Re: How to shrink a Wested (If you dare)

Posted by 3thousanbucks! from spider-ti044.proxy.aol.com on December 27, 1999 at 03:17:07:

In Reply to: How to shrink a Wested (If you dare) posted by 3thousanbucks! on December 27, 1999 at 02:19:35:

: The jacket I got was just a little too big. I thought I'd sell it and order another one, but I figured if I got it saoking wet,it would shrink upon drying. First I tried this on an old cowskin coat and it shrank about as much as I wanted my lambskin Wested to. SO I went ahead and threw my version:RoLA-new condition,into a plastic tub of warm water and squished it around for a while to make sure it was totaly soaked. After an hour,I took it out. After a few minutes draining, the thing still weighed a ton and felt like rubber. I didn't want to put it on a hanger because I thought it would stretch and deform, so I laid it out nice and flat on towels,trying to make sure ther were no wrinkles or bunched up places,(difficult), and let the water soak into them. (I'm thinking it wouldn't be good to wring it). After a couple of days I thought it was dry and light enough to put on a hanger outside in the sun.Outside I turned it now and then and tried to keep it wrinkle free I also wrapped t-shirts around the hanger to eliminate hanger indents. It took three days to dry in San Francisco area in Febuary. Results? It shrank about a half inch in the sleeves(it WAS a size 40) and however much everywhere else.The trade-off? Some wrinkling around the cuffs,the hem, and a lot of wrinles on the pocket flaps and a little above one of the flaps. The jacket got a little stiffer and rougher feeling and lost most of that strong leather smell.I don't mind the wrinkles, if gives the coat some character. It was just too slick and soft and smelly new, plus, it fits now. If you want to try this, you might want to reserch it a little and see if there's a way to avoid any wrinkles, or maybe there's leather specialists who can shrink something for you.I also applied some non-greasy type of Neetsfoot oil to restore the leather a bit. Finally,let me remind you that Indy's Jacket got soaked-South America, 1936.

P.S. The zipper gets somewhat wavey since the leather shrinks and it does't. Also some waves in the in the vertical edges of the back pannel.No problems with the lining,which is cotton.May have shrunk where the satin might not.

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: :  The jacket I got was just a little too big. I thought I'd sell it and order another one, but I figured if I got it saoking wet,it would shrink upon drying. First I tried this on an old cowskin coat and it shrank about as much as I wanted my lambskin Wested to. SO I went ahead and threw my version:RoLA-new condition,into a plastic tub of warm water and squished it around for a while to make sure it was totaly soaked. After an hour,I took it out. After a few minutes draining, the thing still weighed a ton and felt like rubber. I didn't want to put it on a hanger because I thought it would stretch and deform, so I laid it out nice and flat on towels,trying to make sure ther were no wrinkles or bunched up places,(difficult), and let the water soak into them. (I'm thinking it wouldn't be good to wring it). After a couple of days I thought it was dry and light enough to put on a hanger outside in the sun.Outside I turned it now and then and tried to keep it wrinkle free I also wrapped t-shirts around the hanger to eliminate hanger indents. It took three days to dry in San Francisco area in Febuary. Results? It shrank about a half inch in the sleeves(it WAS a size 40) and however much everywhere else.The trade-off? Some wrinkling around the cuffs,the hem, and a lot of wrinles on the pocket flaps and a little above one of the flaps. The jacket got a little stiffer and rougher feeling and lost most of that strong leather smell.I don't mind the wrinkles, if gives the coat some character. It was just too slick and soft and smelly new, plus, it fits now. If you want to try this, you might want to reserch it a little and see if there's a way to avoid any wrinkles, or maybe there's leather specialists who can shrink something for you.I also applied some non-greasy type of Neetsfoot oil to restore the leather a bit.  Finally,let me remind you that Indy's Jacket got soaked-South America, 1936.

:  P.S.  The zipper gets somewhat wavey since the leather shrinks and it does't. Also some waves in the in the vertical edges of the back pannel.No problems with the lining,which is cotton.May have shrunk where the satin might not.

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