By Amber Bravo

Last year, my mother-in-law bought me a pair of leather pants for Christmas, which, despite seeming like the epitome of "occasional" dressing, have turned out to be a wardrobe staple. They are my winter go-to for a warm and stylish alternative to basic leggings, and they can easily be dressed up or down. But, over the course of a year, all this wear has caused them stretch to shar-pei-ish proportions. (Not to mention some significant knee sag!) I'm a writer; I sit a lot, and I suppose I should feel thankful that it's my pants and not me that's stretched, but I also love my tight leather pants. So, in search of an alternative to costly tailoring, I began searching Harley and gun forums (no joke!) looking for tips on how to shrink leather.

It turns out there are a lot more people interested in stretching leather, but the general consensus is that water submersion works best. Of course, submerging my pants in the element I've tried so vigilantly to protect them against seemed slightly antithetical. I wanted first to attempt something a little less drastic. Then it hit me: Having unwrinkled many a garment on the road via the shower-steam method, I've come to rely on that skin-scalding quick fix to unrumple my clothing—maybe it would work for shrinking my pants?

So I tested it.

Before:

First Attempt (steaming method):

Note: This is the cumulative result of two showers... I may go for a third.

Though it's difficult to tell from the pics (you can count a few less wrinkles 'round the rump), I could feel the results. The pants were definitely more snug. I also ran the hair dryer over them in an attempt to seal in the effects of steaming, but I'm not sure this helped much, and the pants were still looser than I wanted them to be. So, despite the cautionary tales about soaking leather in water (due to potential damage to the fabric), I decided to bite the bullet and try it. I submerged my pants in warm water, and let them air dry. The hot water caused minor bleeding (in the future I may opt for cold or room-temperature water), but in general the fabric seemed unharmed by the process. And...

Second Attempt (soaking method):

The results were fantastic! Soaking successfully shrunk my pants back to rocker-style proportions with minimal effort (and no cost). One forum also suggested treating garments with beeswax or neatsfoot oil to help recondition the leather after soaking, but my pants seemed to be in fine condition after the soak. However, if I start to do this regularly, I'll probably want to reconsider this. I'm now fully equipped to brave winter in my hot pants!

Note: Mink oil is apparently good for reconditioning leather but bad for cotton thread, so unless you're shrinking an unstitched piece of rawhide, I would recommend steering clear of it. Also, air-drying soaked leather takes at least two days, so plan ahead!

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