How do you shrink clothes?

I'm losing weight and now some of my size 12's are too big. They are new and I don't want to have to do away with them. One pair of pants is 100% cotton. The other pair is a cotton/spandex blend. Can I wash them in hot water and then dry them to shrink them? Thanks!

<font color="#0000CC" face="Lydian Csv BT" size="4">~~Shelia~~</font></p>

Sailing the Mariner in.......

<font color="#003399" face="Benguiat Bk BT">Carnival Destiny 2002</font>

I shrink my clothes by going on a cruise and eating lots and lots of stuff. Seriously, see if anyone in your area does alterations.

Kathy

Last Cruise -- Maasdam - E. Carrib - 11/03

Next Cruise -- Volendam - Eastfarer - 12/04

Shelia,

When that happened to me, I took some of my things to be altered. I only did my dresses though, not pants, and it worked out well.

Sovereign of the Seas 6/00

Fascination 6/01

Fantasy 6/03

Sovereign 6/04

Hi Sheila, you asked about washing and drying..usually 100% cotton will always shrink ( a little bit anyway)...and in my experience it is the dryer that shrinks it, rather than the washing part. Depending on what you are washing...I am one of these people who washes everything in cold water (got that from my Mom and it works for me).

But I do agree with the other gals, and try to find a good alterations place too!

Next up...HORIZON Sept 18th to Bermuda!

See My Century and Mercury Pictures at:

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I find that if I hang my clothes in the closet for 1 month, make plenty of trips to the Krispy Kreme and the Italian restaurants, my clothes shrink considerably.

But yes, in lieu of this, find a good alterations person and they will be able to make your new clothes fit your new size. Congrats!!

Sandy

Grand, 2/8/04

Star, 8/30/03

It's been my (vast) experience that the only clothes that will shrink, are the ones that you don't want to shrink. The rest you have to take to have altered! Also, if you are still losing weight, save your money until you get to your goal. I have bought clothes, had alterations, etc., and by the time I got around to wearing the item it had gotten too big again. Congrats on the weight loss!

Thanks for your advice & funny comments. I got a good laugh. Since I don't want to gain the weight back to fit into them, I will try to shrink them in the wash/dryer first. If that doesn't work, I'll give them to my grandmother to alter for me. I'm lucky enough to have my own personal seamstress.

<font color="#0000CC" face="Lydian Csv BT" size="4">~~Shelia~~</font></p>

Sailing the Mariner in.......

<font color="#003399" face="Benguiat Bk BT">Carnival Destiny 2002</font>

Sheila - When I saw your post, the first thing I thought was what Baggypants said - the only ones that don't shrink are the ones you want to.

I've had some success with washing in hot water and drying. You might not shrink them a whole size, but it's worth a shot!

lszu

Sovereign 7/99

Monarch 7/00

Vision 9/01

Voyager 9/02

Adventure 9/03

Iszu, I'm going to try to shrink them tonight. I'll let y'all know the results.

<font color="#0000CC" face="Lydian Csv BT" size="4">~~Shelia~~</font></p>

Sailing the Mariner in.......

<font color="#003399" face="Benguiat Bk BT">Carnival Destiny 2002</font>

One thing you should keep in mind while attempting to shrink those slacks....they may also shrink in length, so if they aren't long enough to take some shrinkage in that area, opt for the alternation. Good Luck!

I agree about the length. I always have a hard time getting my pants/sleeves to STAY the proper length after repeated washings - so do make sure you have plently of length. If it were me - I'd go with the alterations. Which I actually will be doing shortly - I have the same problem! (Not that I'm complaining mind you. )

Adventure of the Seas will be our maiden cruise!

I did it! I shrank my pants last night. The length of both of them actually needed shrinking cause I have short legs. The 100% cotton pants shrank fine and are now fitting perfect. The cotton/spandex pants are now kind of tight! That's ok cause I plan on losing at least 5 lbs before we sail. I hope, I hope.

<font color="#0000CC" face="Lydian Csv BT" size="4">~~Shelia~~</font></p>

Sailing the Mariner in.......

<font color="#003399" face="Benguiat Bk BT">Carnival Destiny 2002</font>

Great! Glad it worked. Did you stand there and think "don't shrink, don't shrink" just for good luck? Ha ha ha.

lszu

Sovereign 7/99

Monarch 7/00

Vision 9/01

Voyager 9/02

Adventure 9/03

No, I didn't. I was worried about those cotton/spandex pants though. You know how spandex loves to shrink. At least they aren't too big now.

<font color="#0000CC" face="Lydian Csv BT" size="4">~~Shelia~~</font></p>

Sailing the Mariner in.......

<font color="#003399" face="Benguiat Bk BT">Carnival Destiny 2002</font>

How do you shrink clothes? Just put them in my laundry basket and when hubby surprises me and 'does the laundry' they will definitely get shrunk. LOL

Mariposa

LOL Mariposa! That is exactly why my DH isn't allowed to even touch the laundry. Although I do believe that they do it on purpose just so you won't let them touch the laundry.

<MARQUEE>Shelia </MARQUEE>

Sailing the Mariner in.......

<font color="#003399" face="Benguiat Bk BT">Carnival Destiny 2002</font>