Shrinkage is a phenomenon in which the length or width of textiles undergoes washing, dehydration, and drying in a certain state. Therefore, when buying clothing, in addition to selecting the quality, color and pattern of the fabric, you should also know the shrinkage rate of the shrink fabric.
Shrinkage rate of general fabric
Different fibers and fabrics have different degrees of shrinkage. Mainly depends on the characteristics of its fibers-hydrophilic fibers, such as cotton, hemp, viscose and other fibers, have a greater degree of shrinkage; while hydrophobic fibers have less shrinkage, such as synthetic fibers.
- Cotton: 4%~10%
- Chemical fiber: 4%~8%
- Cotton polyester: 3.5%~5 5%
- Natural white cloth: 3%
- Poplin: 3~4.5%
- Twill: 4%
- Labor cloth: 10%
- Artificial cotton: 10% a shrink fabric
What Causes Clothes to Shrink?
- The cause of shrinkage may vary depending on the type of fabric. Generally speaking, the more cotton in the clothes, the more likely it is to shrink.
- The degree of its shrinkage depends on many factors.
- The first is its time in hot water. If it is placed in the washing or drying machine for a few minutes, it will not shrink at all. After washing for ten minutes, it will shrink by about 1% overall. If it is washed for 10 minutes and then in the dryer for 10 minutes, you will see a 2% shrinkage overall.
- Another factor of shrinkage is the temperature of the water. The hotter the water, the more likely the fabric will shrink. The reason is that using hot water, fibers and dyes will be washed away more quickly, thereby reducing the elasticity of the fabric.
- Fabrics that have less elasticity are more likely to shrink. Look at it this way – you have a rubber band. If you bend it and put it in the freezer, it’s not going to stay bent, is it? In the same way, if a fabric has high elasticity, like Lycra or Spandex, you don’t have to worry about it as much. So when you’re shopping, pay attention to the amount of cotton in a garment. If it’s not at least 70% cotton, it’s a good bet that it won’t shrink in the wash.
Generally speaking, different fabric materials have different shrinkage rates. Generally speaking, for fibers with high moisture absorption, after being immersed in water, the fibers expand, their diameter increases, their length decreases, and the shrinkage rate is large. If some viscose fiber has a water absorption rate as high as 13%, while the synthetic fiber fabric has poor hygroscopicity, its shrinkage rate is small. If you want to know more or need Shrink Fabric, please don't hesitate to contact us at any time.
