Fu Manchu
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 113
- Location
- Ivory Tower, CT
Bowler edge?
Hi all,
I recently redid the edge of an old Christie's bowler. It was an incredibly difficult, painful process. The original work was all hand done in tiny 2-3 mm intervals. Living in Taipei, I couldn't find an appropriate 1 inch ribbon, and settled with a 7/8 inch ribbon. Needless to say, I couldn't use the original holes for my restoration job.
Because of the hard edge, I was using a thimble and pliers to work the needle through the hat. My stitches are slightly less than 1 cm apart, and the job took two solid afternoons of work. The finished hat is wearable but far from perfect. If I could, I'd give it right back to a hatter to be redone.
A question - my bowler has a thin metal ring that slips around the inside of the edge. I looped the ribbon around this ring and sewed it in place in the front and back areas. This seemed right...
Sorry all, no pictures, but feel free to ask me questions if I've been unclear!
Hi all,
I recently redid the edge of an old Christie's bowler. It was an incredibly difficult, painful process. The original work was all hand done in tiny 2-3 mm intervals. Living in Taipei, I couldn't find an appropriate 1 inch ribbon, and settled with a 7/8 inch ribbon. Needless to say, I couldn't use the original holes for my restoration job.
Because of the hard edge, I was using a thimble and pliers to work the needle through the hat. My stitches are slightly less than 1 cm apart, and the job took two solid afternoons of work. The finished hat is wearable but far from perfect. If I could, I'd give it right back to a hatter to be redone.
A question - my bowler has a thin metal ring that slips around the inside of the edge. I looped the ribbon around this ring and sewed it in place in the front and back areas. This seemed right...
Sorry all, no pictures, but feel free to ask me questions if I've been unclear!