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How To Stretch Out a Shirt For a Perfect Fit

By ShirtSpace | Feb 09, 2024 | Updated Feb 13, 2024

Ever find yourself feeling like your t-shirt is just a tad bit too small? Whether you purchased the incorrect size, experienced unwanted shrinkage, or experienced body changes, we have some tips and tricks to help you turn that almost-fitting shirt into a perfect-fitting one! Read on to learn how to stretch out a shirt that’s too small.

Hero image credit: sorsillo from Getty Images

How To Stretch Out a Shirt

There are multiple techniques for how to make a shirt bigger, so choose the one that is best for you based on the piece of clothing and how much you want to stretch it. If you find that the first method you attempt does not work with stretching out a shirt enough, move on to another method and see if that does the trick.

Tips and Techniques on How to Stretch a Shirt

There are many methods you can use when learning how to resize a shirt, but we find these to be the most effective. These methods work well on any type of garment, but be sure to review our sections about cotton, polyester, and other fabrics to find the right method for your piece of clothing.

Steam & Moisture

A hand held clothes steamer, used to steam wrinkles out of clothing, such as t-shirts.
Image credit: MurzikNata from Getty Images

Heat and moisture are your friends here! Try hanging your shirt in a closed-off bathroom with the hot shower running. Or use a hand-held steamer to get the shirt nice and damp. Then, put the slightly wet shirt on and get a bit active. Do some jumping jacks or wide stretches with your arms to loosen it up. You can also pull down on the bottom hem to stretch the shirt in length.

Freeze & Stretch

This is the most surprising trick, but it works! Put your shirt inside a gallon-sized plastic ziplock bag, and then place that bag inside the freezer for an extended period of time – overnight works great! After you remove the shirt from the freezer and the plastic bag, gently stretch the shirt. The cold causes the fibers to reduce size, making them easier to stretch.

Use a Stretching Frame

This method will require you to invest in a stretching frame, if you do not already have one. These are often used to stretch out canvas used for paintings, but they work for clothes too! Feed the frame inside a damp shirt, and stretch to your desired size. Then let the shirt dry on the stretching frame to retain the size.

Wet Towel Method

This method is simple, since it only requires a towel, water and your shirt. Lay your dry shirt out on a flat surface. Wet your towel with warm water, and wring out any excess water. Lay the towel out on top of the shirt and gently push on the layers of fabric to stretch it.

How to Stretch a Cotton Shirt

Cotton is a material that is highly prone to shrinkage, so this is often a material that people find themselves wanting to “unshrink.” A unique property of cotton material is that it is overall stronger when wet than when dry. But ironically, the fibers weaken when wet. This feature can also help you achieve the stretch you are aiming for. More than anything, cotton tends to “shrink up”, meaning that many will specifically be looking for tips on how to make a cotton shirt longer. If your shirt fits well for the most part, but is too short, pull only from the bottom to make the shirt longer.

Soaking in Hot Water

In a tub or bucket of hot water, immerse the cotton shirt and soak for half an hour. After the time has elapsed, extract your soaked shirt and carefully stretch the fabric, pulling from the edges. Try to evenly stretch the garment, and avoid over-stretching.

Ironing

A steaming hand held iron used to get wrinkles out of clothes, such as t-shirts.
Image credit: johnnyscriv from Getting Images

A method that is especially effective on cotton blends, this is done by laying the shirt out flat, and placing a damp towel or cloth on top. The heat and steam will loosen up the fibers, and allow for you to stretch gently while ironing the shirt.

Ways to Stretch a Polyester Shirt

Luckily, polyester does not shrink much, so you will likely only need to stretch it if you ordered the wrong size, or outgrew your polyester tee. Stretching polyester will require different steps than a cotton shirt would require, since when lightly stretched, it will return to its original form. Follow these steps to stretch out a polyester shirt:

Apply Hair Conditioner

Five hair conditioner bottles without labels.
Image credit: Daniel Mazilu's Images

Fill a spray bottle with water, and add a small amount of hair conditioner. The amount depends on the bottle, but use your best judgment – you can always add more! Either hang the shirt up, or lay it flat on a table, and spray the shirt to dampen it well, but not soak it. The conditioner will relax the fibers and allow you to stretch the shirt gently. It might take a little more work than cotton, since some polyester shirts are fairly stretchy. Just be careful not to overstretch and ruin the flexible quality.

Heat Application

Turn a hair dryer on to a low setting and blow the warm air fairly close to the material. Since polyester is more heat sensitive than cotton, be very careful with high heat settings and don’t put the end of the hair dryer directly on the fabric. This is why it’s best to start with a warm setting and work your way up if need be. As the polyester heats up, you should be able to stretch it lightly.

Three angles of a man posing and stretching out a white t-shirt that he is wearing.
Image credit: Icon8

Special Considerations for Different Shirt Materials

So, what exactly do you do for other t-shirts made from alternative materials like modal, rayon, spandex and viscose? We’ve got the answers!

Modal & Viscose – Both of these materials are derived from natural fibers. Modal tees, and viscose as well, have some stretch to them, but with a limit, so be careful to gentle stretch. Also, avoid extended periods of soaking or moisture exposure.
Rayon – Due to the delicacy of rayon, it’s important to handle it with care. Use the “Steam and Moisture” method, and limit tugging on the fabric too much, if at all.
Spandex – Stretchy as can be, it can be hard to make spandex permanently stretch, without damaging it, since it usually stretches back. On the other hand, if you stretch too much, you will permanently lose the elasticity that makes spandex so unique.

Maintaining the Quality and Shape Post-Stretching

Now that you know how to stretch out a tight shirt to achieve your desired fit, it is important to take the proper steps to maintain the changes you made to your shirt. Maintain the quality and shape of your t-shirt by:

Air Dry – machine drying is notorious for shrinking garments, so we recommend air drying if you have the space and time.
Storage – Fold your shirts, if possible, since hanging can cause uneven stretching in the wrong places, impacting the fit.
Do Not Overstretch – It can be easy to stretch a shirt too much if you are aggressive with it. Remember that you can always stretch more, but it's difficult to go back once it’s stretched too much. The overly stretched fabric might even be damaged, depleting its lifespan.
Follow Laundry Care Symbols – to preserve the life of your shirt, it’s best to follow the laundry information that is included on many clothing labels.

A woman slightly stretching out a white t-shirt as she shows it off in a manufacturing facility.
Image Credit: FabrikaPhoto

Stretching Tees, Not the Truth

Have we forgotten any useful techniques for how to stretch out a shirt? Or did some methods in this article work better for you than others? If you have some tips and tricks, or useful insights, be sure to share them with us in the comments below!

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