How much does cotton yarn shrink?

Generally, cotton yarn will always shrink a little in the wash. It will most often appear on the label how much shrinkage you can expect for the given yarn and how to care for your finished products to avoid as much shrinkage as possible.

The vast majority of cotton yarns can be washed in the washing machine at 40 degrees and are expected to shrink by about 5% if you follow the washing instructions on the label. The benefit of using cotton over wool is that you can most often save your garments, should you happen to wash them incorrectly. That is not an option with wool.

If you wash wool at temperatures that are too high, it will start felting as the many small, fine hairs are tangled up together and your garment will therefore shrink. The cotton yarn consists of a completely different type of fibre that cannot be felted, which means that the risk of shrinkage is only at a maximum of 5%.

Should you happen to be unlucky and your garment loses its shape, you can wash it again immediately according to the washing instructions. Afterwards, you can stretch it to its original shape and leave it to dry, and it will quickly regain its original form.

DMC Petra no. 3

100% Cotton

Lana Grossa Elastico

96% Cotton, 4% Polyester

Mercerized Cotton Yarn