"Do the tighten up" (how to shrink leather jackets to fit better?)

[ButteMT61]

Awesome advice all. But what about for those of us without a "gentle" dyer. My building has the roughest 70s style washer/dryers which would probably destroy my jacket. I've hand washed leather in the tub before and air dried, will this be an issue?And Butte, how much did these jackets shrink?

Unless the dryer has sharp edges in it, no worries. I'd say I ,ost about one size. But wearing while slightly damp and stretching in it means it's not a linear size loss. I lost some torso girth and a tad in length. For the arms, I put in glass soda bottles I picked out at BevMo that looked like biceps. I used those to stretch out the sleeves after they lost some circumference. Lt them stay in overnight until dry. Sleeves were back to normal diameter, but now broken and more comfortable. Dryer sessions when already dry to warm the hides, then wear. I'd say I took a year off of the breakin doing that.

 

[Novos]

As per your advice, I gave my dryer a go, and soaked my jacket in two doses of hot water for 20 mins. Tried on multiple times while checking on the dryer and no change. Still quite damp, will let dry and report back. I guess since the jacket is quite thick, it's probably not going to do much. Quite a shame.

At least the dryer did no damage! It did feel quite wrong though.

 

[scotrace]

After shrinking a goat US Wings jacket with hot water, the 100% nylon fabric liner did not shrink, and the result is cuffs that always have liner drooping out of them.

 

[ButteMT61]

As per your advice, I gave my dryer a go, and soaked my jacket in two doses of hot water for 20 mins. Tried on multiple times while checking on the dryer and no change. Still quite damp, will let dry and report back. I guess since the jacket is quite thick, it's probably not going to do much. Quite a shame.At least the dryer did no damage! It did feel quite wrong though.

My FQHH Aero HBD is thick and heavy. It worked great. I lost some extra weight after I bought. HWT a couple times and. Few dryer sessions and it shrank about 1/2-1 size. You likely soaked too long and didn't dry long enough.

 

[ButteMT61]

After shrinking a goat US Wings jacket with hot water, the 100% nylon fabric liner did not shrink, and the result is cuffs that always have liner drooping out of them.

Well, the USW goat is fairly cheap. I have a G-1 and it's not like an Aero, GW, or other top brand.

 

[Dr H]

I used a similar for my GW A-1 (helped to tighten the small of the back, which was a little loose).
I soaked it under a shower (keeping the knits and lining dry) then heated with a hair dryer.

 

[spike42]

Hopefully this will be an amusing story - when I first started wanting another "bomber jacket" [sic], I bought an LL Bean on ebay,
because it was size XLT. I hadn't yet learned that you can't go by the label, etc. The main thing I was concerned about was overall
length, because I have a long torso. I also hadn't learned what a generous-cut those Beans can be. Upon receiving the jacket, it was
actually too long and had way too much leather in the midsection. Thankfully, the sleeves were perfect (me = gorilla arms, 37 sleeve),
but the rest of the coat just felt way too big.

I was also just finding this board and doing lots of back-reading, including this thread. Since it was a no-return item, I thought
I'd try to carefully shrink the jacket. Long story short; I work at home and got busy with job stuff and left it in the dryer
too long between checking progress. Jacket came out nice and toasty warm (remember Kramer warming his shirts at the pizzaria?). Just
my luck, it had lost virtually nothing in length or girth, but somehow lost quite a bit in the sleeves. So now it was too long, too fat, with
sleeves that were too short. This is why I don't buy lottery tickets :}

I re-bay'ed it (at a loss), making sure to post accurate measurements in the auction. Lesson learned - check measurements before bidding.
And don't try to shrink your jacket unless you can pay close attention to progress!

 

[Novos]

So, jacket is now dry but leather is stiff as heck. Put on one coat of Pecards last night with no effect. Guess I'll have to keep going, definitely a learning experience this, but I wish there was a way to just take in the waist a bit, as the jacket fits pretty well everywhere except it kind of billows out at the waist.

 

[AustinTX]

Gibson Barnes does the Tighten Up

Well, with all your encouragement, I went for it! Soaked a Gibson Barnes Civil A2 in the tub and chunked it in the dryer!

The story of the jacket so far: Bought a G/B A2 for work after much careful, thoughtful research (near-random searches on the Internet.) I was replacing a Pop's Leather jacket whose fit I never liked. I had attempted a similar rescue of the Pop's jacket, that is, tub-to-dryer. I miscalculated by soaking the entire Pop's jacket. The sleeves, whose length was okay, shrunk along with everything else; also, glue inside the cargo pockets partially melted, and the pocket stitching dimpled the leather because of unequal shrink rates. I spent many hours trying to undo the damage as well as I could. Anyway, I was finally ready to purchase a new jacket.

