kutistuma

Kutistuma is a Finnish noun that denotes the process or phenomenon of shrinking or contracting. It can refer to the reduction in size of a material or tissue, caused by factors such as moisture loss, heat, chemical treatment, or mechanical stress. In everyday Finnish, the verb kutistua describes the act of shrinking, and kutistuma is the nominal form used in technical and descriptive contexts.

In textiles, kutistuma describes fabric shrinkage after washing or drying. Typical measurements report kutistuma as a percentage of the original dimensions, often varying by fiber content, weave, and finish. Cotton fabrics are especially prone to kutistuma when laundered in warm water or dried at high heat.

Outside textiles, kutistuma is used for plastics, wood, and biological tissues, where shrinkage can refer to dimensional changes during processing or aging. In wood, for example, seasonal moisture changes can cause kutistuma in thickness and width. In cell biology, tissues may experience shrinkage under certain fixation or dehydration conditions.

Preventive measures include pre-shrinking, material conditioning, controlled washing or curing, and appropriate finishing. In industrial contexts, kutistuma may be specified as a property or tested in standardized shrinkage tests to ensure dimensional stability.

It is primarily a Finnish word, and in non-Finnish texts it is sometimes retained as a loanword when discussing Finnish manufacturing practices or linguistic usage. See also shrinkage, contraction, and dimensional stability.