Hat making?? Learning Millinery..

[Darrell2688]

Hatters have their own proprietary name for combining a Panama/straw crown with a felt brim. I think it was Art @ VS that used "Duplex" for his Milan crown/felt brim. I am thinking (it may get me tossed out of The Lounge) of experimenting with distressing felts using dye techniques.....maybe a tie/dye felt?

Well, if you're going to use dye on a fur felt, would it be better to use a hair dye? Maybe go completely brown?

 

[Darrell2688]

Today I did a little work on my version of a Tollicker and my hat band is ready for the hat, just as soon as I get the hat finished. I might just try the flame job and try not to get the hat Well Done.

 

[belfastboy]

Well, if you're going to use dye on a fur felt, would it be better to use a hair dye? Maybe go completely brown?

Acid dyes are designed for natural fibres and work very well. The difficulty is getting deep penetration and evenness. My duplex was for fun to see what it would look like. I have dyed a few other hats as experiments with varying results. Sometimes to repair sun bleaching or sometimes just to change the colour. It is a fun thing to experiment with.

 

[Darrell2688]

What dye do you use for fur felt and what is your process? I tried using hair dye and I was going from dark chocolate to almost white then to a grey. I should have stopped when I got the color to a lite brown, the hat is almost a cranberry color now with dark patches. I keep that felt around to remind me not to do that again. I managed to get my sweatband cut and sewn together today, along with a few other projects.

 

[belfastboy]

What dye do you use for fur felt and what is your process? I tried using hair dye and I was going from dark chocolate to almost white then to a grey. I should have stopped when I got the color to a lite brown, the hat is almost a cranberry color now with dark patches. I keep that felt around to remind me not to do that again. I managed to get my sweatband cut and sewn together today, along with a few other projects.

I use Ciba or Jacquard Acid dyes. Mix to directions add in about 4 litres of cold water, immerse the felt and heat to just under the boil. Keep immersed in the dye until all the dye is taken up by the felt or until it has reached the depth of colour desired. The drawback is the colour does not penetrate all the way through the felt so if the brim needs to be trimmed it will expose the original felt colour. In a felting factory I am sure they use pressure to help facilitate the full penetration of the dye....more efficient that my canning pot and a hot plate.

 

[Darrell2688]

Sounds like your method produces better results than what I tried. I may have to give that a try with the felt that I experimented on. I have an old felt that I took apart to refurbish and I checked it after stripping it down and there is a lot of needle holes in the felt. Is there a fix for the needle holes or is the felt pretty much trash?

 

[belfastboy]

Sounds like your method produces better results than what I tried. I may have to give that a try with the felt that I experimented on. I have an old felt that I took apart to refurbish and I checked it after stripping it down and there is a lot of needle holes in the felt. Is there a fix for the needle holes or is the felt pretty much trash?

I have learned (by accident) that a hat with very noticeable holes from a removed brim binding when I washed and wet blocked....the process closed the holes. Also, I just replaced the brim binding on a western for Deadly. It had a very special kettle curl on the brim so I could not wash it and risk damaging the curl but I could not get the ribbon to match the holes and the damned holes were visible. Soooo, I used my hand held steamer and dabbing the area with watch gave it a good localized steam and the holes closed up. Felt is such a wonderful thing to work with!

 

[Darrell2688]

I have learned (by accident) that a hat with very noticeable holes from a removed brim binding when I washed and wet blocked....the process closed the holes. Also, I just replaced the brim binding on a western for Deadly. It had a very special kettle curl on the brim so I could not wash it and risk damaging the curl but I could not get the ribbon to match the holes and the damned holes were visible. Soooo, I used my hand held steamer and dabbing the area with watch gave it a good localized steam and the holes closed up. Felt is such a wonderful thing to work with!

All of the holes in this felt are right at the brim break. I will have to give the hat a good soaking and hand wash then see what happens when I put it on the block. There are so many stitching holes, I was afraid to even try to fix it. So far it has been a shelf ornament, or display, anyway it is a dust collector. The felt is a little thick so maybe that will help too??

