Club Obi Wan

Hey I'd really like to get a little bit more raidersy on my Wested Raiders, its a little loose and a hair long for my taste, plus I haven’t broken it in so to speak, I was considering doing a little dryer action on it, and wondered if anyone had any before/after (or even just after) pics, and if there was a general consensus for the safest, most effective way to do this maneuver... Thanks guys...

Are you happy with your sleeve length? Are they a bit too long, or just perfect? If perfect, I wouldn't recommend the tumble dryer ride - you might end up with too short sleeves.

If sleeves permit, I'd recommend stuffing the jacket in a pillowcase, throwing it into the dryer with a couple of wet towels and tumbling away on full heat - check jacket after 10 minutes! If necessary, repeat another 10 minutes until desired effect is reached. I had to work my Wested for a total of 25 minutes until I was satisfied - got nearly one whole size off.

The above worked for me. I can't guarantee it works for anyone else. Also, my jacket is a lamb and I have no idea whatsoever how goat or other leather will react to dryer extravaganza.

Has anyone tried putting a Wested in a bag with pumise and putting it in the dryer on tumble to distress it? I am not a fan or artifitial distressing, but if I were, this might be something I would try; it works for jeans -or so I have read.

I think it ok to put it in the dryer as long as you DON'T HAVE THE HEAT ON.
The tumbler will probably be to fast to have an effect. Remember to zip up the jacket, no need to distress the lining.

-K

EDIT: I just read the part about the long sleeves. Wet the sleeves with hot tap water and then pull the lining out through the sleeves, making the sleeves fold up along the lining. Let them dry at normal room temperature and presto you have achieved the broken in look. It works on cow, don't know about lamb though.
(pic removed)

Hemingway Jones wrote:Has anyone tried putting a Wested in a bag with pumise and putting it in the dryer on tumble to distress it? I am not a fan or artifitial distressing, but if I were, this might be something I would try; it works for jeans -or so I have read.

Pumice? I might have to "dry" that. I did take my goat for a spinn, no heat, and it softened up incredibly. No pumice leaks or the landlord would probably go nuts, or you'd have to buy a new one if it was your own.

Regards,
Swindiana

Spelled that one wrong, sorry.
Remember those distressed denim products from the 80's with the remnants of pumice in the pockets?

Och yeah, that's right. Stone washed is what they were called in Sweden I think. The horror... But leather, that's another story.
Spinn me behind a truck and call me distressed.

Regards,
Swindiana

Swindiana wrote:Spinn me behind a truck and call me distressed.

Great quote ;c) I'm still not sure, havent had time to seriously consider it yet, I'm getting ready to open a show this week, so I've got very little free time... I think I may try it very slowly, however...

K said DONT HAVE HEAT ON, and Scandinavia said in a pillow case full heat with wet towels in there... so I'm not quite sure what to do

In that case, put it in a big plastic bag, with medium heat, and damp paper towels.

In Christ,
Shane

heh thanks for the suggestion... gonna have to look at it some more and see... :c)

There is another thread going on about this very subject, check it out. The general consensus is to have the heat on LOW. Put in 4 or 5 damp towels(lightly dampened, not soaked) zip up the jacket(so the zipper does not destroy the leather). Check it every 10 to 15 minutes for sizing. Options are

1. 2 or 3 clean baseballs added to aid softening and distressing(my personal favorite)

2. 2 or 3 tennis balls (less noisy, but also lighter than baseballs so may not work as fast/good)

3. Inserting jacket in pillow case (IMO prevents full tumbling of jacket since it can't move too much inside a pillow case, just gets wadded in one position, from my experience)

the pumice idea would surely ruin the jacket leather and lining, not to mention your dryer!! IX-NAY on the UMICE-PAY!


have a nice day.

thanks, for the info, hopefully before to long I can get around to working on it...

IndyMcFly wrote:In that case, put it in a big plastic bag, with medium heat, and damp paper towels.

In Christ,
Shane

Remove from dryer....serve with side of russet potatos, salad, and warm bread....

A hit everytime....

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:

IndyMcFly wrote:In that case, put it in a big plastic bag, with medium heat, and damp paper towels.

