custom fit by water?

[Arca Perdida]

ok, if this is stupid, say so, but I'm looking for responses other than "get a Wested" or "find a good tailor." (nothing against doing either of those, just not in the budget right now).

I have a couple of those US WIngs clearance jackets. Both same size (M), one goat, one lambskin. I'm willing to experiment on one of them.
They fit pretty comfortably, although the armholes seem big and sometimes I feel like I'm wearing shoulder pads. The length and sleeves are right on. Wouldn't want them any shorter, as they already ride up when driving, etc. But with my arms down, they do come to my first thumb knuckle.

So, what I'd like to do, is shrink the bulkiness of the shoulder/arms without shrinking the length of the sleeves at all.
I've read about a few people soaking the areas they want to shrink and then throwing the jacket in the dryer. One person even folded the sleeves inside the jacket to avoid affecting them. They claim it worked.

In the even that the sleeves got shortened, is there a way to wet them again and stretch the leather? Todd describes soaking the collar and stretching it in another thread and says you can get up to 2 extra inches on sleeves by doing the same. Is that true, even after shrinkage?

Has anyone done anything like that with success? I've found posts about shrinking the jacket overall, but not much in terms of custom water tailoring

Thanks for any advice.

[Rundquist]

Just remember, water is technically bad for leather.

[Scandinavia Jones]

Get a Wested or find a good tailor!



Seriously, the soaking and tumble drying does work. I did it to my Wested Lamb when I wanted to lose some "bagginess" and it worked fine... regarding the soaking-some-areas-and-leaving-others-dry method, I really can't say. If someone says it worked for them, it probably did. My tumble drying worked for me. It's not totally unbelievable that subjecting someone else's jacket to the same treatment would damage it. If you really want to try the dryer, do so.
What you say about your sleeve length does concern me a bit, however. If they are exactly right now, I would think twice about shrinking the jacket.
Be careful and don't leave the jacket in for more than 10-15 minutes tops at medium heat. Check on the jacket during the process, make sure zipper won't damage either the dryer or the leather (or the dryer itself). You might find that your sleeves may shorten, as might the entire jacket, length-wise. Mine did.
Also, what Rundquist said - water isn't good for the leather, so be sure to let it dry well and apply Pecard for protection after you're done.

Think it over - with prejudice. Then, if you decide to go for it, best of luck!

After all, it's only a jacket. There are people making new ones, should yours be ruined...

[Doug C]

Hey Arca - I also have a clearance Lambskin (Antique...is yours too?) anyway, I wore mine only one time before soaking it and have liked it much more ever since. The thing is though, I didn't put it in the dryer, I wore it dry after hanging it to drip dry first. I've never added any pecards to it either and it's beautiful all the same. The arm holes were not effected by what I did, I've seriously considered finding a local to do some work on the under arm sleeve area... it would only be worth it though because the leather is soo awesome (US Wings Antique Lamb that is), otherwise no. I doubt the dryer will effect it's baggy sleeve that much and lambskin can be stretched for sure while damp, I assume other leather too to some degree.

Doug C

[Dre]

Would this work on goat too? I always felt my goat wested was a bit too baggy in the chest.

[Puppetboy]

Would this work on goat too? I always felt my goat wested was a bit too baggy in the chest

Haven't tried it on goat. Don't know. Goat is a different animal (literally and figuratively) and it has very different properties.

Arca, if you do it, I'd dry it a little until it is damp but not soaked. Then wear it until it is completely dry. Keep pulling the sleeves to the right length. If you set it aside to dry it will shrink. Since you only want "selective" shrinking, that's the only way to do it that I know.

Hope that helps.

[Arca Perdida]

Doug, it is an Antique Lamb. I really like this leather also.
Sounds like I'm looking at spending some time in a damp jacket, which right now would be an unpleasant thing in midwestern weather. Unless, of course, I stayed inside and cranked up the heat. How long are we talking about from "damp" to when I'd be able to take it off without worrying about shrinkage?

If, I do this, would these be the steps:

• - soak the jacket (cold, warm, hot water? In washer or sink?)
  - throw it in dryer (heat on in this case, I assume. Inside pillowcase ok when jacket wet, if pillowcase is not colored?)
  - monitor it closely and remove when damp, not soaked (any hints at how long that typically takes so I'm not overly paranoid and stopping the dryer every 5 min.?)
  - put damp jacket on, avoid interaction with "normal" people who might ask why I have a wet jacket on when it's 36F outside.
  - pull on sleeves to keep them from shrinking, until jacket is dry.
  - post photos here showing how fun it turned out to be.

Am I missing anything else? Thanks for the tip, Todd.
Oh, and Scandinavia, to quote a favorite CONTROL agent, "I told you not to tell me that."

[Kt Templar]

I've seen one example of a Wested goatskin that was washed in a washer on high heat. It seemed to lose the 'plate' feeling, take off the shine and puff up the leather a bit, it didn't shrink it much (That was one of the things the owner was trying to achieve). YMMV.

He then proceeded to beat the heck out of it and it looked fantastic... but that's a different issue!

[Ken]

I think the big danger is the dryer - this is where the main shrinkage is going to occur - especially with the sleeves. I think the sleeves will shrink.

Ken

[Doug C]

Yep, I agree with Ken. Actually too if it's got a cotton lineing that could shrink even if the leather didn't.. which would probably be worse. I'd just soak it in extremely hot tap water from the kitchen sink. Squish as much water out of it as you can, then hang it to drip all the excess water out (probably a full day or so). Then start wearing it as much as possible until it's completely dry (atleast a couple of days of this), throw a warm shirt on under it.

Doug C

[Puppetboy]

Yeah, LOW heat in the dryer, if any. You can just use the air fluff setting just to get the moisture content down and cut the drying time. I WOULD check it every 5 minutes or so, and pull it out before the cloth lining starts to dry, (unless it's synthetic, and then don't worry about it shrinking).

Hey, I just thought - since it's only the sleeves you want to keep from shirinking, you can dry the jacket 3/4 of the way (if you have a synthetic lining) and then re-dampen the sleeves. This will return them to their stretchy state. Then wear until dry. I'd plan on several hours at least - maybe most of the day. You will end up with a very custom-fitted jacket.

[Technonut]

Well, my Todd's custom calfskin stood up very well to a delicate wash cycle, and around 35 minutes in the dryer on regular heat. (Jacket turned inside-out)

It is still heavily damp in these pics... I may try throwing it in for a tad more drying... Why did I do it? I lost a few pounds, and could not resist the temptation of molding the jacket for a better fit...

[Indiana G]

that does look like a good fit TN! with that jacket damp, she looks to be black

that's nice fed you got as well btw.

cheers,


G

[Doug C]

TN do you have a similar shot from pre-wash? Looks good and should be great once it's completely dried.

Doug C

[Arca Perdida]

you can dry the jacket 3/4 of the way (if you have a synthetic lining) and then re-dampen the sleeves. This will return them to their stretchy state. Then wear until dry. I'd plan on several hours at least - maybe most of the day.jacket.

I think I might just try that. But I'm thinking it will have to wait. Too cold outside and I can't think of anything I could do indoors for hours with my jacket on in a standing position

Thanks all for the advice.

[Risu]

I just did the collar stretch with water, it looks amazing. It's still not totally dry yet, it does take a long time.