What Hat Are You Working On Today?

[RickP]

Not exactly working on a hat, but a hat accessory. Picked up a nice Orvis Herringbone vest last winter, but the yoke of the shoulders stuck out way too far out ( almost an inch and a half past the shoulders) . I had dropped it off at a local seemstress about 3 months ago and called them about it today. After hearing all the reasons why it wasnt done yet ("Ive been sick" , "cant figure out how to dissassemble" Not sure how to reshape the arm openings") I just took it home with me exactly like I dropped it off (nothing had been done at all) . After taking Mr Moose for a good ride and visitation, I came home and got busy. Hour and a half later and I had it figured out, fabric panels trimmed to new size, everything pinned, and got a basting stitch done to hold everything in place. Another 20 minutes and I had the sewing machine work done.. Had a couple minor stitching boo-boos where the needle wandered a bit, but herringbone hides things like that really well. Tested it with an Akubra Coolabah and Im ready for cool weather.... I feel accomplished today and saved the $50 the seamstress said it would have cost. ( wierd sunbeams coming through the window here this afternoon, the vest IS one solid brown color..... pics show some unnatural colors that arent really there)

Money saved will pay for a new ebay hat or two!

 

[RickP]

Ive been looking at a little Stetson Boy Scout Campaign hat on the wall for a while trying to figure out what I was going to do with it. ( one of those late night ebay things I didnt really need it, but I couldnt resist) It was a bare hat when it got here so I finally played around with some 5/8" grosgrain and whipped up a campaign bow for it today. Did some steaming and brim shaping and ended up with wht to my kid brain feels like a kinda cool Montana-Peak-ish/ Daniel Day Lewis/ "There will be Blood" movie vibe. The one in the movie had a bounde edge so Im considering adding one here.

I really think it needs a 1" ribbon, but alas all I have is 5/8" and 1-1/4" in this brown. 1-1/4" looks kinda oversized and clownish, so for now this will have to do. Ill get some 1" ribbon and see how it looks before I sew things down. It should be just peachy for a coffee shop and outside hat.... better than just having a Boy Scout wall hanger...and Ive got the only one in town

NOTHING gets left as-is around here lol

 

[Hurricane Jack]

I have heard stories about shrinking a loose fur felt hat on top of a lampshade, but had never tried it.

Ive got a slightly oversize 7-3/8 Moose River that was at least a full size too big to stay put even with felt tucked inside the sweat. ( my noggin is a 7-1/4 AND I just had a serious haircut))

Today after looking for a month, I FINALLY got my hands on some 40w incandescent light bulbs . (LED bulbs obviously dont put off enough heat and evidently you cant get them anywhere in East Texas anyway lol). Pulled the liner out and gave the felt a bit of steam and then set it up on top of the lampshade. Its been up there for about 4 hrs now and seems to be shrinking down really evenly (everything looks normal and theres no wonkieness anywhere)

Checking fit about every 30 minutes or so... thinking when it feels close Ill just put it on the head and leave it there till bedtime to see if that does the trick. Pretty impressed with how well its worked so far. Im sure a 60w bulb might have worked faster, but I figure a 40w with about 6" of clearance was safer


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Did I miss a followup post to this one? How did this work out?

 

[RickP]

Did I miss a followup post to this one? How did this work out?

The lampshade trick DID work well. Hat went from a loose 7-3/8 down to a true 7-1/4. it even let me work it to a long oval as it reduced. Everything shrank evenly with no wonkey after-effects. Not sure how far it would actually take something down, but this one did slightly over a full size on a fur felt. Ive got a couple of spare ebay loose wool hats that came in with a package deal... I dont really wear them but Ill try it on a wool soon.

 

[RickP]

Trying to decide what to do with the toasted/ cracked leather sweatband on the new Adam LoneStar.... Debating whether I stay with black, or go with a brown or tan

 

[jeffgarf]

One for brown.

 

[RickP]

Alrighty then... miserably hot and sweatty day....it totally did in what was left of the Adam Lone Star sweatband... a few hrs of sweat and it was in four pieces.... time to fix that. Got the hat disassembled and broke out the coleman fuel. Did a good three hour gas bath and slosh.... felts all clean now ( hardest part is filtering all the gas back into the cans lol) I dont skimp on the gas... Ive got a big container that will hold 5 gallons. Strainless steel grate on the bottom so the felts not swimming in sludge. Soak for a couple hours then 30 minutes or so of pouring gas through the felt. All clean now onside and out. Did a nice gentle soak and clean of the ribbon with woolite. Snugged it around a hat block to dry so its now all clean and flat. letting them air out overnight and Ill be ready to get serious in the morning.