In Christ,
Shane

Remove from dryer....serve with side of russet potatos, salad, and warm bread....

A hit everytime....

Regards! Michaelson

Are you reading from the 'Engine Block Cookbook' again?

(Swindy: Yep, they were called 'stone-washed' here in the USA, too. I thought it was kind of neat...sometimes I found a pretty big ROCK in the pocket. )

Michaelson wrote:

IndyMcFly wrote:In that case, put it in a big plastic bag, with medium heat, and damp paper towels.

In Christ,
Shane

Remove from dryer....serve with side of russet potatos, salad, and warm bread....

A hit everytime....

Regards! Michaelson

What's for dessert? --Aldens again????

binkmeisterRick wrote:What's for dessert? --Aldens again????

Ugh...they taste like shoe leather...what're they made of?

Michaelson wrote:

IndyMcFly wrote:In that case, put it in a big plastic bag, with medium heat, and damp paper towels.

In Christ,
Shane

Remove from dryer....serve with side of russet potatos, salad, and warm bread....

A hit everytime....

Regards! Michaelson

Hey, that sounds like what I'm cooking for dinner tonight. What?....I'm a college student!

You're eating better than I did when I was at college then.

Regards! Michaelson

Indiana Jerry wrote:

binkmeisterRick wrote:What's for dessert? --Aldens again????

Ugh...they taste like shoe leather...what're they made of?

It's sole food.

Michaelson wrote:You're eating better than I did when I was at college then.

Regards! Michaelson

Wait you guys got fed in college? ;c)

Only when they weren't looking. Dumpster diving was an acquired art, don't you know?


Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Only when they weren't looking. Dumpster diving was an acquired art, don't you know?


Regards! Michaelson

hmm that's the primary reason why I'm considering a libral arts major ;c)

Good call. Being a music major at Ohio State was the pits back in the early 70's!

Regards! Michaelson

Yeah, but I heard those music majors got all the girls... Go Buckeyes!

Well I really wanted to get a little bit of srink into my wested but I didnt want the sleeves shrunk as much as the other part of the jacket, so I put the sleeves inside the jacket and zipped it almost to the collar, then tied the jacket in a pillowcase and ran it through the drier on high heat with a bunch of towels for 15 minutes... the sleeves didnt change a bit, but the rest of the jacket (what I wanted) shrunk about a quater inch... I'm very pleased with the results but may consider running it again a bit for it could still use a little downsizing :c)

here's a quick tip for anyone doing this though: turn the pillowcase inside out or, depending your your pillows, you may end up having to brush a buncha pillow residue off the jacket when its done...

Is your jacket a lamb, goat or cow?

goat... D/B goatskin's my leather of choice... granted I've only got one wested so far, but I've seen the best results compartively (in my openion)

im considering doing this to my authentic goat. It fits nicely but i would maybe like it a bit tighter. Would doing this make the jacket just shorter, or all over tighter fitting? My sleeves could be slightly shorter i think. How much would the jacket really shrink all together from this? Would it be bad to do this with my satin linned sleeves? Is there anything to really worry about?

I heard some guys say they've been able to shrink the jacket a full size.

Wow thats alot. Well is it just the leather that shrinks, or is it everything? I mostly worry now about the satin linning.

I'm not sure. I'll have to let someone more in the know take that one.

Indakin wrote:Wow thats alot. Well is it just the leather that shrinks, or is it everything? I mostly worry now about the satin linning.

I have got Satin lining in my sleeves, and it was not a problem. I actually wanted the sleaves to shrink less than the rest, so I tucked them inside the jacket and that seemed to help, although it may just be that they dont shrink as well. This method worked well for me and it got a bit of tightness all around, not just length wize, which I like, and even more than the extra tightness I like the slightly uneven 'battered' look it gave the leather. It feels more screen accurate now as its a bit 'wrinkled' compared to before, but you cannot do this method very much or it will likely ruin the leather. Try at your own risk, but I've had good experiences. Perhaps if you wet the sleeves first it with shrink them a little more...

hmm, i think i might wear this baby for a month or 2 more at least before i give into the dyer. Even tonight more i was noticeing how much the leather has already broken and now flows & feels nicer. Im really liking my jacket alot more now. I will study the movie some more and see exactly how much it should really be shrunk.

