Shrink a Teamster?

[minisoda]

Have a beautiful Teamster that I received late last winter (not much time to wear before the weather warmed up). The leather is gorgeous but the fit and shoulders specifically are just a little too big/boxy for me.

I'm thinking about doing an accelerated break in with water... any chance that hot water might shrink it a bit?

 

[Guppy]

Have a beautiful Teamster that I received late last winter (not much time to wear before the weather warmed up). The leather is gorgeous but the fit and shoulders specifically are just a little too big/boxy for me.

I'm thinking about doing an accelerated break in with water... any chance that hot water might shrink it a bit?

How much do you need it to shrink?

 

[minisoda]

Good question... I think even a little shrinkage would make it fall better on my shoulders.

 

[El Marro]

I have a Teamster in CXL horsehide that I shrank almost one full size by using hot water in the bathtub followed by almost two hours in a hot dryer.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

If you do it...just hope it shrinks 'evenly'. I had an MC jacket get soaked on the bike, then rode in hot sun. After getting home one sleeve was noticeably shorter than the other.

 

[Lebowski]

Have a beautiful Teamster that I received late last winter (not much time to wear before the weather warmed up). The leather is gorgeous but the fit and shoulders specifically are just a little too big/boxy for me.

I'm thinking about doing an accelerated break in with water... any chance that hot water might shrink it a bit?

Well, in case you agree to leave almost all the shine behind - it might work. Or might not. Who knows. Horween CXL is quite capricious thing. Vicenza is a bit more predictable, but is way too much more gentle. The final decision - "to be or not to be" - is just up to you. If you decide to try - don't forget to buy a lot of Pecard, it'll come useful to bring the jacket back to life after all trials to shrink it.
My humble but strict advice - you'd better sell it and buy it again but in your correct size/measurements. This way it'll work for sure. Always works))

 

[El Marro]

That’s a good point HD. In my case I was fortunate that the jacket and the wool liner both shrunk uniformly and that the sleeves were still long enough when I was done. The leather football buttons did not fare well however, they pretty much disintegrated after coming out of the dryer. This was not a big deal for me as I didn’t really like those buttons to begin with and I had them replaced.
Here is a photo of the jacket post shrink with new buttons installed:

 

[Lebowski]

That’s a good point HD. In my case I was fortunate that the jacket and the wool liner both shrunk uniformly and that the sleeves were still long enough when I was done. The leather football buttons did not fare well however, they pretty much disintegrated after coming out of the dryer. This was not a big deal for me as I didn’t really like those buttons to begin with and I had them replaced.
Here is a photo of the jacket post shrink with new buttons installed:
View attachment 144133

Looks O'k.
P.S. I also don't like "football buttons"))

 

[minisoda]

Mine is Vicenza leather.... maybe I'll start with just some warm water and see what happens before going with the nuclear dryer option.

 

[handymike]

Don't do the Full bath thing wirh Vicenza...CXL can take it.

 

[jeo]

Let’s see some photos first. If everything else fits well, you might not need to do anything but wear it and break it in


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ton312]

My humble but strict advice - you'd better sell it and buy it again but in your correct size/measurements. This way it'll work for sure. Always works))

^This and only this!! Anything else could potentially ruin the jacket and render it useless. Cut your loses, sell the jacket and buy one that fits. You have the perfect template for any adjustments you need to make right now. Base your numbers for the next one off this one and then sell it! Roll those funds into your next jacket. This way you hit the ground running, if you soak and ruin it you're starting a full two steps back....

 

[Lebowski]

Mine is Vicenza leather.... maybe I'll start with just some warm water and see what happens before going with the nuclear dryer option.

Be careful, it may ruin the jacket made of Vicenza...

 

[ProteinNerd]

I was under the impression you should never hot water a vegetable tanned leather. Just sell it and buy one that fits.

 

[nick123]

Stuff it in a trunk!!

So bad, sorry.

 

[Just Jim]

Minisoda, just ship it to me. Every jacket I've had shipped to me in the past couple years seem to magically shrink about a size or so. (They also seem to shrink in length, so maybe that isn't a good idea. . . . )

 

[minisoda]

Decided to take a hot water shower with it last night and then wear it around the house for a few hours. The family was convinced that I had lost my mind. Seemed to me like leather should be able to get wet without disintegrating, but the dryer option felt pretty risky, so I skipped that.

I couldn’t be happier with the results! The original finish on the jacket was much more uniform and dark than the pictures I saw of battered seal. After the shower, the battered seal really came out. I have a nice contrast of dark and lighter browns. It just aged and looks great.

I don’t think it really shrunk much or became more fitted, but I think the process will accelerate now. I will post some before and after pics asap.

 

[Fanch]

Although I was skeptible things wouldn't go south with Vicenza, glad to hear things worked out for you and look forward to pictures.

 

[handymike]

Dry it slowly!
Away from sunlight and heater.

 

[Seb Lucas]

Decided to take a hot water shower with it last night and then wear it around the house for a few hours. The family was convinced that I had lost my mind. Seemed to me like leather should be able to get wet without disintegrating, but the dryer option felt pretty risky, so I skipped that.

I couldn’t be happier with the results! The original finish on the jacket was much more uniform and dark than the pictures I saw of battered seal. After the shower, the battered seal really came out. I have a nice contrast of dark and lighter browns. It just aged and looks great.

I don’t think it really shrunk much or became more fitted, but I think the process will accelerate now. I will post some before and after pics asap.

I have washed many leather jackets in the washing machine with detergent. Over many years, I have never had even a centimeter of shrinkage. The way to shrink something is to use heat to dry it. This is a bad idea for leather and risks permanently weakening the fibres.

I always dry them in the shade and it can take 3 days, depending on the weather.

For me it aids in the break in process, takes some of the shine off and may soften the jacket. But it won't change the size or accelerate any other process.