Still haven't decided if the Black liner looks best with the brown or tan sweatband, so Ive got two different soft lambskin sweatbands fit up to the head and ready for stitching. Ill do a little retaining stitch on the ends of both to secure the reed tonight, and Ill break out the Singer in the morning to sew up the back and replace the bows. I figure with fresh eyes in the morning I can pop them in place and make a quick decision which color fits best. Then its a short run to get a basting stitch to hold it in place and get it sewn down. Im guessing by noon Ill have everything back together and ready for some final steaming and shaping... Voila New Hat! 24 hrs from dingy to fresh

 

[Blare]

Trying to decide what to do with the toasted/ cracked leather sweatband on the new Adam LoneStar.... Debating whether I stay with black, or go with a brown or tan View attachment 722743 View attachment 722742 View attachment 722741

The black on black looks great…. But then I saw the brown on black and it really pops. Won’t go wrong either way.

 

[RickP]

A busy and sucessful yesterday and today. The Adam Lonestar is a complete hat again! Gas bath for the Felt, ribbon cleaned, sweatband replaced, and the size tag and back bow sewed back in. I consulted several friends and family about which new sweatband looked better. it was 6 to one in favor of the chestnut brown over the tan so thats what I chose. Nice soft lambskin. Only stuck my fingers twice during the basting stitch and actually sewing the sweat down, but Ill swear the little bow in back took its toll! 6-or 7 *****s on that little booger alone! lol Steamed it a bit to smooth out a few handling dents from the sewing process. Fits great with a properly fit sweatband, and I think its a sharp looking lid. Got a couple water splatters on the hat from the steamer but that will dry out soon. To me the ribbon knot looks a bit off, but thats the way I got it... good enough for now. And of course we found a couple spider webs on the way out back lol

And for any Mr Moose fans here, we took a fun ride to go visit his buddies at the Antique store this afternoon. Hes moving around better and healing from surgery well. Some of his shaved spots are starting to grow back. From the tail wagging and excited barking, Im thinking hes in a good mood. The shop is an old 1940s bus station here and has a cool blue tile floor in the old lunchroom. Moose really liked it in the heat ... their a/c is supposed to be up and going in the next day or so..... Should have air conditioning when its time for Mooses saturday morning donuts. East Texas is just too hot and humid this time of year to rely on fans lol

 

[jeffgarf]

A busy and sucessful yesterday and today. The Adam Lonestar is a complete hat again! Gas bath for the Felt, ribbon cleaned, sweatband replaced, and the size tag and back bow sewed back in. I consulted several friends and family about which new sweatband looked better. it was 6 to one in favor of the chestnut brown over the tan so thats what I chose. Nice soft lambskin. Only stuck my fingers twice during the basting stitch and actually sewing the sweat down, but Ill swear the little bow in back took its toll! 6-or 7 *****s on that little booger alone! lol Steamed it a bit to smooth out a few handling dents from the sewing process. Fits great with a properly fit sweatband, and I think its a sharp looking lid. Got a couple water splatters on the hat from the steamer but that will dry out soon. To me the ribbon knot looks a bit off, but thats the way I got it... good enough for now. And of course we found a couple spider webs on the way out back lol

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And for any Mr Moose fans here, we took a fun ride to go visit his buddies at the Antique store this afternoon. Hes moving around better and healing from surgery well. Some of his shaved spots are starting to grow back. From the tail wagging and excited barking, Im thinking hes in a good mood. The shop is an old 1940s bus station here and has a cool blue tile floor in the old lunchroom. Moose really liked it in the heat ... their a/c is supposed to be up and going in the next day or so..... Should have air conditioning when its time for Mooses saturday morning donuts. East Texas is just too hot and humid this time of year to rely on fans lol
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Loved all of it. Both the hat and ***** update.

 

[Stu K 323]

My plan for today later (it’s currently 10:50am in the UK) is to turn my Snowy river into a Ronnie Van zant style hat…..I’m not sure it will be massively successful, but worth a try. If I buy another hat, I may also need to buy a new house haha

 

[RickP]

Today the thought is " whats life without a challenge" lol. I knew this was an ugly hat, I got it for a decent cheap price, And the ad pictures didnt lie lol. This old boy is in sad shape. It once was a nice 4x Beaver Stetson. It came out of The Blyth and Fargo Co store In Evanston, Wyoming. No model tag that Ive found but its a nice modest sized western with a bound brim. Did find a $62.50 store price tag under the sweat from many miles ago. As Ive said before I love a hat with a story lol

The good.... its felt shaped like a hat, the ribbon is fine, the felt surface has no holes or tears, the brim binding is fine, The feather looks ok, the liner doesnt look too bad, its not horribly crushed, I got a JBS lasso hat pin....and it fits.

