Fixing up Grampa's Straw Fedora

[Earp]

Anyone here know anything about fixing up a straw fedora? I have one that belonged to my grandfather. It probably wasn't anything expensive but the crown got smashed down somewhere along the way and I'd like to see if I could get it back into shape. Is it harder to fix these old straws than it is for their felt counterparts?

 

[Tomasso]

Post a photo.

 

[Earp]

I'd like to but that might take a while ... my digital camera is broken and it's a very old one anyway. I'm thinking about replacing it. But really here's the deal. It looks like someone sat on the hat and the crown is smashed down and the brim needs reshaping. There's no damage to the straw -- the hat's just got a bad shape. I thought maybe straw ones might be able to be steamed back into shape.

 

[Davidson]

Earp, I picked up a great tip here on FL I've been using today. It's a great way to dig the Fedora Lounge gold mine. Go to Google, and type in your keywords, and add "site:www.thefedoralounge.com". I just did:

"straw steam site:www.thefedoralounge.com"

at Google and immediately had some great FL reading to choose from!

 

[Tomasso]

My Google search box has a drop down menu where I can choose to search the Current Site, then simply type in the search words.

 

[Earp]

Thanks Davidson and Tomasso. This a great search tip that I will using a lot.

 

[Earp]

Success!!

Well, I followed the advice in several of the threads about restoring straw hats and I worked on my Gramp's hat today and it turned out wonderful. The brim isn't quite wide enough for my build and face so I won't be wearing it much but that's not the point. I can display it now and enjoy it as a personal possession of my Grandfather. I was looking at it today and imagining him picking it out at the store -- trying it on and checking things in the mirror. Everytime I happen to glance at it I see that old familiar chappeau that was so much a part of his persona and memories come flooding back. Thanks to Davidson and Tomasso for your help with my query. It means more to me than you probably realize to have this hat restored to it's former shape.

 

[Davidson]

My grandfather never went out the door without his hat, and one of the few pieces of non-fishing related advice he ever gave me was "always wear a hat". It was thinking of him across all the years he has been gone that got me interested, at this late date, in joining the Hatted.

I understand.

 

[RBH]

I understand.

As do I.