Perhaps you have recently lost weight and find your pants are now too big. Or maybe you found a great pair of pants on sale or at a vintage store that didn't quite fit, but made the purchase anyway? You can probably shrink your pants easily, it all depends on what the pants are made from.
If the tag on your pants says Dry Clean Only, you won't be able to shrink them without potentially harming the fabric, so you are pretty much out of luck. If the pants are made of cotton, wool or denim, the pants can be shrunk.
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How to Shrink Cotton Pants
Step 1
Put the pants in the washer. Add detergent.
Step 2
Set the wash to the hottest water setting. Put it on a regular cycle wash for about 20 minutes.You might as well throw in a couple of towels or other items you wash at hot temps to balance the load and avoid wasting water.Run through the cycle.
Step 3
Put the pants and other items into the dryer. Set the dryer to the hottest setting. But make it a relatively short cycle, no more than 30 minutes.
Step 4
Take the pants out and try them on. If they have shrunk a bit but not quite the amount you need, go through the process again.
How to Shrink Wool Pants
Step 1
Put the pants in the washer. Add detergent.
Step 2
Set the wash to a warm water setting. Put it on a regular cycle wash for about about 20 minutes. You might as well throw in other items you wash at warm temps to balance the load and avoid wasting water. Run through the cycle.
Step 3
Put the pants and other items into the dryer. Set the dryer to a medium setting. Make it a relatively short cycle, no more than 30 minutes.
Step 4
You will need to repeat this process at least one or two more times. With wool, you can't simply turn the heat up like you do with cotton, you have to shrink the clothing slowly over time.
Step 5
Take the pants out and try them on. If they have shrunk a bit but not quite the amount you need, go through the whole process again.
How to Shrink Denim
Step 1
Put on the jeans.
Step 2
Fill a tub with very hot but not burning water.
Step 3
Get into the tub with the jeans on.
Step 4
Take a nice relaxing soak for a few hours. Read a book or a few magazines, listen to the radio, watch a movie on your laptop (keeping the computer at a distance from the tub of course). Try to keep the temperature in the tub hot by draining some of the cooling water and adding new hot water.
Step 5
When you leave the tub, pat the jeans down with a towel so they no longer drip.
Step 6
Step out of the jeans slowly so as not to disturb the shape.
Step 7
Put them flat in the sun to dry.
Step 8
Take the pants out and try them on. If they have shrunk a bit but not quite the amount you need, you can try putting them through the washer and dryer. Use the instructions for the cotton pants above.