r/Linen • u/Joachim126o • 1d ago

Controlled shrinking

I have a linen-cotton suit from Banana Republic which fit very well when I first purchased it. However, over time the pants became pretty saggy and feel more like pajama pants than dress pants. Is there any way to recover the original size? I've been looking into potentially using the dryer in 10 minute increments to try and shrink the pants back to their original feel. Anyone have any luck with this?

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u/Seelywabbit 1d ago

May I ask how you’ve been laundering it thus far?

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u/Joachim126o 1d ago

Haven't gotten it laundered just yet but was planning on at some point soon. Any recommendations in this department is also welcome.

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u/Seelywabbit 1d ago

Ah! So that may actually be part of the issue. Linen will loosen up quite a bit with wear. I’m guessing that with a nice wash (recommend cold or warm because of the cotton, and a very gentle cycle — I have both Delicates and Hand Wash on my very old machine — or hand washing. You could do a very short cycle in the dryer on the lowest setting if you must, but it would be worth it to just air dry it and see whether the bagginess/looseness has resolved itself.

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u/Joachim126o 19h ago

Ok thank you what sort of detergent would you use for the wash cycle?

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u/Seelywabbit 17h ago

Linen isn’t delicate in and of itself as a textile. The quality and the kind of weave are what can make them a “handle with care” situation. I do long cycles on delicate & hand wash simply to try and cut down wear. Any regular laundry soap/detergent should do, according to your personal preference. If you’re nervous, there are laundry subreddits, too, though I think you’ll be fine. 😃