 

[belfastboy]

All of the holes in this felt are right at the brim break. I will have to give the hat a good soaking and hand wash then see what happens when I put it on the block. There are so many stitching holes, I was afraid to even try to fix it. So far it has been a shelf ornament, or display, anyway it is a dust collector. The felt is a little thick so maybe that will help too??

Yes, my method has worked on brim binding stitching so nothing too wide. I think the thicker the felt the more you have to work with and the more fibres to close up the holes. I brush it a bit as well to raise the fibres as that hides the holes as well.

 

[Darrell2688]

Yes, my method has worked on brim binding stitching so nothing too wide. I think the thicker the felt the more you have to work with and the more fibres to close up the holes. I brush it a bit as well to raise the fibres as that hides the holes as well.

I checked that hat felt a few minutes ago and I found a hole in the brim break that is big enough to stick a #2 pencil through, so I guess that it is a total wright off? I don't know of any way to patch that damage.

 

[Darrell2688]

I did a little more work on my hat today and the Tollicker. The sweatband is in the hat, a 2" wide sweat, leather and very comfortable. Still working on it.
Tollicker:

Hat so far:

I tried the flame treatment yesterday and did a little more pouncing work on the hat top and bottom.

 

[Darrell2688]

Well, here is my hat, I think that I finally got it finished:

Looks like I still need to do a little work on the liner? The dark spots on the felt is from steaming the felt to form it, it isn't dry yet. I was in a hurry to post photos of the hat. I am constantly looking at my work, thinking, is there is anything that I can do to improve on my hats. So, how does it look, do I need to make any changes?

 

[Darrell2688]

I reshaped my hat. I decided to go with the cattleman style shape.

 

[Darrell2688]

Hello Everyone,

Have a Happy New Year, Stay Safe, Have A Lot of Fun !!!!

Darrell

 

[Darrell2688]

I am about to make another change to my hat; it is just going to take a little while. I am waiting on some items that I ordered yesterday. I will post photos of the changes as I make them.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Anyone try Olala Hat Blocks on Etsy? They’re from France and the pricing looks interesting but the block shapes aren’t quite to my liking, but maybe the offer other profiles?

Etsy: olalahatblocks

mute this:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CPjAkF6oukU/?utm_medium=copy_link

flange and stand in one:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXimDKjIQ6K/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

[Frunobulax]

I use Ciba or Jacquard Acid dyes. Mix to directions add in about 4 litres of cold water, immerse the felt and heat to just under the boil. Keep immersed in the dye until all the dye is taken up by the felt or until it has reached the depth of colour desired. The drawback is the colour does not penetrate all the way through the felt so if the brim needs to be trimmed it will expose the original felt colour. In a felting factory I am sure they use pressure to help facilitate the full penetration of the dye....more efficient that my canning pot and a hot plate.

I wonder what would happen if you used a pressure cooker.

 

[belfastboy]

I wonder what would happen if you used a pressure cooker.

This is an idea that I had not thought of and I would bet it would at least assist penetration. I will look at our Goodwill shop in town to see if they sell any. I know at one time you could not give them away.

 

[Darrell2688]

A pressure cooker might be too much, I would suggest that you try that on some old felt fur hat or even scraps. Would it be better to just put the felt in a pot of water dye mix and heat it to a rolling boil?

 

[belfastboy]

A pressure cooker might be too much, I would suggest that you try that on some old felt fur hat or even scraps. Would it be better to just put the felt in a pot of water dye mix and heat it to a rolling boil?

It works...to a point. Just doing it in a pot you don't get the dye penetration all the way through and the dye absorption can be uneven. It is ok if you are after a 'distressed' look but hit and miss if you want a pristine finished product.

If you dye the felt blank and then trim the brim you reveal the inner original colour of the felt. If you trim it first it usually does not end well as it is very very hard to reblock and get it exactly positioned as before. You end up with an uneven brim and it requires further trimming to even it out AND thus revealing the undyed inner core.