Howdy folks!
Dad's had this hat for decades, I remember distinctly him wearing it at the airport when we moved over here. Recently he's replaced it with a wider brimmed hat, and it's been a bit neglected - it was supposed to be a "crushable" hat (which, I suppose, it is!) but turns out it doesn't return to shape very well. Since it was wool felt, he said I could have a shot at reshaping it to give it a new lease of life.
WARNING: I imagine that this could mess up a hat quite well, and probably shrink it. Look for advice from someone who's done it more than once!
The tools I used was an electric kettle, since it made more steam than boiling a pot of water and did it faster. Keep an eye on the level, as I used about 1.5l of water doing this. I also used this little globe:
And a tablespoon.
First step was to pop out all the dents:
And get the kettle goin:
It becomes really pliable after this, but you have to work fast before it cools and dries.
I put it over the globe and then smoothed it out by hand. It would've been easier if the globe came off the stand, as it could stretch grooves and dents into the felt.
The shape at the front of the hat was a bit of a PITA to get rid of but it's not that important. It was stretched into this shape so getting it out completely just ain't worth the hassle.
I stopped here.
Next came the top crease. I just did this by hand, there wasn't really anything else for it. Some of the classic western styles look like they could be done with a pipe though.
It's a bit bumpy here, but it's easy enough to smooth out with another steaming. Make sure you keep it in the center and the sides are an even height, most hats have a bow at the back of the sweatband you can line it up with. If not they'll usually have a seam in the sweatband anyway.
Smoothed out
Then come the side creases:
One done...
Two done. These were started by hand and then smoothed out with the tablespoon.
The hat still ain't perfect, but it's better. A lot of the uneven bits at the back of the crown are down to being stretched, and they were a pain to get rid of. Some will get better with use, others just add character!
Hope it's useful to someone!
Pete
Dad's had this hat for decades, I remember distinctly him wearing it at the airport when we moved over here. Recently he's replaced it with a wider brimmed hat, and it's been a bit neglected - it was supposed to be a "crushable" hat (which, I suppose, it is!) but turns out it doesn't return to shape very well. Since it was wool felt, he said I could have a shot at reshaping it to give it a new lease of life.
WARNING: I imagine that this could mess up a hat quite well, and probably shrink it. Look for advice from someone who's done it more than once!
The tools I used was an electric kettle, since it made more steam than boiling a pot of water and did it faster. Keep an eye on the level, as I used about 1.5l of water doing this. I also used this little globe:
And a tablespoon.
First step was to pop out all the dents:
And get the kettle goin:
It becomes really pliable after this, but you have to work fast before it cools and dries.
I put it over the globe and then smoothed it out by hand. It would've been easier if the globe came off the stand, as it could stretch grooves and dents into the felt.
The shape at the front of the hat was a bit of a PITA to get rid of but it's not that important. It was stretched into this shape so getting it out completely just ain't worth the hassle.
I stopped here.
Next came the top crease. I just did this by hand, there wasn't really anything else for it. Some of the classic western styles look like they could be done with a pipe though.
It's a bit bumpy here, but it's easy enough to smooth out with another steaming. Make sure you keep it in the center and the sides are an even height, most hats have a bow at the back of the sweatband you can line it up with. If not they'll usually have a seam in the sweatband anyway.
Smoothed out
Then come the side creases:
One done...
Two done. These were started by hand and then smoothed out with the tablespoon.
The hat still ain't perfect, but it's better. A lot of the uneven bits at the back of the crown are down to being stretched, and they were a pain to get rid of. Some will get better with use, others just add character!
Hope it's useful to someone!
Pete
