How to shrink a lambskin jacket

[Restless Dreamer]

Hey guys. I recently bought a custom Wested, but only to find out that it is too large on the shoulders - too bad the order form in their site only asks for sleeve, back and chest

If I recall correctly, a hot shower could shrink the leather, but I did a little search and wasn't able to find a related topic. So here I am...

Could you explain me if there is a quite safe way to shrink the lamb using hot water? How lonk should I shower the jacket? Should I let it air dry? Any suggestion on the matter is welcome.

(Yeah, I know, I could give the jacket to a tailor to make the adjustments, but it would probably cost more than buying a new Wested ).

[IndianaBogart]

I haven't given my jacket a shower, but from what I have read in different threads on here, it sounds like hot water will shrink the leather some. Now, as for how much, I won't pretend to guess. I believe cold water doesn't cause much shrinkage (unless you talk to George Costanza... ) in the leather, but more so just removes the shine from the jacket. Also, I believe the idea is to wear the jacket after it gets wet, that way it will drape/form to your body. I can attest to this, as my Todd's has been soaked in the rain numerous times and always looks better after.

Hope this helped some.

-Bogart

[Restless Dreamer]

I did some more research and I found out that putting the jacket in a dryer will shrink it alot. problem is: here in Italy we don't even know what a dryer is

So I guess I should stick with the hot water treatment. The sleeves are a little long too (WHY does Wested always add that extra half inch? ) so there will be no problem with them shrinking along with the body of the jacket.

But I'll still wait for some jacket expert to chime in and give me some good advice: I don't want to take this road without some reassurement

[Holt]

The sleeves are a little long too (WHY does Wested always add that extra half inch?

becasue after wearing your jacket over time it will shrink about an half inch to an inch. thats why.

jsut wait and see.

[Restless Dreamer]

Yeah...and that's the reason why I already added an extra half inch in my order

BTW Holt, being you the jacket guru here, what do you suggest for a well done hot water treatment?

[Holt]

read my posts in here.

[Restless Dreamer]

well, gave it a hot shower. then a drying cycle in the washing machine. then a short washing cycle at 30° and another drying cycle. now i'm letting the jacket air dry...so far, I can't see many changes in the leather. some wrinkles, but not a real distressing but I'll wait for it to dry before doing something else.

I tried to put it on but it was still too wet. much color bleeded from the liner, I got my t-shirt all dirty - but it's a cheap, white, simple cotton t-shirt so no problem. I'll wait for the jacket to be almost dry to wear it in order to mold the leather.

let's hope it shrinks good

[knibs7]

This approach works real well



Kyle

[Hollowpond]

This approach works real well



Kyle

That is some funny @#$%!!! Bink, eat your heart out!! Bwwaaaaa ahahahahahahaha!

Travis

[Hollowpond]

Kyle, your photoshopping kung fu is good. I won't trust anymore pictures you post!


Travis

[Restless Dreamer]

a whole day has passed since the water treatment, but I can't see any shrinkage. the sleeves are still long, the jacket still runs big on the shoulders.

but I managed to get a little wrinkled look. not much indeed, I expected the leather to react differently to the treatment. seems that this lambskin is not that delicate!

I'll let the jacket completely dry before deciding what to do next. I hope I can find some leather tailor who will alterate it, but I'm not willing to spend much more than 50 €, so I fear my quest will be difficult

[Restless Dreamer]

some updates, even if probably nobody cares.

I went to a taylor, but he said he couldn't alter my jacket due to the particular pattern. So, I found the ultimate weapon: shoulder pads.



now the jacket fits just fine, plus I look like Robocop - that's what my mother said, looking at how wide my shoulder seem to be while wearing my Wested Very much '80s style, but the overall effect is not so bad. There's still some flying squirrel going on, but I'll get along with it.

[Ciceron]

I've got about the same problem with my Wested lambskin, actually, so if you ever figure something out I'd be interested to hear about it. I'll try out the washing with hot water, drying cycle &c. on my own to see if I might have more luck with it. I hear it might also be helpful to sleep wearing it? Not sure if that'll do much, but it might soften up the leather at any rate..

[nicktheguy]

Best way to shrink a lambskin - or any jacket.....eat lots more carbs

[Texan Scott]

The water treatment that I like to use is to zip the jacket. Close the handwarmer holes with masking tape. Put the jacket on a hanger and give it a good, hot water shower. Focus on the sleeves if this is the main issue. The hot water will shrink the leather a little. Then take off the tape and put it in the dryer. Dry on hot as desired. The hot air will also help to shrink the jacket.

[Ciceron]

Any idea on about how long I should do all this for? I hear the jacket shrinks at round .25 or so inches per minute or some such.. 30 mins in the shower and 10 in the dryer would be around 6 inches, then? I just don't want to go from an over-sized jacket to an under-sized one

[Texan Scott]

I've never used the shower method for more than 3-5 min.

[zeus36]

I posted this somewhere else a long time ago...

Wear the jacket (and nothing else) in the shower. Use warm/hot water to get it soaking wet. Turn off the water and shake off as much water as possible, then push up the sleeves as far as you can. Slip out of the jacket and lay it out to dry on a towel with the sleeves scrunched up as much as possible.

This will crease the leather and shorten up the sleeve length a bit, giving you a nice worn-in look. (but not distressed) If you put it into a dryer, the tumbling action will cause the leather to fly out in all directions and stretch it back out.

Z.

[Ciceron]

Thanks Zeus, that worked pretty well for me actually. It's not a huge difference, I think the effect on the leather was worth it at any rate.

...and could some of the problems people have been encountering (above) be due to the type of leather? My jacket is lambskin, but I have no idea how cow &c. might react.