There’s nothing worse than finding an awesome T-Shirt only to discover it’s three sizes too big.  Although you can consider gaining 200 pounds to fit into it, (Marlon Brando did it, why can’t you?)  it’s a bit counter productive as then you’ll have 15 T-Shirts too small that you already own.  So, the better option is to shrink the T-Shirt to fit your size.  If it’s 100% cotton it’s as easy as a few simple steps. OR IS IT?

I did some research and found a few sources online that recommend placing the shirt in boiling hot water, letting it sit for 5 minutes, wringing it out, and voila: your shirt one size smaller. Well, I did this at home. I boiled a shirt, not for 5 minutes, but for 3 hours. The result: no change in size. That’s because, these days, most shirts come pre-shrunk. If you do want to shrink down a shirt, it’s going to be a lot harder than you think, especially if it’s cotton. 

Most cotton shirts, not pre-shrunk, will only shrink about 20% from its original size. The best way to shrink a shirt, is the old fashioned way, to wash it incorrectly.

How To Shrink a T-shirt

Step 1: Wash the shirt in the washing machine on HOT/HOT

Step 2: Dry the shirt on HIGH HEAT in the dryer.

If that doesn’t shrink the shirt, I doubt boiling it will. However, if you’d like to try it anyway, here’s my steps to shrinking your shirt at home:

First, take your insanely large shirt and use it for several other uses: make a kite out of it,  try pitching a tent with it, and even use it as trampoline. Why? No reason, just seems like it would be a lot of fun.

Second, shrink your shirt! You’ll need the following items:

-Your Giant Shirt

-A Big Pot (not that kind of pot, you stoner, the kind you boil water in!)

-Boiling Water

Step 1: Prepare the pot of boiling water.

Step 2: Place the T-Shirt in the boiling water and turn off the heat.

Step 3: Let the shirt sit for about 5 minutes.  A little longer if the shirt is really big. (Good rule of thumb, if you were actually able to use the T-Shirt as a trampoline, give it a little more time).

Step 4: Remove the shirt from the water and let it cool before grabbing it with your hands.

Step 5: Wring the shirt out to see how much it shrank.  Repeat the process until the shirt is exactly the fit you need.

Easy as that! OR IS IT? Again, I may have been a complete failure and not boiled my shirt correctly, but I doubt there’s much room for error. Try it out though, if it works, please let us know!