Hat making?? Learning Millinery..

[belfastboy]

The nice thing about having a smaller head size is that I can eek out a 6" crown and 3" brim from this dress weight FEPSA beaver in moonshine.


This is my new Randal Alan #52 block. Good profile on this one, compares favorably to the vintage block I have.

Is the 6"/3" the max you can get out of the Fepsa felts? I wonder if his Fepsa western blends will be larger?? I still have my Fepsa Cyprus beaver from last year to make up....just have not gotten around to it yet.

 

[jlee562]

Is the 6"/3" the max you can get out of the Fepsa felts? I wonder if his Fepsa western blends will be larger?? I still have my Fepsa Cyprus beaver from last year to make up....just have not gotten around to it yet.

It may be possible to squeeze one more 1/8" but I was pretty close to the perforations when I did the brim trim. I really like my Cypress build, it's very frequently in the rotation.

 

[jlee562]

I did a hand bound edge.

a while back I bought this antique ribbon on etsy that was made for silk flower making. It has gradient coloring and a moire pattern. Unfortunately it basically started disintegrating while I was working with it. It would have made a really cool binding. Alas, it was not to be.



I ended up grabbing another ribbon from Art's remaining stash. It's 9 ligne, which is a bit wider than I generally prefer, but I was committed to this bound edge project (and doubly so because of one stupid place in the brim that got mucked up during the trim). I followed Art's instructions from this post. The ribbon circle ended up being too long anyways, so I had to undo some of the basting stitches, tie up the sides of the brim like a tri corn hat and sew a new, shorter seam. It still could be a bit tighter, but as a first attempt at a hat bound edge, it turned out pretty ok! The 2 ply band came from Tim/Purebeaver. I may add a matching bow instead of, or under the 2 ply. The wider binding seems like it is maybe needing a more substantial band for the crown.



Two evening's worth of work, only slightly wonky stitching in a few spots. I joke about the stitch line, but I'm pretty proud of the joined seam, especially considering I had to fix it while it was attached to the brim.


Like all my hat builds, I've made a vintage kimono silk liner. I like the pop of color, even if it's mostly unseen.

 

[belfastboy]

The nice thing about having a smaller head size is that I can eek out a 6" crown and 3" brim from this dress weight FEPSA beaver in moonshine.


This is my new Randal Alan #52 block. Good profile on this one, compares favorably to the vintage block I have.

Is the 6"/3" the max you can get out of the Fepsa felts? I wonder if his Fepsa western blends will be larger?? I still have my Fepsa Cyprus beaver from last year to make up....just have not gotten around to it yet.

I did a hand bound edge.

a while back I bought this antique ribbon on etsy that was made for silk flower making. It has gradient coloring and a moire pattern. Unfortunately it basically started disintegrating while I was working with it. It would have made a really cool binding. Alas, it was not to be.



I ended up grabbing another ribbon from Art's remaining stash. It's 9 ligne, which is a bit wider than I generally prefer, but I was committed to this bound edge project (and doubly so because of one stupid place in the brim that got mucked up during the trim). I followed Art's instructions from this post. The ribbon circle ended up being too long anyways, so I had to undo some of the basting stitches, tie up the sides of the brim like a tri corn hat and sew a new, shorter seam. It still could be a bit tighter, but as a first attempt at a hat bound edge, it turned out pretty ok! The 2 ply band came from Tim/Purebeaver. I may add a matching bow instead of, or under the 2 ply. The wider binding seems like it is maybe needing a more substantial band for the crown.



Two evening's worth of work, only slightly wonky stitching in a few spots. I joke about the stitch line, but I'm pretty proud of the joined seam, especially considering I had to fix it while it was attached to the brim.


Like all my hat builds, I've made a vintage kimono silk liner. I like the pop of color, even if it's mostly unseen.

Great job. I applaud your staying power to handle the hand stitching. I have a selection of vintage silk kimono fabric that is use for the lady's hats I make. They are either bold colours or whimsical and add a great touch....even as you say, they are unseen.

 

[belfastboy]

Here is my latest addition to my tool box. It is a pastry rolling pin and perfect for centre dent creases. I have been borrowing my wife's artisan made/hand turned one and she is tired of retreiving it from my shop. So for peace in the family I bought my own.....an Amazon cheapie but works just as well.

 

[Gobi]

Question: how much ironing do you guys typically do? I figure the ironing further felts the hat thinner and denser and helps stabilize the felt but how much do you usually do? A lot of custom hatters have ironing machines but I've never seen where they mention how long the hat stays on the machine. Just curious.

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

Question: how much ironing do you guys typically do? I figure the ironing further felts the hat thinner and denser and helps stabilize the felt but how much do you usually do? A lot of custom hatters have ironing machines but I've never seen where they mention how long the hat stays on the machine. Just curious.