Indakin wrote:hmm, i think i might wear this baby for a month or 2 more at least before i give into the dyer.

Yea, its always a good idea to wear a piece of gear for a while before you make any decisions. On a side note, wearing your jacket in the rain will help it break in and conform to your body.

yeah it took me about a month to just decide whether I wanted to do the drier thing... and that was after about 3 months or so of owning it... whatever you think is best...

Michaelson wrote:Good call. Being a music major at Ohio State was the pits back in the early 70's!

Regards! Michaelson

Being a music major at DePaul University in the early 90's was no better.

Regards! Michaelson

I know this is a "Shrinking a Wested" thread but I figured I would ask here in stead of starting a new post.

Has anyone ever tried to shrink a US Wings jacket in the dryer? Thanks to G-Mann I am the proud owner of a FANTASTIC US Wings jacket. The sleeves are a touch too long and I ran it through the dryer today for 30 minutes and there was no shrinkage anywhere. Any suggestions?

I can certainly live with the longer sleeve length but I just wanted to see if it can be shrunk.

With the proper craftsmanship, could the sleeves not be cut down to the correct size?

Yes Rusty they can be cut down. But the whole jacket is a touch too big. I was hoping to shrink the whole thing. PErhaps I can just go have it taylored. :

What I did worked for me to an extent... now I have heard of people actually wetting the jacket and trying this, but it sounded a tad scetchy to me (considering this was a pretty large percent of the income and I dont have a second jacket yet)

now I have heard of people actually wetting the jacket and trying this

I'm considering this approach for my lambskin jacket. It's a stock size small, which is a tad too big for me (I'm just a little guy), but after several runs through the drier, the jacket hasn't shrinked a bit... anywhere.

Ragingblues: Did it ruin or change the feel of the leather at all? My Goat is a little big for my tastes. However, I don't think i'd be brave enough to stick it in the dryer - it might shrink the wrong parts or somehow ruin it.

I'll probably just wait until I *Eventually* go to london (whenver that'll be) and buy another one there, but I'm interested in how this method works out for everyone.

Ken, your jacket looks great!


Dre, I can say that with what I did the leather grain changed just a HAIR on the goat, I personally liked it becuase it was a little tighter and more 'lived in' looking without being at all distressed or damaged, however it looked evident that If I overdid the drier method it would easily damage the goatskin... use at your own risk but its been done mostly successfully so far, good luck! :cD

geeez ken, another wested already??? Looks really good though man. I still wonder about shrinking mine some. Sometimes the sleeves are a bit to long feeling, and i want the overall jacket a bit snugger. Im just gonna wait longer to do anything. My right sleeve though has softened up alot more than my left, and is probably do to whipping.

Did ur entire jacket shrink some ken?

Nice jacket Ken. One question for you. After you wet the jacket, did you dry it in a pillow case or just throw it in?

Ragingblues wrote:First off... thanks alot Rusty! Sorry, I forgot to out that in that last post...

SUPER HERO AD:
Don't thank me, citizen...

...thank the COW Forums!
(your welcome, the idea was from someone else here, but it worked for me and I'm happy to hear/see that it worked for you too!)

Ragingblues wrote: just let the jacket go "Commando" in the dryer from that point on.

Hah! Very well put! :cD

I tried this method again tonight on my lambskin jacket, and the leather is proving to be quite resilient. So far I've tried putting it in a pillowcase with damp towels, then without the pillowcase, then wetting down the jacket some and putting it back in. There is a nice wrinkled effect in some places, but no shrinkage.

Has anyone else had problems with "stubborn" leather when trying this?
I'm thinking it's time to take the jacket to a leather shop.

My jacket won't shrink either Flattery. I am looking for a leather shop here in the CHicago area. Anyone know of a reputable one?

I finally got my US Wings Indy jacket to shrink. I soaked it in hot water, put it through a spin cycle, folded it up, stuck it into a pillow case and dried for 30 minutes on high heat. I was able to shorten the sleeves by almost an inch and it no longer looks like I'm wearing shoulder pads under my jacket.

Now to treat it with some Picards and I'm good to go. It's about time!