How to Shrink a Dress

Washing a Cotton or Polyester Dress on High Heat

Set your washing machine to hot. When an item of clothing is exposed to heat, it allows the fibers to relax and shorten. This will result in shrinkage. Cotton and polyester are both durable fabrics than can withstand the hottest setting on the washing machine. If you are washing a cotton dress, check to see if it is made from pre-washed fabric. If so, it’s been pre-shrunk by the manufacturer and will not shrink further in the wash.

Wash the dress using the longest wash cycle available. The longer the cycle, the more shrinkage will occur. Along with heat, the tumbling action of the washing machine causes the fibers in the fabric to move closer together and make your dress smaller. You can throw other clothing items into the wash with your dress, but make sure they are all of similar colors. If your dress has graphics printed on it, make sure to turn it inside out before washing.

Dry your dress on the hottest dryer setting. Move your dress into the dryer and select the longest, hottest cycle. Like the washing machine, additional heat and tumbling action will help shrink your dress even further. Make sure to transfer your dress from the washing machine to the dryer as quickly as possible. Letting it sit and cool will make it less likely to shrink.

Check the size of your dress throughout the dryer cycle if it’s cotton. Shrinking an item of clothing in the dryer is not an exact science. Your cotton dress may get smaller than you intended if you don’t keep an eye on it. Stop the dryer every 10 or 15 minutes to check your dress. Once it’s reached the size you want, adjust the dryer to low heat and let it complete the cycle. You can also remove the dress from the dryer once it’s the desired size and let it finish air drying on a hanger or a drying rack.

Repeat the process if you are shrinking a polyester dress. Polyester is a synthetic fabric and is much more difficult to shrink than cotton. You may have to wash and dry it on high heat 2 or 3 times to see results. It's also a very durable fabric, so washing and drying it several times shouldn't harm your polyester dress.

Hand-Washing a Silk Dress

Fill a sink with lukewarm water and add several drops of soap. Use a gentle, non-alkaline soap and mix it into the water with your hands. You can also use a plastic bucket or tub that’s big enough to fully submerge the dress. If you haven’t washed your dress before, test to see if it’s colorfast. Using a cotton ball, dab a small amount of water and detergent onto the inside seam of the dress to see if the color bleeds. If the color stays put, you can continue hand washing your dress.

Soak the dress for no more than 5 minutes, then drain the sink. Place the dress in the sink full of water and hold it down until it’s fully submerged. Allow it to soak for several minutes to allow any dirt or odors to loosen. Do not let your dress soak for any more than 5 minutes. Once you’ve finished soaking your dress, drain the soapy water from the sink.

Refill the sink with cool water and ⁄4 cup (59 mL) of white vinegar. The vinegar helps to remove any remaining soap and alkalinity from the delicate silk. Use your hand to gently swirl the dress through the water and vinegar mixture. Once the dress has been thoroughly rinsed in the diluted vinegar, drain the sink again.

Rinse the dress with fresh water. Gently run cool, clean water over the silk dress to remove any traces of vinegar. Hand washing your silk is necessary to prevent the threading of the dress from being damaged in the washing machine.

Air-dry the silk dress in the sun. Make sure your dress is laid flat to dry on a clean surface that won’t stain the clean silk. The gentle heat from the sun will begin to shrink the fibers of the silk fabric. If it’s a hot day, you may not even need to place the silk directly in the sun.

Set your dryer to medium heat. Since silk is a much more delicate fabric than cotton or wool, it’s best to use a lower setting on your dryer when attempting to shrink a silk dress. You could dry other items in the same load, but make sure they are similarly colored. Also double-check to make sure that none of the other clothes you’re drying feature zippers or other sharp edges that could damage the silk.

Dry the silk dress for 5 minutes, then remove it and check its size. It’s important that you check the dress periodically to prevent it from over-shrinking. Stop the dryer after 5 minutes and pull out the dress to assess its size. Since silk is so delicate, it may have shrunk enough after just one 5-minute period.

Continue drying in 5-minute intervals until it's shrunk to your liking. If you want to shrink the dress further, throw it back in the dryer and continue to check its size every 5 minutes. When it has reached the ideal proportions, remove it completely from the dryer. Then, hang your dress up on a hanger to keep it from getting wrinkled.

Washing a Wool Dress on a Short Cycle

Set your washing machine to high heat. Heat allows the fibers in wool to relax and shorten, which will shrink your dress. Wool dresses shrink very quickly, however, so you’ll need to be more careful with these garments than you would with dresses made of cotton and polyester.

Select the shortest available cycle and wash your wool dress. For wool, the movement of the washing machine contributes more to the shrinking process than the temperature. Choose the shortest wash cycle to keep your dress from becoming too small in the wash. You can toss other clothes in the washing machine during this process. Just make sure they are similar colors to your wool dress.

Begin drying the dress on low heat. Since wool is more sensitive than cotton or polyester, don’t dry it on the highest heat setting. Select a low heat option on your dryer and toss in your wool dress.

Check the dress regularly for uneven shrinkage. Pull your dress out of the dryer every 10 to 15 minutes to see if it’s shrinking unevenly. If you notice that some parts have shrunk more than others, stretch out the shrunken pieces a bit with your hands before throwing the dress back in the dryer. Repeat this process until the dress has reached your desired size.

Dunk the dress in water and re-shape it if you’ve over-shrunk it. If you pull you dress out of the dryer during one of the regular checks and it’s already too small, there’s a chance you can reshape it. Immediately place the dress in cool water for about half an hour. Then, place it flat on a towel and stretch it out to the desired size before allowing it to fully air-dry.