Flat Cap and a Broken Bill

[icemanxxxv]

I have a Donegal hand woven tweed Flat Cap with a broken bill I picked it up off the Bay for cheep. I really like the colors but the snapped bill doesn't set right with me. I have a local tailor who has worked well with some of the flat caps I brought him, just not sure what to use if I take it to him to stuff the bill with.
Anyone have any Ideas on how to repair or who could repair a broken bill or what to use?

 

[Woodfluter]

Know what you mean, been there in the past. That's why I'm kind of down on stiffened bills - I mean really stiff. Many seem to use plastic that eventually deteriorates and cracks without any abuse, or even cardboard

And not just ones that are super cheap, that includes some I've had in the past that should have been better - were better in workmanship and materials except for the bill. Don't know, maybe really vintage ones are better, would like to know what was traditionally used in the past.

I have a Jonathan Richard Donegal tweed 8-piece that seems to have nothing more substantial than some kind of interface fabric in between the wool on the bill - it's flexible but certainly not floppy. That's what I like myself.

- Bill

 

[Matt Deckard]

One of the reasons why plastics still take the cake when it comes to performance in bills.

 

[Stoneface]

Anyone have any Ideas on how to repair or who could repair a broken bill or what to use?

Dissect a old baseball cap and exchange the bill/visor?

 

[Qirrel]

Looking at my caps they seem to be made with some kind of thick heavily waxed cardboard (more like flexible MDF, actually). If you could figure out a way to make that, replacing the broken one is simple if you know how to sew.

 

[icemanxxxv]

My fix

All suggestions are good but here is what I did. I'm a symmetrical kind of guy since the bill was snapped 1/3rd the way from the outside edge I just snapped it the same distance from the other side. Now it give the appearance of a symmetrical bill. I'm not too cheap to get it fixed just cheap enough to to make it look respectable for now. Looks alright like it has a bit of a bend in it when placed upon my head. Hey it's CUSTOM hat now with it's own personality.

 

[Woodfluter]

Hey Iceman, I did that too with a wool flat cap with tuck-in earflaps that I had in the 1980's. Just popped the brim an equal distance from the other side.

It worked for a while, until the stiffener layer totally separated and wouldn't stay in place at all. But look at it this way - it's character! And you can work on it later. Makes sense.