Posts made by Briarwood

Thanks for the info. Where does most of the 'shrink' come from, the hot water wash, or from the tumble dry? Or is a combination of the two necessary to get shrinkage?  As in, if I were to wash my UHFs in hot water, but then hang dry instead of tumble dry, would there still be shrinkage? I have always felt that machine dryers are hard on clothes, not just the shrinkage part, but they pucker the seams and I can feel a difference in the fabric between shirts I've owned for a few years that I've never machine/tumble dried and those that I have used a dryer.

Hello everyone, first time poster here. I just received my Crazy Check Western shirt and am once again blown away by the quality and look forward to when weather permits its wearing. This is my second UHF, and about my 6th or so IH shirt overall.

I know there are several posts in this thread about having to cold wash their flannels to prevent shrinking, but does anyone have suggestions on the safest way to purposely get a little shrinkage without messing up the flannels proportions? I bought a large, which fits fantastically through the body, but the sleeves are a little longer than I'd prefer. I've tried buying IH shirts in medium in the past, but ran into an issue with my chest measurement, so I usually get large instead. I'd say I'm closest to 'Steve' from the crew measurements (just over 5'8", around 170lbs, 32 waist, but my chest is a little over 42.5").  Many of the IH shirts in medium have finished chest sizes right at 42", so once I put it over an undershirt, and especially if I ever wash it, they pull really tight around my chest and I can barely stick stuff in the pockets. So I buy large to fit my chest, but the sleeves are a little long. Not unwearably long, just longer than I'd prefer.