Fitting a Grosgrain Band

[redhawks2]

I've been working on converting a couple of Stetson western hats and have cut down the brim and rebashed but am having trouble fitting a 1.5" band. Because of the taper on the crown I'm ending up with a gap at the top of the band so that it does not fit snugly against the crown in some places. Just wondering if I'm overlooking something elementary or if I need to be using a stretch type of grosgrain or?? My only other choice is to use a thinner band like a 3/8" but I would like to use a wider band if I can. Does anyone have any tips for me?
Thanks much.

 

[billyspew]

Thread here: http://thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=33001

It needs to a cotton/rayon mix because apparently the modern rayon/polyester ones will not get the curve.

To cut to the chase you wet the ribbon and the iron it into the shape you need.

TTFN,

Bill

 

[redhawks2]

Thanks for the link Bill...much appreciated.
Dave

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Once you have the cotton/rayon ribbon on the hat, if there is still a gap, you can wet the ribbon with your fingertip. When it dries, the gap will usually have snugged up!

 

[warmentrout]

I've been working on converting a couple of Stetson western hats and have cut down the brim and rebashed but am having trouble fitting a 1.5" band. Because of the taper on the crown I'm ending up with a gap at the top of the band so that it does not fit snugly against the crown in some places. Just wondering if I'm overlooking something elementary or if I need to be using a stretch type of grosgrain or?? My only other choice is to use a thinner band like a 3/8" but I would like to use a wider band if I can. Does anyone have any tips for me?
Thanks much.

If you do a search for "swirling" there are several posts that are informative and some with pics. The basic idea is you need to make the bottom of the ribbon longer than the top. Cotton/rayon grosgrain does that quite easily just by wetting the ribbon and ironing it into an arc shape. I have done it with polyester ribbon but I had to iron it and stretch one side which doesn't work as well. If you google "Nancy's Sewing Basket" you will find a store that has a nice assortment of colors of cotton/rayon ribbon. They will sell you the length that you need so you don't have to buy 10 yards of ribbon when you only need about one. They will send you sample swatches as long as you don't abuse the courtesy and they have always sent the ribbon I have ordered in a regular envelope so I only paid the postage of a stamp or two instead of 7 or 8 dollars for shipping.

Good luck. Post pics when you're done

 

[jazzncocktails]

I've been working on converting a couple of Stetson western hats and have cut down the brim and rebashed but am having trouble fitting a 1.5" band. Because of the taper on the crown I'm ending up with a gap at the top of the band so that it does not fit snugly against the crown in some places. Just wondering if I'm overlooking something elementary or if I need to be using a stretch type of grosgrain or?? My only other choice is to use a thinner band like a 3/8" but I would like to use a wider band if I can. Does anyone have any tips for me?
Thanks much.

Hi Redhawks,
I recently put a new 1.5" ribbon on a Campdraft and had the same problem initially. I followed the same advice the gents here give: make sure the ribbon fits snugly to the hat, and then wet/steam the top of the ribbon...it should shrink it down a bit to conform to your taper. You can see my ribbon pics on the Post New Hats Here thread, pages 185 and 186. And the following link from Hats Direct may help, too:

http://www.hatsdirect.com/hat-info/ribbon.html

Good luck, and post photos when you're successful!

 

[redhawks2]

Many thanks Gentlemen...great ideas and info!

 

[rrog]

There are lots of knowledgeable folks around here, redhawks2. They have good experience and hat wisdom. You'll appreciate it more the more you see it. And welcome to the lounge.

rrog