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Can you Shrink Nylon? (Answered)

Nylon is a material that you can find in most of your clothes, especially for your outdoor activity wear or use. It also gives the wearer a feeling of smoothness and free movement from its elasticity while also maintaining it at the same time. All the good qualities about this material come straight to an end when the article of your choice does not fit you properly. Thus, the question arises, can you shrink nylon?

Key Takeaways

  • It is important to check the tag of the article before choosing to shrink it!
  • Pure nylon has more melting qualities.
  • Nylon mixed with other materials such as spandex or polyester can be shrunk!
  • When using the washing and drying method to shrink make sure to pay attention to the settings of the machine.
  • While steam ironing to shrink only hover upon the garment, do not press!
  • Exposure to high heat may cause deformities to nylon products.

Can you shrink nylon?

Well, the answer depends on the type of nylon fabric itself. Sadly said 100% nylon fabrics do not shrink. Pure nylon has a better chance of being hemmed than shrunken. Trying to shrink 100% unblended nylon clothing leads to their melting. But this bad news is only for unrefined nylon. Nylon blends are fully shrinkable! A lucky benefit of the widely used nylon fibers.

So, how do you shrink nylon blends?

After the important task of checking the clothing label and making sure that the nylon fabric is blended with at least 5% of any other fiber two routes can be taken. The drying route of shrinkage and the steam ironing route.

To start the nylon shrink process by use of the drying machine you need to first wash it thoroughly in the washer at the highest temperature possible and in the longest cycle achievable to the machine. In case a washing machine is not at your disposal you can soak the garment in boiling water for approximately half an hour and the same result will be attained.

It is good to note that it is advised to add half a cup of ammonia to keep the coloring of the nylon product as true to itself as possible. However, nylon shrink is still reachable without it.

The high temperature of water affects the threads of the nylon blends by compressing the elasticity and as a result, shrinkage is possible. The molecules of the fibers that make this versatile material rearrange under this new heat exposure.

What comes next is the shrink in the dryer. The article should be dried at medium heat. Attention should be paid to the temperature; it has to be medium temperature and at no cost a high heat due to the possibility of melting the garment. The drying should last 15 minutes in total, not more.

Finally, after these steps, you can check to see if the size of the clothing is to your personal desire. If not all that should be done is repeat the previously mentioned steps until you are satisfied with the article of clothing at hand. Throughout the life of the garment, it should be washed in cold water to avoid undesirable shrinking.

There is one more way to shrink desired apparel and not waste the attire altogether, no washing or drying is needed for this also! A relief to most.

How can you shrink nylon blend without a washer or dryer?

Steam ironing. Shrinking to nylon fabric blend attire can be gained through the steam of an iron. The iron that is being used should be filled with cold water this is done so that the steam transmitted through the iron is not at a high temperature. This reduces the risk of melting the fabric.

While steaming the garment you should be extremely cautious with the iron making sure that it does not press the nylon blend fabric. Essentially what you are doing is hovering on top of the fabric with the steam to gradually try and shrink the fibers that it is made of.

Generally speaking, nylon is a manmade material, and trying to alter its form may reduce its quality especially if the clothing attire you desire to shrink is pure nylon. Despite this when the topic shifts to nylon blend the two methods mentioned previously mentioned show the top results for an intentional shrinking of your fabric.

Speaking of intentionally shrinking nylon fabric blend products you may wonder if it can accidentally shrink and alter its form.

Is it possible for nylon fabric to shrink unwillingly?

Nylon is known for its excellent wear and tear life longevity. Specifically, the pure blend. It is the reason for its major use in active wear. Its long-lasting unique quality. But yes, your favorite nylon leggings may be prone to unwanted distortion.

If you somehow wash, dry, or expose your nylon to high heat temperatures it will deform from its original construct. This distortion is more a change in length and width rather than shrinkage. Particularly this happens to pure nylon while the blended form does not warp in a drastic way it might shrink. All in all, attention should be given to nylon, no matter if it is a blend or not.

Considering all this information one may ask themselves what is the point of buying nylon? Is it even worth the detail-oriented life span?

What are nylon’s positive aspects?

The advantages of nylon threaded products are luckily plenty. After all, a reason exists for its multiple uses. From casual wear rain jackets to ladies’ stockings, nylon possesses attributes of extreme elasticity, durability, and a feeling of lightweight smoothness. It is also known for being water resistant, not stretching as a fabric throughout wear, and quick to dry.

You can easily say that nylon is the most ideal fabric created in the industry for its intended purpose.

The only unavoidable drawback might be the sensitivity that the color of the nylon product itself has against UV rays. Exposure to them can sometimes lead to color fading. Although it might happen it is quite a rare case since most companies make sure to produce nylon clothing that will not put the buyer through much hassle.

Final Words

In the end, if all these procedures seem too tedious to go through to achieve shrinkage of your nylon clothes you can always consider having them professionally dealt with by a seamstress. Presuming that a seamstress still does not do the trick think about donating so the garment can find better use someplace else.

Further Reading

You can read more on our websites, such as an intriguing blog post on the distinctions between low-shank and high-shank sewing machines.

Can a tailor enlarge a dress, and can silk be ironed?