Washing Sweaters to Prevent Stretching
Read the care label. Always read the care label on the inside of your sweaters. You should find out if the sweaters can be washed at home or if they must be dry cleaned. The care label will also tell you how to wash the sweaters, although you should plan on hand washing them just to be safe. If your sweater has to be dry cleaned, don't even consider hand washing it at home. Your sweater should be professionally cleaned.
Hand wash your sweater. Squirt a little gentle laundry detergent into a large sink or bucket. Fill it with cool water and swish the water around so the soap bubbles a bit. Add one sweater at a time and soak it completely. Swish the sweater around with your hand to loosen any dirt. Let the sweater soak for 30 minutes before rinsing it out with more cool water. You can find extra delicate laundry detergents. These are designed to be gentle on your clothes and they're usually fragrance free.
Avoid wringing out your sweater. Once you rinse the clean sweater with cool water, don't twist or wring the sweater to get the excess water out. Lay the wet sweater on a clean, thick bath towel. Roll the towel up so the sweater is rolled and the extra water is pressed out. If you have a large salad spinner, you can also place the wet sweater in it to spin the extra water out.
Lay the sweater flat to dry. Take the damp sweater and lay it on another clean, dry towel. Arrange the sweater so it's flat and the arms aren't folded over onto the sweater. Leave the sweater to dry completely on the towel. While you can lay the sweater on a wooden drying rack, the sweater may develop bumps or ridges from the wooden dowels as it dries. Never hang damp sweaters from hangers to dry. This will make bumps and stretch out the shoulders.
Storing Sweaters to Prevent Stretching
Avoid hanging the sweaters. One of the easiest ways to prevent stretched sweaters is to avoid hanging them up. If you store your sweaters by hanging them in a closet, the weight of the sweater will pull it down over time. This is especially true for thick, bulky, or beaded sweaters that are heavy. Hanging sweaters on the hanger also causes peaks in the shoulder area where the hanger stretches the fabric.
Fold your sweaters. Instead of hanging the sweaters, fold or roll them and store them in a dresser. To fold a sweater, lay it on a flat surface so the front faces down. Fold each of the arms across the back of the sweater so they cross. Gather one end of the sweater and fold it over so the sleeves are contained. You can also roll your sweaters to prevent stretching. Once you've laid the sweater and folded the arms in, gather the bottom end of the sweater and roll it up to the collar.
Use extra support if you must hang the sweaters. If you don't have storage space to keep folded sweaters and you have to hang the sweaters, use proper support. Choose hangers that are thick and have lots of padding. The size of the hanger should match the size of the shoulders so the sweater doesn't slide off or stretch to fit the hanger. Consider folding the sweater and hanging it across the lower bar of the hanger. Never hang your sweaters on metal clothes hangers. These easily stretch the shoulders.
Put sweaters in long-term storage at the end of the cold season. Try not to hang your sweaters for an extended period of time, especially if you won't be wearing and caring for them. To store them for the long term, wash and dry them properly. Fold the sweaters and put them in storage clothing bags or boxes that offer good air circulation. Look for storage containers made of cotton, muslin or canvas. Avoid using vacuum-sealed bags for storing clothes. Any moisture that's sealed into the bags with the clothes can cause mildew and staining.
Maintaining Sweater Shape
Minimize the number of times you wash the sweaters. Unless you get a sweater dirty, stained, or smelly, you don't need to wash it after each time you wear it. Instead, air it out between wearings and only wash it when it truly needs it. This will prevent unnecessary wear and stretching. Be in the habit of immediately deciding if you need to wash or air a sweater once you've worn it. This will prevent clean sweaters from getting mixed with ones that need to be washed.
Consider fabrics when you purchase sweaters. Read the care labels for sweaters you're considering buying. You'll want to know whether or not you can wash and dry the sweaters and what the sweaters are made of. You might want to avoid sweaters made with acrylic materials since these can stretch easily. Look for sweaters made from cotton, cashmere, or wool. Keep in mind that these materials will also have special handling needs, so read their care labels closely.
Avoid pulling on the shirt cuffs or bottom hem. If you've developed a habit of pulling down on your sleeves or the bottom hem of your sweaters, drop the habit. Pulling on the cuffs or hem stretches the sweater which will wear it out in the long term. If you're pulling down your hem because you're worried the sweater is too short, you might want to layer a longer shirt underneath the sweater.
Reshape sweaters if you accidentally stretch them. If you've completely stretched out a sweater, you can soak the entire thing in water and put it in the dryer. Dry the sweater using high heat until it's totally dry. This should help to shrink it back down. If you only need to reshape a few stretched areas (like peaks in the shoulders), just wet the stretched areas and put the sweater in the dryer. If a sweater isn't stretched too badly, consider misting it until it's just a little moist. Then you can dry it completely to return the shape.
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