how to shrink leather? (r-sport momo steering wheel)

[Uncle G]

I have a 3 spoke volvo momo steering wheel, im sure u all know which one I mean. Its a bit worse for wear, and doesnt look the part in my otherwise pretty neat 240.

I will be trying to re-cover it myself using black leather. i figure, may aswell give it a go, worst case scenario, i stuff up, ill just have to get it done by a pro. Id be doing this anyways if I didnt try it myself.

ANYWAY, after reading lots of tutorials n vids n stuff, I am curios as to if there is anyway to shrink leather once it is sewn on? would any of this work.

-realllyyyyyy slightly wet the leather as I am sewing it on, and hope that it shrinks when it drys

-hair dryer the sh*t out of it once it is on

any help would be much appreciated
just so ur not so bored, heres a pic of the wheel.
[IMG] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

[nickpro]

I have the same exact wheel, but without the center piece. Not only is my leather coming off ontop, so is the actual mold.

[Uncle G]

theyre awesome wheels, i love it. Just needs to be refreshed.

dono how the hell you would fix the mold coming off.....

[Vol242vo]

1 - Pre-soak the leather
2 - Punch holes in leather prior to sewing (will look much better, than doing it as you go)
3 - Let dry in sun slowly, if you use a hairdryer it may not shrink evenly.
4 - Lay a think layer of newspaper down to help absorb some of the water.

And since we are all sharing here's mine:

[project volvo]

Originally Posted by Vol242vo

1 - Pre-soak the leather
2 - Punch holes in leather prior to sewing (will look much better, than doing it as you go)
3 - Let dry in sun slowly, if you use a hairdryer it may not shrink evenly.
4 - Lay a think layer of newspaper down to help absorb some of the water.

And since we are all sharing here's mine:

just bought that huh?

[Uncle G]

Originally Posted by Vol242vo

1 - Pre-soak the leather
2 - Punch holes in leather prior to sewing (will look much better, than doing it as you go)
3 - Let dry in sun slowly, if you use a hairdryer it may not shrink evenly.
4 - Lay a think layer of newspaper down to help absorb some of the water.

Thanks mate, life saver. I really dont want it to turn out wrinkly and crap.

I know that if i try to sew it like it was done from factory it will look crap, im gonna cut out my template, hem the edges, and then cross stitch (i think) using a thin lace. so like, im not actually hand sewing anything, the only parts Im hand sewing will be the lace, but for that i just go in and out of the loops that the machine has made on the hem. hopefully that makes sense.

your wheels looks perfect! is your centre section wrapped in leather aswell? mines just rubbery foamy stuff. how would i go about covering that aswell?