Hat to large

[hhanna]

I have a beautiful gray Akubra Squatter size 63 and I am a size 62. Can this hat be shrunk enough to fit or should I sell it. It is like new, never been worn. I have a Camp Draft and a Fed IV size 62 and they fit perfect. Thanks.

 

[Mobile Vulgus]

Have you tried to stuff folder paper towels in the hatband to see if it can snug up enough to be serviceable?

 

[zetwal]

Personally, I would get one in the correct size. No doubt some will agree with me while other will favor other solutions (such as shrinking the sweatband or putting spacers behind it).

Either way, welcome to the Lounge. You will find no shortage of opinion here!

 

[monbla256]

I have a beautiful gray Akubra Squatter size 63 and I am a size 62. Can this hat be shrunk enough to fit or should I sell it. It is like new, never been worn. I have a Camp Draft and a Fed IV size 62 and they fit perfect. Thanks.

Having worn Akubra's for 30+ years now, I ALWAYS buy mine larger than my size and let rain and wear allow them to settle in to my size. I wear a 59 and buy a 60 and ALL of them have shrunk to fit perfectly after getting a few SOAKING ( the WHOLE hat is wet thouroughly, not just a little bit) and drying off my head. I mean wet so that the felt color is DARKER ALL over the hat ! use some felt or folded towels behind the sweat till it goes thru the rain process. It works

 

[John in Covina]

When you buy an Akubra from David Morgan they usually include some pieces of white felt type material to put behind the leather sweatband to snug it up.

That is one thing that in the past you'd hear about Akubras snuggng up over time and the recommendation was to buy them a bit big.

 

[hhanna]

Thanks for the response and the welcome.

 

[scottyrocks]

As far as Akubras go, I have three of them, all true to size, and they all fit perfectly. Wear, heat, humidity, and an occasional rain all made them conform to my head. As long as you wear them enough to make them a part of you, and then dont put them away unworn for days on end, you should be fine.

 

[EggHead]

My two Akubras shrank about half a size in rain and steam jobs and fit me perfectly now. I had them for several months. Bought size 59.

 

[Sam Craig]

I have a beautiful gray Akubra Squatter size 63 and I am a size 62. Can this hat be shrunk enough to fit or should I sell it. It is like new, never been worn. I have a Camp Draft and a Fed IV size 62 and they fit perfect. Thanks.

Yeah, I'd sell it ... and really, really cheap, too!!!!!

No, that would be wrong

Sorry, greed got in the way

I wanted to suggest .... I happened to try strips of micro fleece when my wife was making blankets for the grandkids and had some left over. The stuff works great and it molds well. It's thin enough you can get just the right amount in

You friendly neighborhood wally-world should have remnants for very little

It's worth a try

(Or just sell it ... really, really cheap) Sorry, lost control again

Sam

 

[Auron]

Do all hats shrink with age? If so, by how much?

 

[zetwal]

Do all hats shrink with age? If so, by how much?

No

 

[danofarlington]

Do all hats shrink with age? If so, by how much?

No, they don't. I have vintage hats that have held their true size, and one (a not so old Stetson Open Road) that shrunk down at least a size. But it's definitely not a given. Most vintage hats I have, say four of five, have held their true size.

 

[scottyrocks]

Well, I would suspect, and someone please correct me if Im wrong, that even vintage hats, before they were vintage, did shrink a bit when they were new. Hats will shrink only just so much if treated properly. Its just that they do their shrinking early in their lives. Just because a vintage hat is new to its current owner doesnt mean that it did not, at one time, shrink.

 

[gtdean48]

Leather sweatbands will contract as oil is lost from the pores with wear. That is the main cause of a hat getting tighter & needing to be stretched more than felting of the fur fibers which occurs early in the life of the hat. If you sweat & even your body heat in your head causes evaporation & loss of oils from the leather which causes some shrinkage of leather. That is why restoring the oils & keeping the sweatband supple is a regular maintenance step. JMHO

 

[frussell]

Heat is definitely a factor. Some of the vintage hats I've had which were spotless, looked unworn, or NOS, might have been exposed to heat. Leaving a hat in a hot car, next to a heater, fireplace, campfire, etc..., can shrink the best of felt, but will often leave the hat looking unwarped and undamaged to the naked eye. I speak from unfortunate experience. Frank