Bobble, bobble, bobber! Clothes with all those knots and tassels on the sleeves and hem look so cute! However, they also tend to shrink when washed, making the loose parts of the cloth even tighter. Plus, with every wash, those kinky twists get even more curly. If you want your favorite sweater or gypsy skirt to remain in its original shape after you launder it, check out this guide with tips on how to stop clothes from bobbling.
How To Stop Clothes From Bobbling?
Step 1: Wash your clothes before you wear them
When you first buy an item of clothing, it has all the chemical residue from the factory and the warehouse where it was stored, as well as all the dust and dirt it picked up while it was on display in the store. If you wear this item without washing it first, you’ll be transferring all that dirt and dust directly to your skin. After a few washes, your clothes are also going to start smelling very strongly. That’s because fabrics naturally absorb odors and without washing them, your clothes are just soaking up the smell of everything around them. If you can’t wash your clothes because they need to be dry-cleaned, then give them a thorough cleaning with a brush and a damp cloth.
Step 2: Rotate your clothes so you only wear the same item once every two weeks.
The easiest way to stop your clothes from getting bobblehead is to simply wear the same pieces of clothing less often. If you wear your favorite shirt twice a week, then you can stop wearing it for two weeks, and that’ll stop it from going bobbled. If you have clothes that you know are prone to bobbling, try to rotate them with the rest of your wardrobe. For example, if you know the cuffs of your khaki pants bobble when you wear them regularly, try swapping them for your navy pants every two weeks.
Step 3: When your clothes get bobbled, throw them out and buy new ones.
If you want to stop your clothes from getting bobbleheads, you’ll have to accept that they’re not going to last forever. Even if you follow all the steps above and rotate your clothes and wash them on a regular basis, they’re still going to bobble eventually. If you’re wearing a pair of khakis that have a giant hole in the knee and they’re coming apart at the seams, you might be tempted to try to repair them yourself or just patch them up with some tape. That’s okay if you’re doing it because you’re broke and can’t afford new clothes, but if you just feel like you’re too lazy to go shopping, then stop it. If you have clothes that are falling apart, they’re not good enough to keep wearing. If you buy a new pair of khakis, you’ll keep wearing them for years. If you keep patching up the old pair, you’ll probably wear them for decades.
Step 4: If you’re not ready to give up all your old clothes, at least stop buying more.
If you’ve followed the steps above and you’re still finding a few of your old clothes bobbled each year, that’s a sign that you’re simply buying too many clothes. If you’re like most people, you go through a few stages when you’re shopping for clothes. First, you might read a few articles about how you can save money by buying clothes at thrift stores and sticking to a color palette. You might start wearing a lot more black and blue and brown, but you’re still buying clothes on an as-needed basis. You’re just buying them secondhand instead of new. You’re not committing to a look, you’re just buying whatever is easy and cheap. If you’re buying cheap clothes, you’ll have no idea how long they’ll last. You’ll just wash them and wear them until they break. You’ll never know when a shirt will get bobbled, so you’ll just keep wearing it until one day you notice a hole forming. You’ll just keep ignoring it until it gets big enough that you have to throw it out.
Step 5: Organize the clothes you do keep so they don’t come back from vacation looking like this.
If you follow the steps above and you’re still finding a few of your old clothes bobbled each year, that’s a sign that you’re simply mismanaging your current wardrobe. You’re not wearing the right things to the right places. If you have a closet full of clothes, you have the opportunity to dress however you want every day. You could wear a different outfit every day for the rest of your life if you wanted to. If you’re coming back from vacation with a few holes in your clothes, that’s a sign that you’re not dressing according to the situation. You’re wearing your best clothes to the wrong places. Keep a checklist of where you’re going and what you’re doing so you know what you should be wearing. When you come back from vacation, you should be able to look through your clothes and see nothing but clean, undamaged fabrics.
How To Prevent Clothes From Bobbling?
Check your fabric type and settings
Before you attempt to sew a garment, always check the fabric type and the recommended settings for your bobble machine. It’s best to start off with a sturdy fabric like cotton, denim, or synthetic fiber. If you’re using an unstable fabric like silk, try using less tension on the machine to prevent the thread from pulling the fabric. For delicate fabrics, leave a few inches of extra thread on the end of the stitching so you can tie it off. This prevents the thread from poking through the fabric and damaging the garment.
Use a marking pen
If you’re working with delicate fabric, mark the spots where you need to sew with a semi-permanent marker. Avoid permanent markers because they may damage the fabric or shorten its lifespan. If you’re sewing a garment with sturdy fabric, though, you can just use a ruler or chalk to mark the spots where you need to sew. This method makes it easier to replicate the same stitching for each garment you sew.
Use double-sided tape
When sewing a garment with a stiff material, use double-sided tape to secure the fabric to the bobble machine. This helps the fabric lie smooth and prevents it from wrinkling when the machine is turned on. Double-sided tape is available at most department stores and is easy to find. If you don’t have tape, you can also use some sticky tack or a ruler to hold the fabric in place. Just be sure not to leave the tack or ruler in the machine once you’re done sewing.
Use pins
Pins are one of the oldest methods to prevent bobbling, but they still hold up well today. You may need a few extra hands to hold the fabric in place while you sew, though. If you’re working with a heavier fabric, try clipping the pins to the ends of the fabric so they don’t sink into the material.
Use a stabilizer
If you’re sewing anything that requires a lot of fabric, like a curtain or a tablecloth, try using a stabilizer. You can purchase stabilizers in a variety of thicknesses and weights depending on the fabric you’re sewing with. They’re easy to find at a local fabric store, and they make it easier to handle larger pieces of fabric. There are also stabilizers specifically designed for sewing that make it easier to control your bobble. These are usually made of heavy paper and are frequently used to sew curtains.
How To Stop Knitted Clothing From Shrinking?
- When you wash a knitted sweater, the most important thing is to prevent it from getting stretched or pulled in any direction.
- This is because a sweater’s length and width both increase when wet due to the fact that it’s made from a single piece of yarn. So, the easiest way to keep your knitted garment from shrinking is to simply roll it up in a ball.
- Place it in a pillowcase, and roll it up to keep it from unrolling while you wash it. When it’s done washing, just unroll it, and it’ll be good as new.
- Another trick is to put a bar of soap in the water as it’s washing. Bar soap contains natural glycerin, which helps to prevent the yarn from being stretched.
Conclusion
What can we say? We love the aesthetics of clothes with all those knots and tassels on the sleeves and hem. However, they also tend to shrink when washed, making the loose parts of the cloth even tighter. Plus, with every wash, those kinky twists get even more curly. If you want your favorite sweater or gypsy skirt to remain in its original shape after you launder it, then you need to follow these tips on how to stop clothes from bobbling.
