How to Wash Jumpers Without Shrinking Them

Knowing how to wash jumpers without shrinking them saves more favourite knits than any amount of careful wearing. The rules are simple: cool water, very little movement, no wringing and no heat when drying. Here is the full routine, plus what to try if one has already come out child-sized.

Why jumpers shrink in the first place

Shrinking isn't bad luck. It has a cause, and once you know it, you can avoid it every time.

With wool and other animal fibres, the culprit is felting. Each fibre is covered in tiny overlapping scales, a bit like roof tiles. Add warmth, water and movement together, and those scales open, catch on each other and lock tight. The knit pulls in, thickens and goes stiff. Once it has felted properly, it doesn't fully undo.

Cotton shrinks for a different reason: the fibres relax and tighten under heat, especially in a hot wash or a tumble dryer. Many synthetic knits barely shrink at all, but heat can make them lose their bounce, go limp or stretch out of shape.

So the three things to manage are heat, agitation and sudden temperature changes. Keep all three gentle and your knitwear stays the size you bought it. That matters whether it's a cable knit crew neck jumper you wear every weekend, a waffle knit cowl neck jumper for chilly evenings or a cable knit high neck jumper with rolled edges you save for best. Our jumpers come in all sorts of knits, and the care label on each one tells you exactly what it can take.

Jumpers to start with

A few pieces that fit what you have just read.

Cable Knit Crew Neck Jumper, Classic FitWaffle Knit Cowl Neck JumperCable Knit High Neck Jumper with Rolled Edges

Explore all jumpers

Read the care label first

It sounds obvious, but the label is the only reliable guide to what a particular jumper is made of and how it was finished. Two knits that feel identical can need completely different care. Before washing anything new, take thirty seconds to check.

The most common symbols, which follow widely used international conventions:

If the label says hand wash, it means it. If it has been cut off or faded, play safe and hand wash in cool water. You can't unshrink a jumper by being optimistic.

Know your fibres: wool, cotton and synthetics

A quick guide to how the main fibres behave in water. For the longer version, our guide to natural and synthetic fibres goes into each one.

Wool and other animal fibres

Soft, warm and the most likely to shrink. Wool, alpaca, mohair and similar fibres all felt with heat and rubbing. They also hold a lot of water, so they become heavy and fragile when wet. Hand wash or use a dedicated wool cycle if the label allows, with a detergent made for wool.

Cotton

Sturdier, but prone to shrinking in hot water and in the dryer, and to stretching when hung wet. A cool, gentle machine wash usually suits cotton knits well; check the label.

Acrylic, polyester and other synthetics

Easy to care for and unlikely to shrink much, but heat can flatten them or leave them looking tired, and they are prone to bobbling. Wash cool, inside out, on a gentle cycle. Our guide to removing bobbles from jumpers helps once they appear.

Blends

Most knitwear today is a blend. Care for a blend as you would for its most delicate fibre. If there is any wool in it, handle it gently.

How to wash jumpers without shrinking: hand washing step by step

Hand washing is the gentlest option and takes about ten minutes of actual effort. Here is the routine:

1. Fill a clean basin or sink with cool to lukewarm water. Roughly 30°C or below; it should feel neither warm nor cold on your wrist.
2. Add a small amount of wool or delicates detergent and swish it to dissolve before the jumper goes in.
3. Turn the jumper inside out and lower it into the water. Press it down gently until it is soaked through.
4. Leave it to soak for ten to fifteen minutes. No rubbing, no scrubbing. If there is a mark on a cuff or collar, squeeze the suds through that area softly with your fingers.
5. Drain the water and press the jumper against the side of the basin to squeeze out the suds. Don't lift it out by the shoulders; the weight of the water will stretch it.
6. Rinse in fresh water at the same temperature. This is the step people skip. A sudden change from warm to cold water can shock wool fibres and encourage felting. Repeat until no suds remain.
7. Squeeze, never wring. Gather the jumper into a ball and press the water out gently.

That's it. The secret is how little you do.

Marks on cuffs, collars and necklines

Make-up on a roll neck, a splash of tea on a cuff: these are the marks that make us wash more often than we need to. Deal with them before the main wash. Dab a tiny amount of wool detergent onto the mark with a fingertip, leave it for a few minutes, then press it gently between your fingers under cool water. On a pale knit, or one with a collar detail such as a bow collar ribbed knit jumper, test on an inside seam first. Avoid stain removers that aren't made for delicate fabrics, and never use bleach on wool.

Washing jumpers in the machine without shrinking them

Plenty of jumpers are fine in the machine, as long as the label agrees and you set it up carefully. Most modern machines have a wool or hand-wash programme designed to keep movement to a minimum.

