Why does water make leather shrink? I had a leather pendant that got thrown intoa pool by my bratty brother and it got so shrunk I couldn’t wear it without being choked. That’s been bugging me.
Cattle don’t swim well, so it’s natural that their skin draws up in water. It’s sorta like the way the human scrotum draws up at the words, “Does this make my butt look too big?”
Actually, it’s the other way around.
Cattle will weigh more when wet, because the leather absorbs.
When you take a bath, and your fingers “shrink” they actually have gotten bigger, but just look more wrinkled because parts that are connected to deeper layers cannot rise above their normal position.