How to Shrink Leather Gloves to Their Perfect Fit Size

Published by Ahmad Jamal on June 3, 2023

Your favorite pair of leather gloves have started to feel a little bit bigger and uncomfortable to wear, and the thought of replacing them with a new pair is daunting for you now.

Don’t worry, you can still regain their perfect fit size by mastering how to shrink leather gloves properly.

In this CleanersAdvisor guide, I’ll provide you with 2 perfect methods in which you can shrink leather gloves, using common household items and water. All you need to do is follow the step by step methods and carry them out properly.

But first of all, is it possible to Shrink leather gloves in the first place?

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Is It possible to Shrink Leather Gloves

There’s a misconception that leather gloves don’t react to shrinking attempts, and that’s not true.

Carrying out the perfect steps can easily help shrinking leather gloves, using household items, water, and heat.

That means that it is possible to shrink leather gloves using a combination of steps, instead of the traditional steps that don’t work on leather gloves, creating the misconception.

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How to Shrink Leather Gloves

Fill in a bowl of lukewarm water combining tap and boiling water, then submerge the gloves and soak them inside the bowl for 5-10 minutes. Remove the gloves from the bowl and remove excess water in any way possible then leave it to air dry for 24 hours before testing it on.

That’s how to shrink leather gloves, but we will make it easier by showcasing every step in this first method:

1. Fill in the Bowl with Lukewarm Water

In this first step, you’ll create the liquid that will be used to shrink the leather gloves. Fill 2/3 of the bowl with tap water, then start adding boiling water to the bowl, stop adding the boiling water when you feel that the water is regularly warm now, as boiling water can destroy the leather’s color, we’ll need to avoid that by keeping the water warm instead of boiling.

2. Submerge Gloves in the Water

Now, submerge the gloves in the warm water and let them soak for 5-10 minutes.

In this step, it is essential to make the whole gloves soaked in water, rather than partially soaked, as the soaking is what will make leather gloves shrink properly.

3. Remove Water & Prepare Them for Drying

Now that you’ve submerged them completely in warm water, you’ll need to remove them from water, and squeeze out as much excess water as possible, by squeezing in on the center of the gloves and work your way to the fingertips. Make sure you’re not crumpling the gloves along the way.

You can remove more water by placing the leather gloves on clean towels and squeeze once more, then leave them on the towel to take away what’s left of water.

4. Air-Dry the Leather Gloves

Once you’ve removed as much water as possible, air-drying will be the last step, by leaving them in a convenient place to air dry for 24 hours, even if you feel that they have dried in less than that time, the insides of the leathers require a full day of air drying.

5. Test the Shrinking

Try on your leather gloves and enjoy their new shrunken size, once they are completely dried out.

You can repeat the process if you feel the gloves can shrink more.

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How to Shrink Leather Motorcycle Gloves

To shrink leather motorcycle gloves, create a solution of water and rubbing alcohol mixed with a 1:1 ratio inside a spraying bottle. Then, spray the mixture on the gloves and make sure both sides of the gloves are sprayed wet appropriately. Then, leave the gloves wet for 5-15 minutes, before drying them off using absorbent towels. Test them afterward and see how they fit.

It is advised to lubricate the dried pair of leather motorcycle gloves with a leather conditioner to protect the leather surface from stain as well.

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Can You Put Leather Motorcycle Gloves in Dryer?

No, leather motorcycle gloves can be severely damaged if they’re dried. Additionally, it’s not advised to put them close to your motorcycle’s heater or radiator as they’ll be damaged by the heat near them.

Therefore, stick to the aforementioned method on how to shrink leather motorcycle gloves, by spraying them with a household mixture.

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To Wrap Up

This concludes our guide on how to shrink leather gloves, by showcasing different types of methods on how to shrink leather gloves, then focusing more on leather motorcycle gloves, and how they shouldn’t be shrunk in the dryer.

If you have had any prior experience on how to shrink leather gloves before, make sure to share your experience with us in the comments section below.