How to Enlarge a Cotton Hoodie

Shrunken garments are one of the biggest aggravations of laundry duty. And unfortunately, when it comes to garments like cotton hoodies, there are no guarantees that they can be returned to their original state. But if you want to try, or if you want to attempt to stretch a non-shrunken cotton hoodie to a larger size, this is the most reliable method.

Things You'll Need

• Cotton hoodie
• Adjustable dress form with head
• Water

Instructions

1. Find an adjustable dress form that meets your needs. You should use a female dress form for women's hoodies and a male dress form, sometimes called an adjustable mannequin, for men's hoodies. The dress form must expand to the size you want to stretch the hoodie to. It must also have a head, which not all dress forms or mannequins have.

2. Adjust the spacers on the dress form or mannequin until it is the approximate size you want to stretch the hoodie to.

3. Try to put the hoodie on the dress form or mannequin. If it will not fit at all, you will need to try to stretch it to a slightly smaller size first, and then re-stretch it to your desired size later.

4. Take the hoodie off the mannequin and soak it in warm water.

5. Gently wring out most of the excess water, but not all of it.

6. Put the hoodie on the dress form or mannequin. Make sure to pull the hood up over the head. Wait for it to completely dry.

7. Take the hoodie off the dress form or mannequin and hang it on a clothes hanger. Wait for about 24 hours before reinspecting the hoodie to see how well it stretched.

Tips & Warnings

• If you cannot find an adjustable dress form or mannequin, you can always try to put the hoodie on wet and wait for it to dry. This will take quite a while, though and won't be very comfortable.

• This may stretch the hoodie out of proportion. It is very difficult to effectively stretch cotton clothes without distorting them, so do not attempt this on sentimentally valuable pieces.