HomeResourcesGuidesDoes Cotton Shrink? How Much, and What Preshrunk Really Means
Does Cotton Shrink? How Much, and What Preshrunk Really Means
Yes, and the useful questions are how much, in which direction, and whether the shirt has already done it before you bought it.
For a single shirt this is a laundry problem. For anyone ordering blanks in quantity it is a sizing problem, because a run that shrinks after the first wash is a run of complaints.
How much, and in which direction
An untreated cotton jersey tee typically loses somewhere around three to five per cent on its first hot wash and dry. On a 30″ body length that is roughly an inch.
Almost all of it goes into the length rather than the width. Knitted fabric is built from loops, and the loops are pulled longest along the direction the fabric came off the machine, so that is the direction they relax back in.
This is why a shrunk tee reads as "too short and still too wide" rather than simply smaller. It is also why a print that sat comfortably above the hem can end up close to it.
What preshrunk actually promises
Preshrunk means the fabric was deliberately relaxed before the garment was cut — usually by being run wet and hot through a machine that compacts it. Most of the movement has been used up.
It is not a guarantee of zero. A preshrunk tee will still move perhaps one to two per cent in a genuinely hot wash and dryer. The claim is "most of it has happened", not "none will".
It also says nothing about the thread and the collar, which are sometimes a different fibre and can behave differently, which is what produces a wavy hem or a rippled neckline on a shirt whose body is fine.
Garment-dyed shirts have already done it
A garment-dyed shirt was soaked, agitated, heated and tumbled as a finished piece in order to take the dye. That process is a hard wash, so the shrinking has largely happened before it reached the shelf.
It is why garment-dyed styles often measure shorter in the body than a piece-dyed shirt of the same nominal size — you are looking at the post-shrink measurement rather than the pre-shrink one.
The trade-off is colour consistency between dye lots, which is a separate matter covered on the garment-dyed entry in the glossary.
How to stop it, and how to use it
Cold wash and a low tumble or a line dry is the whole answer. Heat and agitation are what move cotton; without them it stays where it is.
If a shirt is going to be washed hot regardless — kitchen staff, sports kit, anything that gets dirty properly — buy preshrunk or garment-dyed and size for the fit you want on day one.
Deliberately shrinking a shirt that is slightly too long works, in the length, once. You cannot take a size off it and you cannot make it narrower.
What it means if you are buying blanks
Check whether the spec sheet claims preshrinking rather than assuming it. Many do not, and an untreated blank is a perfectly good shirt as long as you sized for it.
Do not mix treated and untreated styles in one job where the fit has to match. They will start the same and finish different.
Tell your printer if the blanks are untreated. A garment that is going to lose an inch of length after purchase wants its print placed with that in mind.
Common questions
How much does 100% cotton shrink?
An untreated cotton tee typically loses around three to five per cent on the first hot wash and dry — roughly an inch on a 30″ body. A preshrunk one loses one to two per cent.
Does cotton shrink in length or width?
Mostly length. Knit loops are stretched longest along the direction the fabric came off the machine, so that is where they relax back. A shrunk tee usually reads as too short rather than as evenly smaller.
Does preshrunk cotton still shrink?
A little — expect one to two per cent in a genuinely hot wash. Preshrunk means most of the movement was used up at the mill, not that none is left.
How do you stop a cotton shirt from shrinking?
Wash cold and tumble low or line dry. Heat and agitation are what move cotton; take those away and it stays put.
Do garment-dyed shirts shrink?
Much less, because the dyeing process is itself a hot wet wash that has already relaxed the garment. It is also why they often measure shorter than a piece-dyed shirt of the same nominal size.
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