How do i shrink 100% cotton shirts?

You can't. And why are you doin' strange stuff like that?

Wash them in hot water, and dry them in the dryer.

and just buy shirts in a smaller size next time.

take happycats advice.

In fact, if you've already washed them, I would bring a large pot of water to a boil....

then, turn off the heat and put in the shirts.
Let them soak until the water cools, then dry them in the drier.

If these are black or dark color t-shirts, add a couple of cups of white vinegar to the pot, it will keep the dark colors from fading.

what makes you think this is strange dorothy?

people need to shrink cotton all the time.

There's a particular brand of pants I like that I've learned I have to get in the next size up, and I take them home and do what I suggested above, and they fit well right from the start.

If I bought the size that fits originally, after maybe 5 or 6 washing they will be too small and too short.

instead of shrinking the shirts , why not put on a few extra pounds ?
won't that take care of it more easily ?
hbg

Well I already managed to shrink them but it needs to be shrunk further. Is it okay to just put them in the drier without them being wet? I've tried washing them too its not working.

Chai, how does your method work? what about it makes the clothes shrink?

the shirts are too long so i need to shrink them and putting on weight is out of the question!

Too right, Chai. I can't seem to find socks around here that are big enough to fit after washing. Now, I take them out of the dryer slightly damp, and stretch them over coke bottles to stretch them back to size.

Crayon, cotton and wool are both artifically stretched bufore being spun into yarn. Get them both wet, the hotter the better, and they revert to their original uncombed length. Synthetics are looking better all the time, and the really wick away water, and dry faster than cotton or wool.

so the shirts have to be wet before putting them into the dryer? wet and hot?

crayon....go get a pot of water and do as I say. hot water, hot air shrinks things.

it's not rocket science.

Put them through a shredder and then a 1,000 ton press and you could probably get them down to the size of a pea. Maybe less. I'm not an expert.

I heard that in black holes where gravity is infinite you can shrink them to nothing.

You can always eat more and grow into them.

Let that be your general rule of thumb - everything works better if it's wet and hot.

Why not hem them?

That's a good idea. I rather like hems.

There are only two types of shrinkage, relaxation shrinkage and felting.
Felting is only applicable to animal based fibers, Wool, silk cashmere etc. Felting results from the minute scales on each fibre sliding past the scales on another fibre and not being able to slide back again.

Relaxation shrinkage is a response to the stretching effect of carding, combing, spinning and weaving.

Cotton will not "felt" and will not relax more than its original pre-tensioned length.

Many fabrics have a finish applied that (amongst other things like making them look and feel good) holds the fibres in place.

Wash in hot water to remove the finish, tumble dry to relax the fibres. It may take several washes and several dries to complete the process of relaxation.
Time temperature and mechanical action are the key ingredients in shrinkage

Keep in mind that not everything shrinks when hot, happycat. Some things shrink when cold.

I'm just afraid i might ruin them by boiling them since that's really high heat.

Wash in hot then dry in hot like you would anything else. After the second wash it won't shrink any more. The only draw back is that it wiil fade.

Not if you soak them in vinegar.

Give dark colors a good soak in vinegar when they are new and they won't fade as much.

Sometimes clothes do continue to shrink....I've got a shirt that I just wear when cleaning the house. When I bought it a couple of years ago it was much longer. I'd washed it quite a few times and nothing drastic happened. Then all of a sudden it seemed, the length shrunk at least 2 or 3 inches.

crayon....putting your t-shirts in hot hot water to soak once until it cools down is not going to damage it.