Photo: Creatas Images/Creatas/Getty Images
The neck is one area where shirts really shouldn't be too tight: You'll feel slightly choked and be pulling at it all day. Definitely not fun or sexy when that happens, girl. If you found a super-cute shirt that fits a tad too tight, you can stretch it for breathing room, without ruining the fibers on the fit of the rest of the shirt, for a fashion save.
Stretching Cotton Collars
1.
Put your shirt in lukewarm water to totally soak it. Cotton does not stretch well when dry, but water loosens the fibers to get them to expand without distorting the shirt's shape or graphics.
2.
Set a towel on a flat surface like a table, and lay the wet shirt on top.
3.
Grab part of the collar with one hand and tug the fibers with gentle, even pressure. Pull up, toward you to give the material a stretch. Work your way around the whole collar to get an even stretch on all sides of the neck.
4.
Hang your shirt to dry, so you can rock it later without the stress of a tight neckline.
Stretching Dress Shirt Collars
1.
Take a collar extender in your fingers and hold it beside the button on your dress shirt. Now you'll have two buttons side-by-side, the shirt button and the looser extender button.
2.
Push the extender button through the buttonhole on your shirt, for insta-stretch without distorting your shirt.
3.
Push the shirt's sewn-on button through the hole in the collar extender, to attach the extender.
4.
Look in the mirror and adjust the collar to remove wrinkles or creases.
Things You'll Need
1.Towel
2.Collar extender
Tips & Tricks
Collar extenders typically come in white. If you need to stretch colored dress shirts, you can hide the extender with a tie or a decorative silk scarf.
Related Videos
Add to this Article
advertisement
advertisement
