Bought a Carhartt Sante Fe jacket at TSC tonight. XXL Reg fits me well w/ a little extra room for layering if necessary. 100% cotton sandstone duck outer, quilted flannel inner. Machine wash warm, tumble dry medium heat.
The Googles say minimum shrinkage following instructions. Carhartt site has no reference to shrinking. Tag says outer fabric is prewashed but not entire jacket. Should I be concerned about excessive shrinking before I pull the tags off? Next size up is XXL Tall... which I pretty much float in.
I've had Berne insulated duck jackets and coveralls shrink some before, this Carhartt jacket is new to me.
There's a 10% off Carhartt sale at TSC BTW, they were still stocking the racks as I walked in.
Never had a problem. Shrinkage was minimal, and it stretched back in no time. TSC here has 30% off 
i've had my Carhartt jacket for 6 years now, and it only ever feels like it has shrunk the first time i wear it every fall..
Shrinkage should be minimal, unless you wash in VERY hot water. But avoid very high temps when drying, too.
When I was in the Navy I was "given" a jacket that fit fine the first few times I wore it and then washed it. I dried it at too high a temp setting and it became quite snug...layering was out of the question. Surprised you say you "swim" in a tall, as it shouldn't be that much bigger...just longer.
I've had my Carhartt for a few years now never had any problem with the jacket at all. My bibs did seem to shrink a bit through the waist a couple times though.
thnx for the info guys, I see no need to exchange now.
I've worn Carhartt jackets at work for years supplied by the company. They had laundry service so I only had to exchange a dirty jacket for a clean one through the crib so I never knew the laundering effects or even sizing for that matter... just picked a clean one off the rack that fit.
thnx again
I've got a pair of coveralls that I hang dry. I have had a couple bad experiences drying stuff in general, so I get this image in my head of me pulling preteen size Carhartts out of the dryer. 
My jacket hasnt shrunk. Wash in cold water. Hang dry. Fluf in drier.
My arctic chore coat shrank some when dried on medium. Unless you're going to wash it all the time, it can't hurt to line dry it and hit it in the dryer for 10 minutes on medium when it's about dry.
So my domestic skills ain't the berkeleying best, I shrunk a bunch of stuff before but it starts to get expensive after a few berkeleyups. When I tried on Schmidt coveralls in the store they were dragging the floor over my boots, after a few washes 'according to directions' they were high waters. How the berkeley can the legs shrink over 6 berkeleying inches??... OK, I must be the moron here.
I did find better quality, non-shrinking coveralls thanks to that GRMer in my What Coveralls thread, I'll resurrect that thread soon, I need to thank that guy. Red Kap poly/ cotton twill from Automotiveworkwear.com. I washed and dried 'em 5X already w/ no shrink. Even w/ the additional $5 size charge for my larger sizing they were about $34 ea. delivered CA-PA, not bad at all. The shrinking Schmidts were $31 ea. on sale, ugh. BTW, there's a 15% off Black Friday sale there now, I'm gonna get me s'more Red Kaps.
For the Carhartt, cold wash and line dry sounds like a winnah, I ain't taking no chances w/ a $80 jacket.
Everyone around here wears Carhartts. I own one jacket only because I got it for free. It shrunk, but still fits decent.
I'd rather wear Dickies or Rad Kap
