How to Shrink an Unsized Baseball Cap

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Content

Steps
Method 1 of 3: Shrinking a Cotton Baseball Cap by Soaking in Hot Water
Method 2 of 3: Hot-shower shrinking a cotton baseball cap
Method 3 of 3: Machine wash your polyester baseball cap to shrink
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

Baseball caps come in two types: adjustable and non-adjustable. In adjustable baseball caps, the size is adjusted by the fastener, so such a hat can be easily adjusted to the required head circumference. But when it comes to the classic baseball cap with an adjustable size, it takes a little more effort to fit the headgear to the correct size. Due to the nature of the materials from which baseball caps are usually made, you can achieve a shrinkage of a hat by exposing it to hot water and then drying it.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Shrinking a Cotton Baseball Cap by Soaking in Hot Water

1 Heat a large pot of water on the stove. Take a deep cooking pot and fill it with water. The pot should be large enough to easily fit the baseball cap that you are going to shrink. Place the pot on the stove, set the burner to medium heat and let the water heat up.
- You may be able to do the same in the sink with hot tap water, but using a pot will give you better control over the temperature of the water.
2 Bring the water to the correct temperature. Heat the water to the point where it starts to steam a little. The water must be hot enough to shrink the baseball cap, but not to the point where the boiling water can burn you or damage the baseball cap materials.
- Do not bring the water to a boil. In addition to the risk of burns, boiling water can deform the visor of the baseball cap, so that it loses its proper appearance.
3 Submerge the cap completely in hot water. Place the baseball cap in a pot of hot water. Press it down to the bottom so that it is sufficiently saturated with water and stops floating. You can probably just soak a baseball cap with your hands, but you can also use kitchen tongs if you like.
- If you do not plan to continue restoring the shape of the baseball cap visor, you can not soak it, but immerse it in water only with the crown of the baseball cap.
4 Leave the baseball cap in the water for a few minutes. It will take several minutes for the main effect of hot water to begin to manifest itself. The heat will cause the cotton threads to shrink and tighten, causing the fabric to shrink and, as a result, the size of the baseball cap will shrink.
- Soak the baseball cap until the fabric on the crown begins to "bulge" a little. This is a sign that the cotton threads have already shrunk enough and you can already proceed to the stage of giving the headdress the required shape.
5 Slip a wet baseball cap over your head and walk around in it until it dries. Gently remove the baseball cap from the hot water and shake it off to remove excess moisture. When the baseball cap is cool, put it on your head and wait until the hat is completely dry. The damp fabric of a baseball cap will be very pliable, so this approach to drying your hat will give it the precise shape of your head.
- The baseball cap will probably dry on your head all day.So for best results, shrink your headgear early in the morning, then put it on your head and just go about your business.
- Hang the baseball cap by the visor at night so that it is completely dry, does not deform or stretch.

Method 2 of 3: Hot-shower shrinking a cotton baseball cap

1 Turn on a hot shower. Turn on hot water in the shower and wait until it reaches a comfortably hot temperature. Again, the water should not be very hot, as it will come into direct contact with the baseball cap materials and may deform the hat if the water temperature is too high or if it is exposed to the baseball cap for too long.
- Showering with a headdress or footwear that needs to be carried is a long-standing gimmick for amazing results.
2 Put on a baseball cap, which should shrink over your head. Put on the baseball cap that you are going to adjust the size of. Position the hat exactly as you most often wear baseball caps so that it shrinks to the exact shape of your head.
3 Take a shower. Climb into the shower while wearing your baseball cap. Shower as you normally would, or simply take a 3-5 minute soak in a hot shower for the baseball cap to soften and begin to take on a new shape. Make sure the crown of the baseball cap is completely wet to allow it to shrink evenly.
- If you choose to shower normally while you have a baseball cap on your head, be careful not to get soap on your wet hat. Baseball caps should be washed separately using specially designated detergents.
- Try to make sure that the main stream of water runs over the crown of the baseball cap, this will avoid potential deformation of the visor.
4 Do not remove your baseball cap until it is dry. Stay in your baseball cap all day. Just shake off excess water from the baseball cap before putting on the rest of your clothing to prevent water dripping from the hat. Drying should take about a day or less (depending on actual environmental conditions).
- A warm, sunny day will dry out your baseball cap more efficiently. If the weather is cold and rainy, do not leave the house in a wet headdress. Better to just lay it to dry next to a fan or under the airflow from an air conditioner and check the result periodically.

Method 3 of 3: Machine wash your polyester baseball cap to shrink

1 Put your baseball cap in the washing machine. If you have a washing machine, it can easily shrink a polyester or synthetic baseball cap. You can put a baseball cap in the washing machine either individually or with other clothes. If necessary, use a little extra laundry detergent to help the cap not only shrink, but also wash off.
- If you are going to wash your baseball cap individually, be sure to set your washing machine to the minimum load so that you don't waste too much water on the wash and rinse cycles.
- If you load the drum of the washing machine and other clothes, due to the additional pressure on the baseball cap and the friction of the materials, the headgear will shrink more efficiently.
2 Wash your hat at the standard wash cycle temperature. Set the washing machine to the standard wash cycle without changing the temperature setting for it. Synthetic fabrics such as polyester shrink well when exposed to heat. This means that a standard wash is usually enough to shrink the hat to about half the size. Let the baseball cap go through a full wash cycle.
- If you only need to shrink the polyester baseball cap slightly, you can remove it from the washing machine immediately after the first wash step.
3 Put on your baseball cap and let it dry on your head. For baseball caps that only need small adjustments in size, a standard wash cycle should be sufficient. When finished washing, put on the hat and wait for it to dry so that the baseball cap shrinks accurately over the head.
- If the polyester shrinks too much as a result of washing due to the temperature effect of water, drying on the head will stretch the fabric so that the headgear is at the optimal size.
4 Place the baseball cap in the tumble dryer. If the headband was originally noticeably larger than you need, then washing in the washing machine can be supplemented by drying the baseball cap in the clothes dryer. This will allow you to expose the headgear to an even more intense effect of high temperature, moreover, it will dry out much faster and better. Place the baseball cap in the dryer, set the appliance to a medium dry temperature and set the operating timer. Prolonged exposure to the high temperature of the tumble dryer is not the best for synthetic fabrics, so the above drying approach is the best choice if you need to cause noticeable shrinkage of the headgear.
- Regularly washing and drying a synthetic baseball cap with appropriate household appliances is likely to cause noticeably more headgear shrinkage than conventional soaking and hand washing. If the cap shrinks too much, try putting it on your head while it is still wet. This will stretch the fibers of the fabric slightly so that the headpiece fits over the head.
- Check the condition of your baseball cap regularly while drying. Synthetic materials tend to deform when exposed to high temperatures for too long.

Tips

To shape the visor of your baseball cap, hold it against the side of a glass canning jar or other large enough rounded object and secure with an elastic band on top while the cap is still wet. Do this after shrinking the baseball cap to avoid potential problems with deformation of the visor during the drying phase.
Synthetic materials are specially created so that things made of them do not shrink. Therefore, you will need to wash and dry your polyester baseball cap at a high enough temperature for shrinkage to occur.

Warnings

Be careful not to burn yourself when you heat the water to soak your baseball cap. It is not necessary to bring it to a boil.
Do not wear a wet baseball cap on your head in cold or rainy weather. Wet fabric will make the cold even more uncomfortable, and excess moisture will prevent the cap from drying out properly.