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[deadlyhandsome]

I know it is a sin....but I covet my neighbour's Brim Iron! Perhaps in another lifetime or a lottery win. In the meantime I have to use my Ebay 'door stop'....tis my cross to bear.

I can attest to the quality of the end result. Long live the door stop!

 

[CarynLea]

Most, if not all , the hatters here in the Lounge use fur felt and buy it already felted so if you don't get a ready answer to your problem it is because we (I) don't know as we have little to no experience with felting...I assume wool. This might be an ignorant question but have you tried, after blocking the crown, pinning the brim to a flat board all round the 360 degrees under tension. Might that help? You may need to cut a hole in a ply board the size of your block circumference to station it while the brim is under the tension.

I have not tried that and it sounds like a great idea! I'll give it a try, and I thank you for your response! Yes, I felt with wool, alpaca, and rabbit fur. Thanks again!

 

[CarynLea]

I can attest to the quality of the end result. Long live the door stop!

And what, pray tell, is an Ebay Door Stop??

 

[CarynLea]

Once in a while I will get what I call ripples or creases in parts of the brim. They are not deep and not numerous but I just use water on the affected area, soaking it but not the entire brim just the crease. Give it a good shot of steam and then a final pressing with my 'poor mans' brim press.....a 20 lb slab of metal with a handle in the shape of an iron. I imagine it is an antique iron that was heated on the stove. It was sold on Ebay as a 'door stop'. I heat it on a hot plate for about 20 minutes using a wet press cloth between the iron and the fur felt. It works. I have to be cautious to feather the wrinkled area as the heavy weight of the iron and my pressing can create new voids outboard the original wrinkle. But with a bit of work and some finesse it takes the wrinkle out.

A great possible solution! Thank you! Now I have two new solutions to try! You are all the best! I'll be working on my profile soon... I live in Reno NV and have now felted an official 38 hats!

 

[belfastboy]

And what, pray tell, is an Ebay Door Stop??

It is my 20lb metal dry iron...really a big chunk of metal in the shape of an iron with a handle. I heat it on my hot plate. I bought it on Ebay....it was listed as a door stop.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

A great possible solution! Thank you! Now I have two new solutions to try! You are all the best! I'll be working on my profile soon... I live in Reno NV and have now felted an official 38 hats!

Are you actually taking loose fur fibers and felting them?

There are few commercial felt companies anymore as demand is relatively low and the equipment is very expensive.

 

[belfastboy]

A great possible solution! Thank you! Now I have two new solutions to try! You are all the best! I'll be working on my profile soon... I live in Reno NV and have now felted an official 38 hats!

I have also a classic Black & Decker steam iron....a good iron but it does not put out much steam and has no "burst of steam" feature. I have a new B&D iron, a cheapy but it has the burst of steam and produces a great deal of steam and you really need copious amounts of steam to be effective...at least with rabbit felt.

 

[belfastboy]

I have also a classic Black & Decker steam iron....a good iron but it does not put out much steam and has no "burst of steam" feature. I have a new B&D iron, a cheapy but it has the burst of steam and produces a great deal of steam and you really need copious amounts of steam to be effective...at least with rabbit felt.

A millinery supply company in the UK offers from time to time rabbit felt capeline 'seconds' for a great price...$10-15. The flaws are minor, pretty sure they are Tonak made felts. They also offer fur felt cones too for slightly less. They will have more this autumn and well worth the money if you want to try working on a commercial grade rabbit felt. I use them for practice or to try out some new idea on style. Much easier to take screwing up a $10 felt rather than a $65 one. The Trimming Company.

 

[WonkyBloke]

I'll ask this here, as I can't see a better place to do so...

How do I turn all the emails off? I've been through the preferences, and alert preferences, and unchecked everything that says email, yet I'm still getting an email for every alert that rings the bell at the top of the page. Can I still keep the alerts on the site, without being swamped with email?

 

[Blare]

I'll ask this here, as I can't see a better place to do so...

How do I turn all the emails off? I've been through the preferences, and alert preferences, and unchecked everything that says email, yet I'm still getting an email for every alert that rings the bell at the top of the page. Can I still keep the alerts on the site, without being swamped with email?

I believe that when you click the bell to follow each thread it gives you an option to follow with or without email alert. You would have to go through each thread you followed and reset. I’m not sure how you would do it site wide though.

 

[WonkyBloke]

I believe that when you click the bell to follow each thread it gives you an option to follow with or without email alert. You would have to go through each thread you followed and reset. I’m not sure how you would do it site wide though.

Thanks Blare, although I've never specifically requested a notification of any thread. It's the automatically opted in alerts of updates to threads I've posted in, or replies to my posts. Great to have those alerts when logged in, but I don't need an email every time. The only way I can see is to turn off all alerts altogether, which would be a shame to do, and I might miss replies etc.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Thanks Blare, although I've never specifically requested a notification of any thread. It's the automatically opted in alerts of updates to threads I've posted in, or replies to my posts. Great to have those alerts when logged in, but I don't need an email every time. The only way I can see is to turn off all alerts altogether, which would be a shame to do, and I might miss replies etc.

Keep playing with the settings. I get alerts for replies to my posts on r when I’m mentioned in a post, but I have it set up where the only email alert I get is when someone sends me a PM.

Under my profile, I have these options:

 

[Frunobulax]

Hi not sure if this is where to post this; wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to get feather to "lay down" better against the hat. I know the whole feather thing whether or not to use one is always in disagreement; sometimes I do sometimes I don't. But when I do, I like it to lay down and hate when it sticks out I just don't like that look on my hats.
I want to get them to lay against the hat any suggestions? Thanks

Either a shorter feather or a less tapered crown would help, I guess. Not certain what else, unless you just try different feathers and choose one that suits you better.

 

[CarynLea]

Are you actually taking loose fur fibers and felting them?

There are few commercial felt companies anymore as demand is relatively low and the equipment is very expensive.

 

[CarynLea]

Yes, I start with wool roving, or alpaca, or rabbit fur (not the pelt). As soon as I get my profile done I'll share a few of them! It's quite a process!

 

[CarynLea]

Either a shorter feather or a less tapered crown would help, I guess. Not certain what else, unless you just try different feathers and choose one that suits you better.

I simply curl my feathers to fit as snugly on my hats as I want them to. I use my hair curling iron. It takes a little practice, but you can shape the feathers into all kinds of shapes!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Yes, I start with wool roving, or alpaca, or rabbit fur (not the pelt). As soon as I get my profile done I'll share a few of them! It's quite a process!

Very cool! Looking forward to reading about and seeing the process.

 

[WonkyBloke]

Keep playing with the settings. I get alerts for replies to my posts on r when I’m mentioned in a post, but I have it set up where the only email alert I get is when someone sends me a PM.

Under my profile, I have these options:

Yup. They're the settings that I unchecked, but the emails keep flowing

I'll keep trying...

 

[Snowman]

Yup. They're the settings that I unchecked, but the emails keep flowing

I'll keep trying...

I’ve had to uncheck the “email response” box on individual threads. I think when you post in a thread it automatically signs you up to watch that thread with email alerts unless you uncheck the box.

 

[WonkyBloke]

I’ve had to uncheck the “email response” box on individual threads. I think when you post in a thread it automatically signs you up to watch that thread with email alerts unless you uncheck the box.

Hmmm. I'm not seeing that on my phone, but will look for it next time I fire up the laptop. Thanks.