I just finished up my Akubra "Down Under" conversions. I scored an Akubra "Down Under" in sandtone fawn off EBay but I didn't like the round styling. I read here about trimming the brim down and proceeded to trim to 2.75". I re-bashed using instructions on the forum and went with a pinch tear drop. I had the opportunity to purchase a second "Down Under" in rodeo brown. I trimmed and re-bashed in the same style as the previous one. I ordered some "vintage" brown grosgrain. I didn't think the color contrasted enough with the dark brown so I used RIT Wine dye (all I had available in the house) to get the Plum Wine color. I thought it came out pretty good. Awesome quality, great fit. They have become my go to hats. Thanks to the forum, I'm hooked on Akubra.
Great job on the conversions. I love the crease you put in them.
I'm about 80% done with re-making an old Snowy River into something I like better. Will post pics when it's done.
Here's my contribution to the Akubra Overload thread. This is as Sinatra styled Akubra that came from City Hatters in Melbourne Australia. It has a shallow crown, and tapers a lot to the back of the hat. Needless to say, the brim is pretty stingy.
Well, I finished my re-make of that Snowy River. I picked it up last year at a thrift store for 5 dollars, quickly found that while the felt and construction quality were nice, I just didn't like the very shallow crown. Ictried reshaping it and giving the brim a curl, but it didn't help much to make me like it any better.
Now that I have a little more experience and equipment, I decided to dismantle it, reblock and reflange it to try to get more crown. I ended up turning about 3/4" of brim into crown, raising the crown heigth to 5 1/2". I did manage somehow to make it just a little off center, so I had to trim about 1/8"-3/16" off one side of the brim. Oh well, live and learn. There was a noticeable color difference where the band used to sit, so I went with a 1 1/2" ribbon instead of the kangaroo hide braid that came on it to cover the line. The sweatband went back in nice and easy (or at least as easy as re-sewing asweatband can be) except for a cracked and torn end of the reed tape. Had to do some funky looking stitching to attach it.
A new crease later, and here it is:
Snowy River, sno longer!
Last one shows where the old brim line was. Pardon my sloppy sewing. I am improving, just need more practice.☺
After browsing through this huge thread for a very long - and educational - time, I realized there were not that many "Territory Akubras" around.
If any at all
Am I really all alone with this great hat?
What did I do wrong??
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.