It is unbelievable, but there is also a recent episode that a well-known rakugoka (commic storyteller) let his apprentice wear his pongee and took it back later when it was soft enough.
嘘のような話ではあるが、現代でも著名な落語家が弟子に自分の紬を着せて着易くなってから取り上げたという逸話がある。