What is pre-shrunk?
Pre-shrunk — or compacted — fabric has been mechanically shrunk before the garment is cut, so the finished piece shrinks far less in the customer's wash — usually 3 to 5% on the first wash, which the pattern allows for, rather than the 5–8% of untreated cotton. It is the difference between a medium that stays a medium and one that does not.
Why it matters
Sizing complaints are mostly shrinkage complaints. A brand that ships pre-shrunk garments gets fewer returns and can publish size charts it can stand behind.
On our floor
All our jersey and fleece is compacted. Garment-dyed pieces shrink during dyeing instead and are cut oversize to a tested allowance, so the finished measurement is as quoted.
Common questions
- Does pre-shrunk mean zero shrinkage?
- No — usually 3 to 5% on the first wash, cold. That allowance is built into our patterns.
- Is garment-dyed fabric pre-shrunk?
- It shrinks in the dye process, so it is cut oversize; the result is the same — a stable finished size.
- How do I wash to avoid shrinkage?
- Inside out at 30°C, no hot tumble drying — the advice on every care label we sew in.
- Can I ask for a shrinkage test?
- Yes — a wash test on the sample is standard for uniform and private-label orders.
Related terms
GSM
GSM is grams per square metre — how much a square metre of the fabric weighs. It is the single number that predicts most about how a…
jersey
Jersey is the single-knit fabric of the t-shirt: a smooth face, a slightly looped back, stretch across the width and a tendency to curl at…
garment dyeing
Garment dyeing sews the garment first, in undyed fabric, and dyes the finished piece afterwards in a batch. It produces the soft, washed,…
size grading
Size grading is the process of scaling a base pattern — usually the medium — up and down to every other size by set increments for each…
Where this applies
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