Why do my t-shirt necklines go wavy and stretched?

Almost every t-shirt dies at the neckline while the body is still perfectly good. The band is a small amount of ribbed knit doing a structural job, and how long it survives is decided partly by how it was made and mostly by four habits.

Step by step

1. Understand what the band is.It is a strip of rib-knit fabric, folded and stitched on, that relies on the elastic recovery of the knit structure to grip. Better shirts add a strip of tape or twill along the shoulder seam and behind the band to stop it stretching. Cheap ones do not.
2. Stop dragging it over your head.Pulling a shirt off by grabbing the back of the neck stretches the band over the widest part of your skull under load, every single time. Take it off by crossing your arms and lifting from the hem instead.
3. Stop hanging t-shirts.A jersey knit hung on a hanger carries its whole weight through the shoulder and neckline. Fold them. If you must hang, fold the shirt over the bar rather than putting the hanger through the neck.
4. Stop tumble drying them.Heat relaxes the knit while tumbling puts it under load. The band comes out slightly longer every cycle and it is cumulative — this is the single biggest cause of the wavy collar.
5. Wash cool and inside out.Hot water accelerates the same relaxation, and washing inside out reduces abrasion on the band, which is where the fabric is thickest and takes the most rubbing.
6. Try the recovery method on a mild case.Soak just the collar in very hot water for a few minutes, squeeze it out, then pull the band back into a tight circle with your fingers and lay the shirt flat to dry with the collar held in shape. Cotton relaxes when hot and can be reset while it dries.
7. Use the iron and steam trick on a wavy band.With the shirt flat, steam the band and immediately ease it inwards with your fingers, then press it lightly and let it cool completely before moving it. Cotton sets as it cools, not while it is hot.
8. Know when it is finished.If the band has stretched to the point of rippling all the way round, the knit loops have been permanently deformed and it will not come back. At that point it is a shirt for the garden or a candidate for the textile recycling bank.

Tips

• Look for shoulder taping when buying: turn the shirt inside out and check for a narrow strip of tape running along the shoulder seam. It is the strongest single predictor of how long the neckline will last.
• A double-stitched, densely ribbed band is worth more than the fabric weight quoted on the label.
• A heavy print across the chest adds weight that pulls on the neck when the shirt hangs. Fold printed tees especially.
• If the whole shirt has grown rather than just the collar, it is the same relaxation happening across the garment — the fix is the same and the prevention is air drying.

Common mistakes

• Hanging t-shirts by putting the hanger through the neck opening — It stretches the band over the hanger every time it goes on and off, and then holds it under load in between.
• Putting a stretched shirt in a hot wash hoping it will shrink back — It may shrink the body but it will not reset the band, and you will have a shorter shirt with the same wavy collar.
• Ironing the collar flat while stretched — You are pressing the deformed shape in. Ease it inwards first, then press, then let it cool before it is moved.

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