Softening a gi....

[Elder]

How do you guys soften up a gi top? I tried fabric softener but the water around here is very hard and makes anything I hang dry real stiff. Any secrets? Soaking or....???

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

How do you guys soften up a gi top? I tried fabric softener but the water around here is very hard and makes anything I hang dry real stiff. Any secrets? Soaking or....???

Dry in machine with no heat with dryer sheet?

 

[black koala]

Hang drying will always make the the gi harder. You have to tumble dry on no heat if u want soft with little/ no shrink.

 

[FredEttish]

Soak it in the blood of your opponents. That or tumble dry low heat with about 5 dryer sheets.

 

[Newcastle]

Liquid fabric softener (in the washer) would help a lot I would imagine followed by low heat tumble in the dryer. Keep in mind you will likely shrink it if you have not dried it with heat as of yet.

 

[Bucketbot]

Why would you want to soften up your gi! Do you not want to cheese grader the face of each and everyone of your opts!:icon_chee

The above suggestions all sounds reasonable...
But i have heard from several companies that for some reason fabric softer can really mess up your gi...so use with caution...

As mentioned...hanging it up to dry will make that thing rough as sandpaper...
So if you can machine dry...that would be best...but that you have to worry about the gi shrinking on you

damn not a lot of options are there! :icon_sad::icon_sad::icon_sad:

I have actually found that the make of the gi makes a big difference as well...

for instance

My Ouano and Sirius gis are both still relatively soft

as compared to my Atama and War gis, these things hardened up like sandpaper!

 

[blanko]

really? my bady boy black (wich is an atama gold weave) is still very soft...

 

[Elder]

My Kikskin single is nice and soft no matter what - sturdy but very comfortable. My Warrior-One top is comfortable as well. Although soft out of the box, my new Fuji Judo gi is stiff now. A good gi though.... I know it will soften up.... I'm allergic to dryer sheets though...

 

[ungala**]

Why does everything ruin a gi? Can't use heat, Dryer sheets, and fabric softener? We pay up to 200 bucks for these things to be tough and long lasting and then we have to baby them when it comes to washing them...lame..

 

[Bucketbot]

Why does everything ruin a gi? Can't use heat, Dryer sheets, and fabric softener? We pay up to 200 bucks for these things to be tough and long lasting and then we have to baby them when it comes to washing them...lame..

It is not that everything ruins a gi...
Just like with certian clother/frabic, some practise are better for them than others...

Heat is okay, but you have to worry about the gi shrinking. Having said that, i have know lots of guys that heat dry there gis (in the dryer) and have never had a problem!

As far as i know dryer sheets are okay, it is the fabric softener that can be rough (read as: destroy) your gi.

 

[Bucketbot]

really? my bady boy black (wich is an atama gold weave) is still very soft...

Crazy!

I have had 3 atama gis (a gold weave, single weave, and a Mundial...which is a...gold weave i think) and all three turned out like sand paper!

Having said that my mundial weave is one of my favorite gis...fits perfect, and i do not mind that it is a little rough. My training partners on the other hand:icon_chee

 

[Bucketbot]

really? my bady boy black (wich is an atama gold weave) is still very soft...

Crazy!

I have had 3 atama gis (a gold weave, single weave, and a Mundial...which is a...gold weave i think) and all three turned out like sand paper!

Having said that my mundial weave is one of my favorite gis...fits perfect, and i do not mind that it is a little rough. My training partners on the other hand:icon_chee