how do you shrink a hat

[perterra]

Maybe 10 year old Stetson, probably wool. Its my knock around. Any help is appreciated. Its always been a little loose and it seems to have gotten bigger by a good bit as of late. Probably gettin a buzz cut did it.

 

[tonyb]

Got some spare greenbacks? Fold 'em in half lengthwise and tuck 'em under the sweatband. That oughta tighten it up a bit, at least until your hair grows out.
Part of the fun in acquiring old hats is finding the stuff lurking under the sweatbands. I've yet to find old currency there, but I have found folded pages from old catalogs and original price tags, both of which go a long ways toward "dating" the hats.

 

[perterra]

Got some spare greenbacks? Fold 'em in half lengthwise and tuck 'em under the sweatband. That oughta tighten it up a bit, at least until your hair grows out.
Part of the fun in acquiring old hats is finding the stuff lurking under the sweatbands. I've yet to find old currency there, but I have found folded pages from old catalogs and original price tags, both of which go a long ways toward "dating" the hats.

Thats kinda what I did before, but as for the hair growing back out. Well the good Lord seems to think I dont need as much as I used to. :eusa_doh:

 

[tonyb]

The good Lord is right. We shiny domed dudes know that hats aren't merely affectation. Sunburns and hailstorms take on a whole new meaning to bald guys without proper hats. And that, Lord knows, is one reason why we wear 'em.

 

[epic610]

sure fire solution....

put it in a biltmore box and store it at my house. guaranteed to lose 1/4 over the season.

 

[Matt Deckard]

If it's a modern hat i wear it... If it's a vintage hat I have to use some scisors and and thread... Might use a washing machine and drier as well..

There is the lampshade technique that has been used to shrink the leather... I haven't tried it and wont... I

 

[Andykev]

Wear it in the shower, you'll see except if it's vintage

If you are going down a tad bit, I have moistened, (NOT SOAKED) the leather and let it dry over the lampshade...room temps. Works.

Or, you can buy an Optimo, wear it for three hours in soaking rain while you try to prevent record waters from flooding the gutters, storm drains, and garage..and discover it is about two sizes too small, and looks like Chico Marks' hat.

 

[perterra]

The good Lord is right. We shiny domed dudes know that hats aren't merely affectation. Sunburns and hailstorms take on a whole new meaning to bald guys without proper hats. And that, Lord knows, is one reason why we wear 'em.

Sleet bouncing off your head gets kinda old, and sun burns you a lot quicker, thats a fact.

 

[perterra]

If you are going down a tad bit, I have moistened, (NOT SOAKED) the leather and let it dry over the lampshade...room temps. Works.

Or, you can buy an Optimo, wear it for three hours in soaking rain while you try to prevent record waters from flooding the gutters, storm drains, and garage..and discover it is about two sizes too small, and looks like Chico Marks' hat.

I might just wet it and wear it, its my fall and winter fishing hat. If it looks kinda shabby its no big deal.

My son inlaw is a state trooper and he makes sure to keep a rain cover in his cruiser for that reason. He says nothing worse than being stuck at an accident scene in a pouring rain for two or three hours and having your hat two sizes smaller the next day, then you get a headache for the next week while you stretch it back out using the hat stretcher God gave you.


Thanks for the advice

 

[Fedora]

Originally Posted by Andykev
Or, you can buy an Optimo, wear it for three hours in soaking rain while you try to prevent record waters from flooding the gutters, storm drains, and garage..and discover it is about two sizes too small, and looks like Chico Marks' hat.


Yeah tell me about it.

Yeah, but in their defense, Graham changed his stock felt to a better blend the next season. I bought 3 of those early Optimos when several of us were buying them, but they were a high content rabbit felt. He upgraded, to a higher beaver content and I have never heard any bad reports on those hats. Optimo fans can thank the internet for the upgrade I think. Graham told someone at COW that he was never questioned about felt content until he got into selling to the Indy crowd, via the internet. Apparently many modern customers that just walked in his shop knew nothing about felt content, and did not care. I doubt many wore their hats in the rain as well. That's what they make umbrellas for. The Indy crowd want a hat that can serve as an umbrella, and basically wear their hats like the old cowpokes and ranchers wore theirs. As protection from the elements. For that you need vintage or a good beaver hat. Hard to get those to shrink at the sweatband area. Fedora

 

[Fedora]

The easiest and most sensible way to shrink a hat up just a bit is to do what Andykev said. All leather will shrink, plus I invented the lampshade trick, after noticing my summer felt hats would shrink when I sweated in them and they dried and shrunk.(even the vintage ones) Much more intelligent to shrink the leather, instead of trying to shrink the felt. Fedora

 

[gekisai29]

Right on Tony B

 

[jamespowers]

He upgraded, to a higher beaver content and I have never heard any bad reports on those hats. Optimo fans can thank the internet for the upgrade I think.

The felt wasn't the problem for me it was the workmanship. Never again. :rage:

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

Or, you can buy an Optimo, wear it for three hours in soaking rain while you try to prevent record waters from flooding the gutters, storm drains, and garage..and discover it is about two sizes too small, and looks like Chico Marks' hat.

Yeah tell me about it.

Regards,

J

 

[DanielJones]

I've accidently left one of my larger lids in the cab of my truck once and it had shrunk down to the perfect size. Not that I would recommend this method but it seemed to work for me. Stuffing gift wrap tissue under the sweat band does take up a little room while the hat is naturally shrinking to mould to you knoggin. Once you get it down to your size the tissue can be removed. The tissue also make a dandy sweat barrier on the warmer days to help from ruining the edge of the felt where the crown meets the brim.
That's just my two cents.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Mike K.]

Talk about coincidence!

I was just wondering how to shrink a felt hat and this thread popped up on my computer screen. Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[Baron Kurtz]

So i take it from earlier posts that these techniques will not work on vintage hats? If so, how would i go about shrinking the 7 1/4 portis i just picked up to fit my 7 head?

bk