• Choose the wool, hand-wash or delicates cycle.
• Set the temperature to cold or 30°C, or whatever the label says, whichever is lower.
• Reduce the spin speed. A low spin is enough to take out excess water without crushing the knit.
• Turn the jumper inside out and put it in a mesh laundry bag.
• Wash it with similar items only. Heavy jeans and towels rub against knitwear and make it bobble.
• Use a small amount of wool or delicates detergent, not your everyday powder.
• Take it out as soon as the cycle finishes. Leaving it crumpled and damp in the drum creases it and can leave it smelling musty.

If you're unsure whether your machine's wool cycle is gentle enough, try it first with a jumper you're less attached to.

How to dry a jumper so it keeps its shape

Drying matters as much as washing. A jumper can survive a perfect wash and then shrink or stretch on the way to dry.

1. Roll it in a towel. Lay a clean, dry towel flat, place the jumper on it, roll them up together like a swiss roll and press down gently. The towel soaks up most of the water.
2. Unroll and lay flat on a fresh dry towel or a flat mesh drying rack.
3. Reshape it while damp. Pat the shoulders square, straighten the sleeves, ease the body back to its normal width and length. If you want to be precise, measure it before washing and match those measurements now.
4. Leave it to dry naturally at room temperature, away from radiators, heaters and direct sun.
5. Turn it over after a few hours so both sides dry evenly.

Never hang a wet jumper on a hanger or over a line. The weight of the water pulls the shoulders into points and stretches the body. And no tumble dryer, unless the label specifically allows it.

How often should you wash a jumper?

Less often than you think. Wool in particular is naturally good at shrugging off smells, and every wash, however gentle, wears it a little. Unless it is visibly marked or has been worn somewhere smoky or sweaty, a jumper usually only needs washing every few wears.

Between washes:

• Air it overnight on a chair back or laid over a drying rack, ideally near an open window.
• Brush off surface dust and fluff with a soft clothes brush.
• Spot clean small marks with a damp cloth and a tiny drop of wool detergent, then blot dry.
• Wear a thin top underneath. It keeps the jumper fresher for longer and is a comfortable way to layer.

Layering is also handy when the heating is on full in one room and off in the next. Our guide on how to layer for British weather covers the art of it.

Can you rescue a shrunk jumper?

Sometimes, a little. If the jumper has shrunk only slightly and the knit still feels fairly soft, there is a home method that often gives back some of the size. It won't work on a jumper that has properly felted, the kind that has gone thick and stiff, and results vary.

1. Fill a basin with lukewarm water and stir in a generous squeeze of hair conditioner, about a tablespoon per litre.
2. Soak the jumper for around thirty minutes. The conditioner helps the fibres relax.
3. Without rinsing, press out the water gently and roll the jumper in a towel.
4. Lay it flat on a dry towel and gently ease it outwards, a little at a time, working on the length and the width.
5. Hold it in shape while it dries; some people pin it to a towel, or weigh the edges down with something heavy and clean.
6. Check it as it dries and stretch again if needed.

If it doesn't come back, all is not lost. A felted jumper makes a cosy hot water bottle cover, cushion front or pair of mittens. And next time, you'll know.

Storing knitwear between wears

How you keep a jumper matters too. Fold it rather than hanging it: hangers stretch the shoulders and leave little bumps that don't come out. Fold it in half lengthways, tuck the sleeves behind, then fold once more and lay it on a shelf or in a drawer. Heavy jumpers go at the bottom of the pile.

Knitted accessories need the same care. A knitted scarf shrug with sleeves or a woolly hat can be hand washed exactly like a jumper, then dried flat and stored folded. Browse our accessories for the finishing touches to a winter outfit.

Make sure everything is clean before it goes away for the season. Moths are drawn to body oils and food marks on animal fibres, not to clean wool. A breathable cotton bag, a cedar block and a cool, dry cupboard keep them at bay. Our guide on how to store winter clothes has the full end-of-season routine.

Other knits: open fronts, zip-ups and knitted dresses

Cardigans follow exactly the same rules as jumpers, with one extra step: do up the buttons before washing, so the front keeps its line and the buttonholes don't stretch. A V-neck cable knit cardigan with a button front or a soft knit stand collar button cardigan will thank you for it. Dry them flat and reshape the front edges so they meet neatly. Browse our cardigans for easy layers that work over almost anything.

Knitted hoodies are usually more robust, but the hood and pockets add weight when wet, so support the whole thing when you lift it out of the water. Zip them closed before washing to stop the teeth catching on the knit.

Knitted dresses are the trickiest of all, simply because there is so much fabric to hold water. Hand wash or use the gentlest cycle, and dry flat across two towels if needed. Never hang one up wet; it will be several centimetres longer by morning, and not in a good way.

For more on building a wardrobe of knits that you actually wear, our guide to the capsule wardrobe is a good next read. And if you're in the market for a fine everyday layer, a crew neck button cardigan in a fine knit is exactly the sort of everyday layer this routine was made for.

Next, from our cardigans

Something from a neighbouring rail, for the same moment.

V-Neck Cable Knit Cardigan with Button FrontSoft Knit Stand Collar Button CardiganCrew Neck Button Cardigan in a Fine Knit

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