A couple of weeks ago, a member of this forum PM'd me asking me for my address, because he had something he wanted to send me. So I gave him what he wanted, and pretty soon, I box appeared at our door.
I listened to the box, and made sure it wasn't ticking, and with some trepidation, opened it. Inside, there was not just one, but two hats, and a note:
"Thought you would like a real farm straw...It does not have a visor but thought you would enjoy it. As to the western, I was thinking you could soak it in de-natured alcohol (according to Steve Delk it will take some of the stiffener out) and then you could put a TVA crown in it and also put a little wider ribbon on it.
Take care and good luck!"
I'll post the straw hat later, but identical ones have recently been posted around the forum. It fits well and I know will come in handy once the summer returns. Apparently this hat has already served its previous owner well, and I am honoured to be the next wearer.
The western was a black hat made by Renegade. It was dusty and a bit squished, but the felt was intact and I could see it had a decent crown height to it. I didn't take a picture because I was too keen to start working on it, but I found a similar hat on eBay. Try to imagine a battered version of this:
I took off the ribbon and picked out the headband, steamed the hat plenty, and tried to put it onto my new HatShaper (which arrived a couple of weeks ago). The hat was pretty stiff, so it fought a bit. I took the hat and soaked in in a warm shower, and tried again. It worked onto the shaper wonderfully. I let the hat dry on the shaper, and after a day in the conservatory, it looked like this:
I was really pleased with this result. Considering the HatShaper only cost me about $40, and so was considerably cheaper than a proper wooden hatblock, I thought it did a very good job. Not that I've ever used a real hatblock, of course. Anyway, I was pleased.
I should have taken more pictures as I progressed, but again, I forgot.
So next I stitched the headband back in. It took a while, but I tacked it in front, back, left and right to hold it in place while I sewed it in properly.
Once that was done, I trimmed the brim down from its 4" to 2.5" non-dimensional. I didn't want this one to be dimensional, so I could see what a non-dimensional brim of this size looks like on me. This hat is, afterall, my first really effective learning tool.
Next, I worked on the bash. As per the recommendation (and my own plans), I put a TVA-ish diamond into it. It's not very TVA-accurate, partly because I had to telescope the centre of the crown to fit my head in, but I really like the shape, and I think it suits the hat.
Today, I put the ribbon on. I went for one of those little bows I like, but I don't know what they are called.
So without further delay, I present you with the Rusty:
Not only am I pleased with the results, I am delighted at the chance it gave me to learn some things I've never done before. In particular, the chance to remove and reattach a headband was a good experience, and will make my next attempt that much easier.
If you haven't already guessed, this hat came from RBH. I've never encountered such generosity from someone I've never met before. Like this hat, Fedora Lounge has a diamond in it. One of the really genuine and generous members of the forum.
Thanks, Rusty.
I listened to the box, and made sure it wasn't ticking, and with some trepidation, opened it. Inside, there was not just one, but two hats, and a note:
"Thought you would like a real farm straw...It does not have a visor but thought you would enjoy it. As to the western, I was thinking you could soak it in de-natured alcohol (according to Steve Delk it will take some of the stiffener out) and then you could put a TVA crown in it and also put a little wider ribbon on it.
Take care and good luck!"
I'll post the straw hat later, but identical ones have recently been posted around the forum. It fits well and I know will come in handy once the summer returns. Apparently this hat has already served its previous owner well, and I am honoured to be the next wearer.
The western was a black hat made by Renegade. It was dusty and a bit squished, but the felt was intact and I could see it had a decent crown height to it. I didn't take a picture because I was too keen to start working on it, but I found a similar hat on eBay. Try to imagine a battered version of this:
I took off the ribbon and picked out the headband, steamed the hat plenty, and tried to put it onto my new HatShaper (which arrived a couple of weeks ago). The hat was pretty stiff, so it fought a bit. I took the hat and soaked in in a warm shower, and tried again. It worked onto the shaper wonderfully. I let the hat dry on the shaper, and after a day in the conservatory, it looked like this:
I was really pleased with this result. Considering the HatShaper only cost me about $40, and so was considerably cheaper than a proper wooden hatblock, I thought it did a very good job. Not that I've ever used a real hatblock, of course. Anyway, I was pleased.
I should have taken more pictures as I progressed, but again, I forgot.
So next I stitched the headband back in. It took a while, but I tacked it in front, back, left and right to hold it in place while I sewed it in properly.
Once that was done, I trimmed the brim down from its 4" to 2.5" non-dimensional. I didn't want this one to be dimensional, so I could see what a non-dimensional brim of this size looks like on me. This hat is, afterall, my first really effective learning tool.
Next, I worked on the bash. As per the recommendation (and my own plans), I put a TVA-ish diamond into it. It's not very TVA-accurate, partly because I had to telescope the centre of the crown to fit my head in, but I really like the shape, and I think it suits the hat.
Today, I put the ribbon on. I went for one of those little bows I like, but I don't know what they are called.
So without further delay, I present you with the Rusty:
Not only am I pleased with the results, I am delighted at the chance it gave me to learn some things I've never done before. In particular, the chance to remove and reattach a headband was a good experience, and will make my next attempt that much easier.
If you haven't already guessed, this hat came from RBH. I've never encountered such generosity from someone I've never met before. Like this hat, Fedora Lounge has a diamond in it. One of the really genuine and generous members of the forum.
Thanks, Rusty.