For brim ironing using a platter machine it is 3 minutes for Fedora style hats.
If you have a crown iron, it only needs a couple of minutes as well. 4 minutes is probably fairly standard.

In both cases you are ironing before doing the pouncing work or just after your first grit in your pouncing progression.

Ironing continues to activate the shellac and going longer will make a stiffer hat. If I left a hat in my platter machine for much longer eventually I will end up with a board stiff brim on it. I am sure each hat maker has their own timings but felt is very forgiving and you can do a lot to it before ruining it by ironing. Just keep the iron moving as not to burn it.

I do not have a crown iron but I use one of these to iron the crown: Amazon.com: Coverite 21st Century Sealing Iron with Precise Electronic Temperature Control, Iron Stand, and AC Cord: Toys & Games (This particular model is currently unavailable but search for sealing iron and you will find one. I use it with my home made spinner that I pounce the hats on.).

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

Several years ago, I purchased a vintage (40 years old) panama hat on eBay. Stripped it bare, cleaned all the dust off of it, completely removed the creases out of it and rebuilt the hat at Art's shop since he had the sculpted block I needed to use. Since that time it has seen a good amount of use and some abuse, the brim ended up getting wonky and needed to be re-flanged. So I am showing the pictures after the rebuild with the wonky brim and then the pictures after I re-flanged and steamed the brim. If I remember correctly this is an old Dobbs 5th Avenue hat.

The flange is from Hatter's Supply House, model 510 (snap brim), sized 7-1/4, brim 2-1/2 inches.

By the way I am posting this in two separate threads as I feel it applies to both, maybe these threads should be combined.

Before re-flanging:
View attachment 350183 View attachment 350184 View attachment 350185 View attachment 350186




After re-flanging:
View attachment 350187 View attachment 350188 View attachment 350189 View attachment 350190

 

[belfastboy]

Today I launched my first ever Fedora University.....End of October I will teach a hat making workshop here in my shop. I was in a wine store in the city back mid summer wearing a vintage Borsalino. Chatting with the owner he inquired about my hat and it came around that I was a hat maker. He said he had long wanted to learn how to make a hat......and on the spot I offered to teach him.....and thus my Hat Making Workshop was born. I have added one more person so it is a class of two. We have scheduled 4 days with likely a 5th day for final touches. I am excited for both me and the clients as they are both over the moon at the thought of making their own fedora!

 

[humanshoes]

Congrats on your new endeavor Robert. Long live the good ol' FU.

 

[belfastboy]

Congrats on your new endeavor Robert. Long live the good ol' FU.

Our school mascot will be the "Fighting Beavers".....my apologies to Oregon State U....hoodie with logo to follow!

 

[belfastboy]

Our school mascot will be the "Fighting Beavers".....my apologies to Oregon State U....hoodie with logo to follow!

Do I need a fight song?

 

[belfastboy]

I would love to be a part of that class
I have been binge watching videos on how to make them , surprisingly with the amount I have watched it still fascinates me to no end . Even steaming and cleaning my collection is always done with a smile

By far the best YouTube video is the one of Art @VS . 30 minutes of hat making...I watch it regularly.

 

[Frunobulax]

Do I need a fight song?

Sure, "Winona's Big Brown Beaver" by Primus.

I'da gone with Angry Beavers, though.

 

[belfastboy]

Sure, "Winona's Big Brown Beaver" by Primus.

I'da gone with Angry Beavers, though.

My second choice was "Dead Beavers" but my wife suggested the logo would be a big downer.

 

[ILB Frank]

Our school mascot will be the "Fighting Beavers".....my apologies to Oregon State U....hoodie with logo to follow!

The FU shirt may actually beat the infamous Ball U shirt!
My friend (who went to IU) loved wearing the shirt that read "I know someone who is going to Ball U."
Ahhhh, higher learning at its finest.

 

[humanshoes]

Do I need a fight song?

I can't think of a good fight song for you, but you should probably have this book on the coffee table in your waiting room.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Robert @belfastboy is your one-on-one with Art still happening?

 

[belfastboy]

Robert @belfastboy is your one-on-one with Art still happening?

Possibly. He is still in Central Pointe but getting close to his move to Florida. With the border still closed I am beginning to think that ship is about to sail. I could fly to Portland, rent a car and drive down but that would add about a thousand dollars to the cost.

 

[belfastboy]

Robert @belfastboy is your one-on-one with Art still happening?

Art, Rick and Stephen from Leon Drexler have been very generous with their time answering my email inquiries on ....."How do you do...........? But it sure ain''t the same as in person instruction.