Expert: Christina A. Rallo, Esq. - 8/12/2006

Question
My husband has a bad habit of letting his t-shirt collars get stretched out.  He also has several socks that used to fit, but now are all stretched out as well.  They've already been washed but I don't know how to get them to shrink a little bit.  His clothes are fairly new and I don't want to keep buying new stuff just because he lets it get stretched out.  Any advice?  Thanks.

Answer
This is not really my expertise but if we are talking about cotton here you might try steam ironing. Other than that look around the web for fabric care tips like those at http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-clean-natural-fabrics.htm
It also depends on what you mean by stretched out - if you are talking about him having purposely pulled and stretched - for comfort - and there are elastic fibers involved, he may have broken the elastic fibers and then I don't think there is anything you can do.
Beyond fabric care, have you talked to hubby about this? Things don't just get stretched out - there has to be tension or pulling causing this. Maybe he finds the snugness uncomfortable and maybe should try buying differently - socks with wider ankles are made for people who have problems that cause ankle swelling. Crew neck t-shirt collars might annoy him - try v-necks for more neck freedom. Just some thought of how to get to the source of the problem rather than just try to remedy it after the fact.