How to Shrink Cotton Pants

Shrinking with Hot Water

Boil your pants on the stove to shrink them quickly. Fill a pot with water and bring it to a boil. Once the water starts to bubble, turn the heat off. Drop your cotton pants into the pot and let them sit for anywhere between five and twenty minutes, based on how much you want to shrink them. Remove the pants with tongs and wait for them to cool. Dry them in a dryer after you’re done to shrink them even more. The longer you leave your pants in hot water, the more they’ll shrink.

Soak your cotton pants in warm water if you have more time to spare. Fill a bin or sink with warm water and soak your pants for up to six hours. This is one of the most common methods for shrinking cotton clothing because it tends to have uniform results. The entire garment has equal time to shrink, so the size of the clothing changes while the shape stays the same. Dry them on a clothes line when you’re done letting them soak. Avoid using this method on bright clothing. It may cause the colors to fade. If you don’t feel like waiting, you can soak your pants overnight.

Wash your clothes in a washing machine to shrink them over time. Laundry specialist Rani Gorgis shares, "I would suggest washing the [pants] in hot water [to shrink them]." Cotton will naturally shrink in a washing machine if it’s not made with synthetic fibers, but using hot water can accelerate this process. The heat and agitation causes cotton clothing to shrink. This is more noticeable with repeated washings. If you’re not in a rush, throw your cotton pants in with your normal laundry and they should shrink with each repeated wash. Only use this method if your pants are machine washable. While this isn’t normally an issue for cotton clothing, check the tags on your pants to ensure that they can be machine washed.

Drying Your Pants

Throw your unwashed clothes in the dryer for smaller changes. The mechanical spinning in your dryer alone is enough to shrink your cotton pants. While heat helps the process along, you can place your unwashed fabric in the dryer and turn it on the lowest setting to shrink them in smaller increments. For more shrinkage, laundry specialist Rani Gorgis suggests that you "place the [pants] in the dryer on high heat." Do not expect a radical change in the size of your pants if you use no heat. This method only works if you’re trying to make a slight alteration to the size of your cotton pants. If you don’t notice any shrinking after your first cycle, consider washing them first.

Use a cold wash and dry on low heat for more shrinking. Try washing your pants in cold water if you only want your pants to shrink a little bit but don’t see any changes after drying them with no heat. After their wash, select a lower temperature setting on your dryer. Getting the clothes wet before drying them will relax the fibers and aid in the shrinking process. Start with low heat and move up from there.

Wash and then dry on high heat to really shrink your pants. If you choose this method, laundry specialist Rani Gorgis cautions, "check the [pants] regularly before the dry is complete so they do not shrink too much." If you want them to shrink by a substantial amount, wash them with hot water first and then dry them on high heat. The heat will soften the cotton fabric and make it more flexible in the dryer. Be careful. Repeatedly drying your clothes with high heat can make your clothes more susceptible to tearing.

Ironing and Tailoring Your Pants

Iron your cotton pants with steam to control the shrinking. Spread your pants over an ironing board. Fill a steam iron with water and set it to its highest temperature. Lift your steam iron about half an inch from the pants and slowly steam them. After you’re done, make sure to let them air dry on a flat surface. This is the easiest method to control what part of the clothing you’re shrinking. When you shrink a specific part of an item of clothing, it is usually referred to as fabric manipulation.

Apply a wet sheet over your pants and iron them. Take a piece of damp fabric and lay it over the cotton pants. Using a heavy dry iron, press the iron into the two textiles where you want them to shrink. If the pants are especially stiff, you can dampen them with a sponge instead of leaving the wet fabric on top of the pants.

Take your pants to a tailor for alterations. Taking your cotton pants to a professional may be a good idea if you have specific needs. A tailor will be able to alter and modify your cotton pants to shrink them to your exact specifications. Paying a tailor to alter your clothes costs money, but shrinking your pants at home requires taking a risk with your clothes: a professional is less likely to damage them.