need my Fed IV to shrink a little...I am impatient

[chum]

Most posts about this hat say once it gets rained on it will shrink a little which is all I need. Tired of waiting on the rain!!! Can't I just hold it in the shower? If so, I assume I should use cold water.

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

I'd say, the more it's worn the sooner it will conform to your head. Use the foam strips, but keep the backing on the adhesive. Or fold up facial tissues 3/4" wide to put behind the sweatband while you wait. The rain will soften it up, but wearing it and sweating into the band allows the sweatband to conform to your head more readily. IMHO.

 

[Duper]

Hey Chum, Both mine seemed huge when they arrived. Seeing as you said you only need a little bit I would start off by just putting some thin padding (folded dollar bills or white felt) around the inside of the sweatband. Let time take care of the rest. I found my snugged up in no time at all as I wore them and I gradually removed the padding. If you haven't bashed it yet, that alone will make a Fed IV snug up nicely as well.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[Mr E Train]

Most posts about this hat say once it gets rained on it will shrink a little which is all I need. Tired of waiting on the rain!!! Can't I just hold it in the shower? If so, I assume I should use cold water.

My advice would be to be patient, wear the hat (maybe put some felt sizing shims underneath the sweatband until the hat shrinks) and let sweat and precipitation do their thing. Putting it in the shower probably wouldn't hurt it, but all that stuff they put in tap water--fluoride, chlorine, minerals--I could see that potentially causing unpleasant discoloration. A spray bottle of distilled water would be better if you can't wait for nature to run its course.

 

[The Good]

I'm sorry if I can't be of much help, but this is just based on my experience with my Christmas gift Federation IV. At first it was a little loose feeling around my entire head. Keep in mind that I wear the Fed IV frequently, several times a week since then. Now, at this time, after going through some light rain, snow, heavier rains, and more rains (from a couple days ago in fact), at its current state, it is very "fitted." There are times where it even feels slightly tight on me, skin-tight I should say. My size is 7 3/8 for the record. Anyway, it's still fine, it's better than when it was loose. Do any of the others here think I can expect some more shrinking from mine again, or is there a point in which it largely stops the process?

 

[chum]

I hated the foam pads. They made the sweatband look all puckered. I will try the tissue suggestion for a while...the dollar bill suggestion was good too, but I would end up yanking them out when I did'nt have any cash on me.

I read on a web site about leather that you could shrink it carefully with a blow dryer set on warm. Very tempting, but I will respect the gurus on this site and try to be more patient with it!

 

[The Good]

I hated the foam pads. They made the sweatband look all puckered. I will try the tissue suggestion for a while...the dollar bill suggestion was good too, but I would end up yanking them out when I did'nt have any cash on me.

I read on a web site about leather that you could shrink it carefully with a blow dryer set on warm. Very tempting, but I will respect the gurus on this site and try to be more patient with it!

Just for the record, I actually never used the foam pads that were sent in the box. I did try to apply them, but even then the hat was kind of too tight with them.

 

[chum]

Just for the record, I actually never used the foam pads that were sent in the box. I did try to apply them, but even then the hat was kind of too tight with them.

JB: Your head size is like mine. Kind of between one size and the next. Too bad they don't make half sizes (like 56.5), but I know this would be impractical for them...

 

[AlterEgo]

I do not disagree with any of the advice so far given, but here's what I can add:

First all, there's a significant difference between the standard Fed IV, which is made with Imperial Quality felt, and the Deluxe, constructed of Heritage felt. This premium felt is considerably denser and will never shrink as much as the standard felt no matter what you do, so you may end up keeping some of the foam/felt shims in the Deluxe forevermore to make it fit. Expect the standard felt to ultimately shrink about a half size. Akubras are sized to take this into account, so you can generally order your regular size for a good fit--after the shrinking phase is complete.

What will accelerate the shrinking is wearing it in the rain and/or taking long walks to the point that you are perspiring profusely--I'm talking sweat dripping down your forehead. The key is to leave the Fed on your head as long as you can so that it both conforms to your head and dries somewhat before you take it off. That means you'll probably have to wear it around half a day inside after your long walk in the rain.

Then, before you go to bed, take it off, make sure it's shaped as you like, and hang it by the sweat from a blunt knob so that it dangles freely, at room temperature. Put it close to a heat source like a radiator, and your Fed will shrink WAY too much, a problem more difficult to reslove.

If you cannot wait on the rain, don't stand in the shower for the reasons previously described, but rather take a clean washcloth soaked in distilled water and thoroughly wet your Fed as much as if you had walked in a downpour, then proceed as above wearing it for as long as you can.

Shrinkage generally occurs gradually, so you'll have to be patient and do all this several if not many times until the hat has shrunk all it's going to. Accordingly, you'll probably have to remove the shims bit by bit to keep the hat fitting right during this shrinkage phase. The hat will not continue to shrink ad infinitum--there will come a point when it's done--so don't worry about the hat getting ever smaller.

This process worked for my Fed IV Deluxe, which now hugs my head with a perfectly comfortable and snug fit with half the shims I started with.

 

[CRH]

Most posts about this hat say once it gets rained on it will shrink a little which is all I need. Tired of waiting on the rain!!! Can't I just hold it in the shower? If so, I assume I should use cold water.

Have someone drive you up to Dubuque and do a canoe float back to St. Louis. Your Fed will be fine by the time you get back home.

The Big Muddy is very interesting this time of year.

 

[Musashi]

This thread was very helpful for information. I've got a maybe month and a half old 'new' stetson whippet, and it's idea of 7 1/4 is bigger than my head's 7 1/4... Any idea if these tips for the Akubra apply the same to modern stetsons? Can I expect adequate shrinkage with wear and patience?

 

[chum]

Have someone drive you up to Dubuque and do a canoe float back to St. Louis. Your Fed will be fine by the time you get back home.

The Big Muddy is very interesting this time of year.

How did you know I was planning this trip...You must be psychic!!!

What lottery numbers should I pick?!?lol

 

[avedwards]

This thread was very helpful for information. I've got a maybe month and a half old 'new' stetson whippet, and it's idea of 7 1/4 is bigger than my head's 7 1/4... Any idea if these tips for the Akubra apply the same to modern stetsons? Can I expect adequate shrinkage with wear and patience?

My Stetson Chatam shrunk down to the extent that it fit comfortably without foam strips.

 

[scottyrocks]

The main thing here is patience. I'll reiterate the pad the sweatband, and wear and sweat in it suggestions. Wearing it in the rain is less effective, imo, because the shrinkage of the sweatband is what will ultimately make the hat conform to your head, assuming the hat is not huge on you to begin with.

I'm a perfect 23"/59cm/7 3/8, so thats what I ordered. Because I have a long oval head, and the hat is a regular oval, I padded the sides til they touched my head. I wore, and sweated in, the hat all summer, and occasionally pulled the hat out of shape by the front and back of the sweat, to adjust it to my head shape. Once it got to the point that I needed to remove the padding, the hat fit me perfectly.

 

[carldelo]

This thread was very helpful for information. I've got a maybe month and a half old 'new' stetson whippet, and it's idea of 7 1/4 is bigger than my head's 7 1/4... Any idea if these tips for the Akubra apply the same to modern stetsons? Can I expect adequate shrinkage with wear and patience?

Probably. Like Avedwards, I have a Chatham that has shrunk a bit and fits well now. Also, two Ashlands which started out a good 1/3 of a size too big, but are gradually becoming more fitted. It's a slow process, the Ashlands still have some fit strips in them after a year or so, but it's happening.