby shampoo to work, so when the water cools down, switch back to warm water. If you want to quickly soften the linen pants, you can gently stretch the linen pants by hand in a bucket.
Step 2 Squeeze the linen pants to wring out excess water
Gently squeeze the linen pants with hands to wring out excess water. Wrap the linen pants in a cotton towel and roll them into a ball. Instead of rinsing off the baby shampoo, apply pressure to the linen pants to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. The baby shampoo can continue to loosen the linen fibers until you finish stretching the linen pants, allowing the linen pants to regain their shape before washing off the baby shampoo.
Step 3 Stretch linen pants out with hand
Lay a clean, dry towel flat and place your rinsed linen pants on top. Gently roll up a towel and squeeze out any remaining excess moisture with your hands. Unroll the towel and move the linen to a second dry towel spread out on a flat surface. Use your hands to gently pull the edges of the wet linen pants to try to keep the linen pants as close to their original shape as possible. If linen pants are too stiff to stretch, use a steam iron to soften the linen pants. Please use clothespins to fix the linen pants to the drying rack, and gently pull the linen pants with your hands to make them smoother. Hang the linen pants on a hanger in a ventilated place to air dry, if the linen pants are out of shape, consider checking every 30 minutes and gently stretching again to keep the linen pants close to their original shape.
Conclusion
So, don’t panic the next time linen pants shrink, the detailed methods above can help unshrink linen pants. By reading the wash label on linen pants and following the steps above, you’ll have a good understanding of how to unshrink linen pants before the next wash. Be sure to follow the steps above to allow enough time for the linen pants to dry in the stretched position before wearing them.
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