When an article of clothing shrinks during the wash, it is because the fibers become far closer to one another. If the opposite, a stretching, after washing, were to happen, the result would be clothing fibers spread far apart from one another. Whilst it may not be that noticeable in pants, which are very tightly woven as it is, shirts have a far lower thread count per square inch than pants do, meaning the change is far more likely to be seen. I, for one, would prefer a shrunken shirt which I could donate to someone else or use for scrap over a widespread, loosely fitting shirt which would likely show my bra.

Yes, I believe this would be a good product. The quality of fabrics, used in the manufacture of garments, is not all equal. Designer garments shrink regardless of the laundering instructions on the labels. What fit good in the fitting room at the time of purchase, does not retain it’s shape after the first few washings. Such a product would help preserve the shape in the drying state. I for one have rigged up a blocking board to alleviate this problem for my self and it works!

I already invented that several years ago. I call it my SHIRT SHAPER. It is simply a sheet of Plexiglas cut in the shape of my favorite shirt, with a hang hole in the neck. I use spring clothespins at the bottom to get more length. Tealeaf is wrong, no spreading of fibers is noticeable, unless the shirt is the very cheap, thin material to begin with, but even then, it works just fine. Wash, partial dry, slip on shaper and tomorrow your shirt fits again. Yeah, I know, I should market it. The problem is shipping the thing. It is large AND flat, like shipping a framed picture. Keep thinking, that's what brings the future.