The not so good.... The sweatband fell apart as I turned it out checking for tags. There are stains all over it top and bottom... Could be mud splatters, could be it blew off someones head and laded in the cow chips? Perhaps it was just in a cardboard hatbox that got wet and dripped through... Coming out of Evanston Wyo, Im assuming its NOT a Latte stain.

At least theres no debate on what to do.... it comes apart pronto and the felt goes right into the gas bath. Ribbon and the liner goes in the woolite. Already have a couple nice Lambskin sweatbands sewn up and ready to go. The stains dont look like oil , so Im hoping it cleans up ok .... we shall see soon....

Wish me luck!

 

[Hurricane Jack]

Coming out of Evanston Wyo, Im assuming its NOT a Latte stain.

LOL!

 

[wsmontana]

Today the thought is " whats life without a challenge" lol. I knew this was an ugly hat, I got it for a decent cheap price, And the ad pictures didnt lie lol. This old boy is in sad shape. It once was a nice 4x Beaver Stetson. It came out of The Blyth and Fargo Co store In Evanston, Wyoming. No model tag that Ive found but its a nice modest sized western with a bound brim. Did find a $62.50 store price tag under the sweat from many miles ago. As Ive said before I love a hat with a story lol

The good.... its felt shaped like a hat, the ribbon is fine, the felt surface has no holes or tears, the brim binding is fine, The feather looks ok, the liner doesnt look too bad, its not horribly crushed, I got a JBS lasso hat pin....and it fits.

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The not so good.... The sweatband fell apart as I turned it out checking for tags. There are stains all over it top and bottom... Could be mud splatters, could be it blew off someones head and laded in the cow chips? Perhaps it was just in a cardboard hatbox that got wet and dripped through... Coming out of Evanston Wyo, Im assuming its NOT a Latte stain.

View attachment 723274 View attachment 723275 View attachment 723276 View attachment 723277

At least theres no debate on what to do.... it comes apart pronto and the felt goes right into the gas bath. Ribbon and the liner goes in the woolite. Already have a couple nice Lambskin sweatbands sewn up and ready to go. The stains dont look like oil , so Im hoping it cleans up ok .... we shall see soon....

Wish me luck!

Looks like a fun challenge! Good luck!

 

[RickP]

Liners clean, ribbons clean, and the felt is out of a 4-1/2 hour white gas bath treatment. Already looks way better. I stuffed a piece of gauze in the funnel for a filter when I was draining gas back into the cans.... and you can see how much ***k was IN the hat before ( lots more still in the bottom of the bath container.... I never worry about trying to save the groady liquid in the botton... gas is too cheap to worry about a cup or two). Letting it dry overnight before I look at it too close. So far Im happy. Only real issue was getting eaten alive by skeeters while I was draining gas back into the cans.. lol

When it arrived:

Some of what came out of the felt:

How it looks so far..... will look over in the morning and see if it may need more gas or just some spottng with naptha

 

[RickP]

First light this morning showed thee were still a couple spots that didnt totally come clean..... so back in the gas bath for another round.... Now its pretty clean. Did a little blocking and smoothing, and now the new sweatband is basting stitched in place. Ill get started sewing it down here this evening... No more spotted hat!

 

[shopkin]

Has the dog been in the hospital? Hope everything is better.

Oh yeah, nice job with the hat too.

 

[RickP]

Has the dog been in the hospital? Hope everything is better.

Oh yeah, nice job with the hat too.

Mr Moose the lab says thanks for asking. He had his spleen and a 4-1/2 pound blood cancer tumor removed 3-1/2 weeks ago. He actually came home the same day as surgery and is recouping well. Hes moving around well, seems comfortable and happy and getting lots of rest, good food, attention and treats. The Vet tech went nuts shaving him for surgery and blood transfusions... he cant wait to get his fur back lol

 

[The Lost kansan]

First light this morning showed thee were still a couple spots that didnt totally come clean..... so back in the gas bath for another round.... Now its pretty clean. Did a little blocking and smoothing, and now the new sweatband is basting stitched in place. Ill get started sewing it down here this evening... No more spotted hat!

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You sir, are an absolute master of this art… this is looking incredible!

 

[jeffgarf]

Seems like @RickP is the only one working on hats these days. I've had a couple in the works and one I can now share. I won a auction with 2 hats in it, the Stetson 10X OR I just cleaned up and was ready to go. This one was a bit more work. It is a Stetson Zephyr Weight. I am not sure of the model and there is nothing identifying it. The only one I've seen like it is one that was for sale advertised as a UK-made Stetson, with no proof of that provided. It is very light, as advertised, probably from the 70's or 80's, near as I can guess and marked as 4X for whatever that meant then. Moth holes, cleaning (still a bit in progress), and stiffening/shaping all had to be done to get this one ready to wear.. Pretty sharp hat with a leather hatband and Stetson pin. I think its a keeper.