what to do with a brand new gi

[Lupin1]

Well I finally got my new gi and now I'm not sure how to go about getting it ready to wear to class. I've tried it on several times and it's perfectly comfortable right now except I have to hem the arms and legs (I think I'm going to try to do it myself since I'm poor and it'd be good to learn to hem and no one will care if it doesn't look perfect). I know some people say you're supposed to wash it in hot water and dry on high a few times to let it shrink all it's going to before you hem it, but it's the perfect size in most places right now and I'm afraid if I do that it'll end up too small. Should I wash it warm and then dry it on medium or should I just wash it cold and dry it on low it a few times? It's a middleweight 60% cotton 40% polyester uniform, if that helps.

PS-- it is ok if the ties on the sides don't come together all the way? I remember when I was little the tie strings tied as tight as possible and brought one side of the uniform all the way to the other side of my body, but the uniform ties are right at the largest part of my hips, so the ties don't come together all the way and the two sides of the uniform don't come all the way to my sides where the other tie is. Is that ok?

[usc96]

It's going to shrink whether you like it or not (assuming you plan to wash it regularly), so why wait?

[Lupin1]

I don't think you quite get the question. I know it's going to shrink, I wanted to know how to wash it to minimize the shrinkage.

[Shizentai]

I don't think you quite get the question. I know it's going to shrink, I wanted to know how to wash it to minimize the shrinkage.

I'm used to wearing non-preshrunk gis myself, so I always wash them cold and hang dry. It does minimize shrinkage (or at least delay it substantially).

It kinda sounds like it might end up being too small for you anyway though. The ties really shouldn't be taut when you tie them like that. If I were you, I'd wear it to class and wash it on cold a few weeks before getting it cut any smaller. Also, I really wouldn't try to shrink it any more via hot water or drier.

[Lupin1]

I did try washing it warm and then drying it on low just for an initial wash and it actually didn't do all that much to the fit around my stomach, but it shrunk the legs up considerably, so I won't have to hem them nearly as much. It actually felt like it was a little looser and fit better around the waist after washing it-- maybe it loosened up the fabric a bit after it was all compressed folded in that bag... But from now on I'm definitely going to wash it on cold and hang dry like you recommend. Thanks!

Oh, and the ties aren't taught, they tie loosely about half-way up both ties and it's really comfortable when I do that, it's just when I was little I remember tying them all the way so the ends of both ties that are attached to the gi met and it closed completely, so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be able to do that or not.

[wildman1717]

I don't think you quite get the question. I know it's going to shrink, I wanted to know how to wash it to minimize the shrinkage.

I'm used to wearing non-preshrunk gis myself, so I always wash them cold and hang dry. It does minimize shrinkage (or at least delay it substantially).

Thats what I do, wash on cold and hang dry. It keeps the shrinage down and the gi last longer too.

[BDPulver]

to help out here. My mom use to work in a laundromat that cratered to dry cleaning also. To avoid shrinkage always wash in cold. Doesnt matter about the drying though. ( i usually hang dry my uniform anyways unless I need it right away).

on the hemming, if you got a good weight gi its gonna hurt trying to hem that by hand. If you can afford one try getting a portable sewing machine. I'm looking at one in walmart, cant remember price.

I use to pay a coworker I use to work with to put my patches and hem my uniforms but since I moved and no family in the area I have to do stuff myself.

[Lupin1]

I tried to hem it by hand and then I went the lazy way and used hemming tape. We'll see how long that lasts. It seems pretty strong, so it should last awhile since it's not going to take all that much abuse. We only wear our uniforms once a week for an hour and our training usually isn't that intense.