Shrinking a Jersey at Home: What You Need to Know
If a jersey is too large or no longer fits after weight loss, you may be able to reduce its size without paying a tailor. This works only for shirts made from natural fibers; synthetic materials won't shrink, and blends may need repeated attempts.
By Alex Foster4 steps
Jersey fabric is often used in sport uniforms.
Jerseys are shirts made from a finely knit fabric that resists stretching. When a jersey is too big, or when you've dropped some weight, you can try shrinking it yourself rather than paying a tailor. The key limitation is fiber content: only natural materials such as cotton, silk, or wool can be shrunk. Polyester and other synthetic fabrics won't respond. A blend containing both natural and synthetic fibers can still be shrunk, though you may need to run the process more than once before you get the fit you want.
Step 1
Look at the care tag inside the jersey. Use it to figure out whether the fabric is natural or synthetic.
Step 2
Place the jersey in the washing machine. Choose a hot wash setting along with a medium rinse cycle.
Step 3
Move the jersey from the washer to the dryer. Choose the high heat setting, the same one you'd use for towels and heavy fabrics. Partway through the cycle, pause and inspect the shirt to check whether it has shrunk. If it's still too large, give it another drying cycle.
Step 4
Keep washing and drying until the shirt reaches a size you're satisfied with.
