How to Shrink Baseball & Softball Pants: Make Them Tighter & Less Baggy

Garments can sometimes shrink unintentionally when washed and dried.

But for those who bought the wrong size of clothing, they’d want to know what they can do about it to shrink it a little.

Baseball pants can be shrunk. The steps to shrink a pant depend on the material with which the piece of clothing is made. This way, you can make the pant fit even better.

Shrinking baseball pants does not damage them. However, the shrinking process has to be done right.

Follow the right steps to shrink the pant without any problems. The steps are also quite easy to follow and depend on the extent of shrinkage required.

Steps to Shrink Baseball & Softball Pants

• Wash the pants in hot water.
• Dry the pants on high heat in the dryer.
• Check the pants frequently while drying to prevent over-shrinking.
• Repeat the washing and drying process until the desired size is achieved.
• Consider taking the pants to a tailor for a more precise fit.
• Avoid washing the pants with other garments to prevent color bleeding or damage.

Why Do You Need to Shrink Baseball Pants?

The major reason for people to try and shrink their pants is to make them fit properly. These pants may come in sizes that don’t fit them perfectly hence they have to alter them. In any case, sports pants are usually made a little loose and baggy for a lot of reasons.

Loose-fit pants are not very comfortable and sometimes be a big disadvantage like when sliding for the base. There are also chances that the players slip and fall with baggy pants.

Also, on too much use, it can get baggy and get even more uncomfortable, though the fabric is good to last a little longer. In these cases, instead of buying new pants, you can shrink them.

Shrinking pants are easy and are cheaper than buying new pants. There are also a lot of steps and methods to shrink your pant. The shrinking is related to the player. It is only done until the player feels comfortable. Here are a few ways to shrink the baseball pants in no time.

How to Shrink Baseball Pants

The main aim here is to shrink the baseball pant without damaging the fabric. The only point is that washing easily fades and shrinks the pants.

The first and most important thing to do is to turn the pant inside out. Do this, in particular, to avoid bleeding and fading. The next step is to wash it. It is important to wash the pant in extremely hot water.

It is not necessary to add detergent in this process. You can if you want to wash the dirt on the pant as you shrink them. You can also put it in a washing machine. Put the cloth inside the drier immediately. Dry the pants in the hottest heat setting and for the longest possible time. Heat is the most important part of the shrinking process.

Once these processes are done, take it out of the dryer and check the shrinkage. You can try wearing it. Repeat the process if it is not shrunk enough.

Alternatively, the other thing that you can do is after a hot wash and hot rinse, you should transfer the pant to an ironing board. Do this immediately after the washing cycle.

This does not mean you can just iron the cloth. For safety, you have to put a pressing cloth over the pant before ironing. This is to prevent fabric damage due to heat. Make sure you do not use the steam setting on the baseball pant as steam can damage them.

Using dry iron will help dry out the pant and give you a good shrunk cloth in the end. Just like in the previous method, check the shrinkage and repeat if required.

There are some important things to keep in mind while doing the above processes. Check if you are putting it inside out. Make sure you put the pressing cloth on the pant properly. Remember to not press the iron directly to the pants.

There are also a lot of other methods to do the same and these two prove to be easy and also quite effective. Make sure you do not shrink the pant too much. Shrink only up to the extent that it perfectly fits the player.

How to Shrink Softball Pants or make them less Baggy

If you don’t have the time to do the shrinking process mentioned above, or if you just don’t like putting a whole lot of effort into your style, pulling your pants over your socks is another quick and easy method.

To do this:

1. Pull your socks up all the way below your knee.
2. Wear your softball pants, gather the hem, and pull them above the socks in your most comfortable position.
3. Roll down your sock over your softball pant. You can also use an elastic band or a rubber band to secure the sock further.
4. At last, pull your pants up and adjust the bottom hem accordingly. 

This method will keep your softball pants from getting baggy, so you will end up with nice-fitting softball pants in just a minute.

FAQs About Shrinking Baseball Pants

Final Words

This usually works for almost all types of pants but make sure the method is perfect for the material with which your pant is made.

Dedicate enough time and effort to it. Check the level of shrinkage. Don’t shrink it too much. Some materials may resist shrinking. In that case, nothing can be done.

Make sure you don’t use bleach or detergent that can remove the color from the pants. If you think the color is fading, then stop the process. All materials can only be shrunk to a particular extent usually up to one or two sizes, so do not shrink if the pant is too big.