Club Obi Wan

My new "large" Wings naked cow jacket is way too big. The diameters of the arms are _-size.

I also bought a medium just in case. It's too small.

So here's what I thought I'd do before I sell one of them:

Since I can't make the small one bigger, I'll try to make the big one smaller. I'd like to use _'s method of throwing it in the washing machine, which will also add character to the leather.

But I want to do it right, and not screw up the jacket. I saw some of his suggestions in a thread not too long ago, but I can't find it.

_, is it possible for you to list the steps of your process from start to finish? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would appreciate it!

Thanks!

As far as washing machine, I would prefer a soak in the sink or bathtub to reduce turbulence. from personal experience, and it may be different from others, I experienced alot of scratches and abrasions from the dryer. I really would have preferred to have mine aquire those naturally. would possibly recommend putting the jacket inside of a pillow case to keep it from getting scuffed against the dryer, but that is just my opinion.

SB

I had my Wested Lamb go through a couple of washing machine cycles (40°C) plus tumble drying. It didn't distress too much nor did it shrink. I don't have a dryer because I live in south Italy and we don't have this kind of machines here - no need for them, we have plenty of sun - so I can't say if the dryer would do the trick.

Flash Gordon wrote:My new "large" Wings naked cow jacket is way too big. The diameters of the arms are _-size.

I also bought a medium just in case. It's too small.

So here's what I thought I'd do before I sell one of them:

Since I can't make the small one bigger, I'll try to make the big one smaller. I'd like to use _'s method of throwing it in the washing machine, which will also add character to the leather.

But I want to do it right, and not screw up the jacket. I saw some of his suggestions in a thread not too long ago, but I can't find it.

_, is it possible for you to list the steps of your process from start to finish? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would appreciate it!

Thanks!

I'd give the jacket a chance to break in a bit before throwing it in the washer and dryer. My Wings AC seemed a lot bigger when I first put it on out of the box but after wearing it out in the rain briefly it looks and feels much better. I did the washer technique with my Wested ROTLA lamb and it does work but it's unpredictable and the smell of wet leather in a hot dryer is not such a good thing. Seemed like it took three days or more to dry. Anyway I reccomend getting your jacket slightly damp and wearing it until it dries before going to such extremes. I'm no expert but washing a leather jacket can't be good on it in the long term. I had issues with the stitching on my Wested after this technique. Also it helped a little in the body but cost me too much length in the sleeves. I wonder if one were to hand wash just the body of the jacket if you could avoid losing needed sleeve length. Hmmm something to consider.

My basic opinion of the Wings AC Hero is that it just isn't cut to the proportions of Indiana Jones and it if you are hoping that taking a half size off of it will make it look more like the jackets in the film you'll most likely be disappointed. If you just want to slightly snug up the fit shrink away.

I hope whatever you decide works out for you. I absolutely love the AC! For anyone that prefers a light weight leather that is pre-distressed I don't think you can do any better.

You could also start pumping some serious iron so that you fill up those sleeves. This would also be a "_ process".

LJ

Long John Tinfoil wrote:You could also start pumping some serious iron so that you fill up those sleeves. This would also be a "_ process".

LJ

I actually thought that's what the title was referring to when I first clicked.

Sounds like cool info. I want to try this with a wested. Will it soften the leather any at all?

If the sizing is really off, you would chuck it in the dryer with full heat, (like I did) otherwise, the lower the better. It is true that it will shrink in time on it's own due to perspiration, getting caught in the rain, etc. the sleeves also seem to shrink even more, but this is mainly due to the "bunching up" of the sleeves. Full heat will make a 44 into a 40, although the chest will be the part that changes the least, and remains on the larger side, the sleeves (length) the most, followed by the jacket length.