The first Gibson Barnes jacket I received (a 42R) was ridiculously oversized. The armpit-to-armpit width was 26.5 inches; it fit like an XXL. Sent it back and went with a 40T because I need the sleeve length. It was much better a fit, but it still had lots of room in the body, especially in the waist. I figured that a season of wear would settle it and break it in. After a year and a half, it was still a bit baggy. I called G/B about getting alterations. Let's just say they were less than enthusiastic about going that route.

I came across this thread in trying to figure a solution. All the good comments convinced me to go for it. This time I only soaked the body of the jacket, in the tub, hot water. Then into the dryer on high (cotton) setting. Checked it periodically, as per this thread, then finally just left the sucker to get good and dry.

The results: The jacket fits much, much better! The jacket length shrank just under an inch, the armpit-to-armpit about 3/4 inches, and the waist width snubbed up nicely. The overall fit is much improved. There were no funny asymmetries in the stitching or pocket leather. The new jacket shine dulled somewhat, and the nubbly goatskin texture is more pronounced. Also, the soaking removed some of the red color from the seal brown, so now the jacket is like a dark brown-black or gray ( a good thing.)

All in all, a successful experiment. Now my question for you folks: Can I expect it to stay like this or might it creep back halfway or such? Thanks for your encouragement. Hope this wasn't too long. Who else am I going to be able to tell this to?

 

[Manino]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum, very cool place. I have had for a year or so a Schott 660 in XXL that is too big for me. Bought it because being 6'5", 220lbs, I was tired of most my motorcycle jackets being way too short for any use besides riding (even riding the Dainese, etc, too short in the back).
Long story short, I have not used the 660 nor think too much of it, and willing to do this shrinkage thing.
Will it hold up a full warm water dryer procedure or shall I take it easy? Noticed the 660 leather is not that thick.

thanks for any reply and sorry to bump this thread of old.
Cheers,
Manino

 

[Peacoat]

I think I would start out with soaking in warm to hot water and air drying. I have used this method with some success. See how that works. If it doesn't shrink much, then soak in hot water again and put it in the dryer for a short period of time and check it. I also have used this method.

Welcome to the Lounge, PC.

 

[yakima]

My, this old thread keeps popping back.

Essentially, follow the method as outlined by Butte - the only rider I would put on that is, if you are doing a Jacket with knits - say an A1/A2, do not let the water go on the knits - hot water will take a lot of the elasticity out of them.

And @Peacoat -yes, I am old enough to remember Archie Drell - I bought the 45!

 

[Manino]

My, this old thread keeps popping back.

Essentially, follow the method as outlined by Butte - the only rider I would put on that is, if you are doing a Jacket with knits - say an A1/A2, do not let the water go on the knits - hot water will take a lot of the elasticity out of them.

And @Peacoat -yes, I am old enough to remember Archie Drell - I bought the 45!

to be honest, had to listen to the song, kinda cool, reminded me of Vinyl TV series or Sly and the Family Stone, had never heard of that guy before.
Will proceed as per Butte's advise, and revert. The 660 is not for riding anyhow, but I would like it to fit properly if at all possible.

 

[bn1966]

Yep..keep off the knits!! I didn't and it cost me to have them replaced..ouch!!!!

 

[navetsea]

wouldn't this result in wavy zipper?

 

[yakima]

I know what you mean, but that has never happened to me on over half a dozen A2s

 

[Seb Lucas]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum, very cool place. I have had for a year or so a Schott 660 in XXL that is too big for me. Bought it because being 6'5", 220lbs, I was tired of most my motorcycle jackets being way too short for any use besides riding (even riding the Dainese, etc, too short in the back).
Long story short, I have not used the 660 nor think too much of it, and willing to do this shrinkage thing.
Will it hold up a full warm water dryer procedure or shall I take it easy? Noticed the 660 leather is not that thick.

thanks for any reply and sorry to bump this thread of old.
Cheers,
Manino

I have one of these. It's still a pretty sturdy 2.5oz jacket. Some of them are naked cowhide and may shrink faster. Also the cotton lining may be prone to shrinkage. If it is way too huge then go to town. I own the large at six two and 185. Fits well. It's kind of their Buco J100. The leather and construction is better than on many of the cool vintage cafe racers like Brooks and Brimaco I've owned or handled.

 

[Edward]

Mn. Myself, I'd rather sell and rebuy than end up with a jacket that doesn't fit and little or no resale value. Ymmv.

 

[Monitor]

Mn. Myself, I'd rather sell and rebuy than end up with a jacket that doesn't fit and little or no resale value. Ymmv.

This. There's eBay, sell the jacket, Schott should always go for a decent price. Invest into another one that fits.

Washing it can mess the jacket up and it won't be good to anyone anymore.

 

[morrison2951]

Would never ever think of putting my HH Vanson Enfield in the washer and dryer....

Just don't do it!