Washing
Dogi Jacket is usually made of cotton. Cotton shrinks after washing. The
degree of shrinkage is different from the condition of cotton like Unbleached
and Bleached and the quality of the cotton.
Unbleached Jacket such as IWATA 200S, IWATA 300W and IWATA500 shrinks a
lot for the first wash, but after the first wash, it becomes the same size as
bleached jacket. (In other words, when you get a blend new unbleached jacket
IWATA, it is too big for you but it is normal. It is very important to wash
your unbleached jacket before the first use!)
Bleached Jacket such as IWATA 200AS, IWATA 300AW, IWATA 600 shrinks a
little by little, because it is already shrunk. However, it is natural to
shrink a little and eventually about 6-10cm a year. (It is also different from
the intensity of your training and the frequency of washing)
The other feature is washing temperature.
Less than 30°C: As it is noticed in the care label, the max temperature
for washing correctly is 30°C. The
higher the washing temperature is, the more the shrinkage is as well.
Dogi does not shrink the same degree in all directions. In general, the gi shrinks more in width than
in length. A high temperature causes the damage of cotton fabric and reduces
the robustness and the durability of dogi.
For the smell or smear, you might not be get rid of these even though
you washed your jacket correctly because you use your kimono for years or
because you left your dogi in your bag after your training for a long time, for
example. In this case, you can use
bleach but once or twice a year.
Drying
Lightly stretch your dogi after you take it out from the washing
machine. You can remove the small folds,
which are done during the washing, especially spinning, by stretching your gi.
When you do the spinning your jacket, it is better to set a low speed spinning
because the spin is so fast that your dogi will be damaged. It is better to
avoid a drying machine because the cotton is damaged by the high temperature.
Hang the jacket on a hanger like a letter “T”.
It is better to dry outside in shade and to avoid the direct sunlight.
If you dry your kimono under the direct sunlight, it damages the cotton and
reduces the durability of kimono.
However, if you dry faster your jacket, you can dry your dogi under the
sunlight with inside out.
