A stylish layer that can be worn with a variety of outfits in practically every season, depending on where you live, the bomber jacket should be an indispensable garment in your wardrobe.
Originally intended for pilots in WWI, the bomber jacket will give you a sophisticated look, providing you have the right fit.
So what happens when you buy a bomber jacket from the store and realize it’s too big? If the sleeves are too long or the chest is too wide and baggy then you will likely be disappointed with how it looks.
So can you make a bomber jacket smaller? There are a few ways you can make a bomber jacket smaller. In short, you can boil them with water, have it adjusted by a tailor, or modifying it yourself using sewing techniques.
But before we get into the various methods for making a bomber jacket smaller, let’s make sure that you do actually want to make adjustments.
There are certain rules about how a bomber jacket should fit the body, so let’s briefly dive into them before we get to adjusting.
How A Bomber Jacket Should Fit
First things first, let’s acknowledge the importance of a well-fitted bomber jacket. Like with any outerwear, it’s worth spending time to find the perfect fit for your body, since it can really define your look.
While at times you may just buy outerwear to keep you warm, if you make the small extra effort to ensure it fits you well, you will also be able to significantly elevate your cold-weather look.
I’m sure you’ve seen what a poorly-fitted bomber jacket looks like on someone. Too large and you lack the coziness of a snug fit, too tight and you might struggle to move your arms.
More often than not though, it’s the former problem that a lot of people tend to have issues with. After all, we tend to overestimate how big we need our outerwear clothing to be since we’re going to wear it over various layers.
Starting at the top, we’re going to do a quick breakdown of how you want each part of the bomber jacket to fit.
The Collar
An underestimated element, the collar actually plays an important role in the fit of a bomber jacket. This is the part that will provide you with extra warmth when the wind starts to blow, so you’ll want to make sure it hugs your neck as tightly as possible.
Shoulders
As with suit jackets, and many other forms of outerwear, getting a good fit over the shoulders is critical to maintaining the look. If your bomber jacket doesn’t frame your shoulders the way a nice suit should, then chances are you’ll need to make the jacket small enough to do so.
Having a bit more space around the shoulders is fine, but in most cases, it’s best to go for the more fitted route, both for comfort and for aesthetic purposes.
Sleeves
Bomber jacket sleeves are slightly different from other jackets in that they are capped off with knitted cuffs. These knitted cuffs should be tight and should wrap around your wrist.
This is important as it provides extra warmth, and feels more comfortable. A sleeve that is too loose and baggy won’t grip the wrist as tightly, and as such will let cold air pass up it, which is not an ideal situation.
The Body
Lastly, we have the body—or the torso—of the bomber jacket. If you’re reading this article because you are looking to reduce the size of the body of the jacket, then here’s what you should ideally be aiming for.
It can be hard to get the body of the bomber jacket right since as we mentioned earlier, you will likely wear it over one or several other layers.
However, even with this being the case, you should try to get a bomber jacket that fits snugly around your torso. Meaning if your current bomber jacket feels like wearing a tent at times, then you should probably be looking to reduce the size of it—don’t worry, we’ll get into the details of how to do so shortly!
Basically, your bomber jacket should look and feel fitted whether you are wearing it open or closed. So there really shouldn’t be much space between the material and your body.
The next time you try your jacket on, see how much material appears to hang under the arms or on either side, if it seems like a lot, then a reduction might be on the cards.
How To Make A Bomber Jacket Smaller
Now we’ve covered how a bomber jacket should fit, let’s get into the various ways you can actually make it smaller.
Option 1: Take it to The Tailor
Your first option for reducing the size of the bomber jacket is to take it to your local tailor. A professional tailor is more than capable of making any adjustments or modifications you need on your bomber jacket.
This is a great option particularly if you want to reduce the size of the sleeves, but if want any part of the jacket to be smaller, they can probably help with that too.
One thing you won’t be able to change at the tailors is the width of the shoulders since this can significantly alter the structure of the jacket.
It is possible, however, to change the collar style or size. Like we mentioned earlier in the perfect fit guide, the collar is more important than it may initially seem, so consult your tailor to see if an adjustment would help the fit of your bomber jacket.
Lastly, and one of the easiest ways of making the bomber jacket smaller, is altering the sleeves. A tailor can shorten sleeves and make them narrower, so whatever the issue you have with the sleeves, you can get it fixed.
If they’re too baggy or too long, then it’s definitely worth looking into getting them tightened or shortened.
Option 2: Tailor it Yourself
If you’ve got the necessary sewing skills, and you enjoy the challenge of fixing up your own clothes, then this next option should be perfect for you.
This DIY approach to making your bomber jacket smaller will focus on reducing the length of your sleeves, and modifying the body since these are the most important ways you can adjust a bomber jacket.
For the DIY fix, you’ll need the following:
- Some thread,
- some pins,
- a needle,
- a seam ripper,
- and some scissors.
The Sleeves
- In order to alter the sleeves of the bomber jacket, you’ll need to first use your seam ripper to rip up the lining from the sleeves and take up the stitches.
- Then you’ll have to wear your jacket, to assess the new length you want the sleeves to have.
- Fold the sleeves up to the new length, and then use your pins to secure them in place.
- Take your jacket off, turning the sleeves inside out in the process.
- For now, stitch along the hemline, before stitching the lining onto the sleeve of the jacket.
The Body
- To alter the body of your bomber jacket, you’ll want to assess how much of the body to reduce, then invert the jacket.
- Pulling in the seams of the jacket on both sides, gather them to the new size, and then pin the extra material to keep it separate from the rest.
- With the jack laying flat on a table, sew up the pinned line you created on each side seam, and then remove the pins once you are finished.
If you want another opinion, we highly recommend checking out this video by Stylish Dad.
Option 3: Boil it
The last option you have for making your bomber jacket smaller is by far the most unusual. It is in fact possible to reduce the size of your bomber jacket with water, hot water specifically.
So of course in order to pull off this method, you’re going to need to ensure that your bomber jacket is indeed machine-washable, otherwise, you run the risk of damaging the material.
What you’ll want to do first is make sure you’ve checked the label thoroughly, remove anything from the pockets of the jacket, then try the jacket on so you’ll know if it has shrunk in the wash.
Now throw it into the washing machine on its own.
Next, set the machine to the hottest option, and turn it on using just water and no detergent. A good length of time to run the wash for is approximately 30-45 minutes, this should give the material enough time to shrink down.
After the cycle has finished, take your jacket out of the washing machine, and see if you can notice a difference in the size since you wore it before.
If not, then you can always try to throw it back in for a second cycle.
Once you are satisfied that it’s smaller or you’ve washed it twice, hang it up to dry.
If this method doesn’t yield the results you were looking for, then you’ll have to take the jacket to the tailor or get your sewing kit out.
