How to unshrink your golf sweater

Shrunk your favourite golfing garment in the wash? Not to worry. If you’re paying the price for forgetting to the follow the care label, we’ve got you covered.

Consider this your personal guide on how to unshrink your golf sweater and get back on the course wearing it with confidence.

What kind of material can I unshrink?
The process is most effective on sweaters made of natural fibres, which there’s a high chance your sweater will be. This could be wool, cashmere or cotton that’s not felted. In terms of blends and synthetic fibres, you’ll need to be extra careful washing these as they’re far harder to restore to their original shape.

Now you’ve assessed whether it’s worth attempting to unshrink your garment (fingers crossed!), follow these simple steps for guaranteed results…

Step 1 – Prep
First up, clean your kitchen or bathroom sink – no one wants any dirty residue on their sweater. Now you’re good to go, fill it up with lukewarm water and pop in a couple tablespoons of gentle fabric softener or wool detergent. If you don’t have either of these in the house, save yourself a trip to the shops and use baby shampoo or normal hair conditioner instead. Sounds strange, but this should also do the trick!

Step 2 – Soak
Pop the sweater in sink and make sure it’s fully submerged, so it evenly absorbs the water. While you’d usually want to avoid getting materials like wool wet because it stretches them out too much, in this case that’s the aim of the game. The water will relax the fibres in the sweater and your garment will begin to re-shape in no time.
  


  
Step 3 – Drain
After 10 minutes, pull out the plug and drain all the water from the sink. Don’t wring the sweater out as you might normally – too much pressure on some sections will leave you with a wonky-shaped garment. Instead, carefully press the sweater against the sides of the sink to help squeeze excess water out evenly. Now you can roll it up in a towel to dry it a touch more – but you still want it damp, just not wet.

Step 4 – Stretch
Taking care not to overdo it, evenly stretch the damp sweater out. This will unlock the fibres and make it easier for you to mould the sweater back into its original shape and size. While it might be tempting, make sure you don’t stretch it out for longer than you need to. You don’t want to have a stretched sweater on your hands…

Step 5 – Dry
Place the sweater flat on a large drying rack or cork board, fastening it in place where needed. This will help it to return to its original form even more, as it takes the shape you’ve given it during the drying process. Attention to detail will reward you with longevity, rather than just being a quick fix. To avoid any damage, make sure your sweater isn’t in any direct heat or sunlight. Now patience is a virtue, so leave it there until it’s properly dried for best results. Viola.

Prevention is the best cure
Going forward, you might want to take extra measures to make sure you don’t end up in the same situation again. Yes, of course, always following the care label is wise – it will likely either say to hand wash your sweater, machine wash it on a gentle setting, use cold or lukewarm water, and never put it in a dryer. But there’s more you can do to prevent any mishaps from ruining your sweater. Invest in the right one.

At Glenmuir, all our products including our men's sweaters and ladies' sweaters are made from fabric that’s pre-washed and pre-shrunk, which limits the risks of shrinking. Our Crew Neck Raglan Sleeve Lambswool Blend Golf Sweater, for example, has been fibre-treated to stabilise yearn elasticity resisting shrinkage. Plus, elastic has been added to reinforce cuffs to maintain original shape and grip.