Need some Grosgrain

[ShortAndCashed]

I need some brown grosgrain for a hat I picked up recently. I need it to be pretty cheap.

 

[ShortAndCashed]

Size isn't hugely important, just need something for a western. Let me know what you have.

 

[Rick Blaine]

http://www.etsy.com/search/vintage?search_submit=&q=grosgrain&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US

 

[Undertow]

Have you been to your local fabric store? Or maybe even Wal-Mart? Grosgrain is fairly easy to find, and if you're not picky about size/fabric, you should be able to get some quite inexpensively.

 

[Fletch]

Careful. Retail grade grosgrain ribbon is all-poly and won't stretch when wetted. That makes it all but useless for hat banding.

 

[dhermann1]

Art Fawcett might be able to provide you with some cloth gros grain.

 

[Woodfluter]

For a western style hat, you can get grosgrain in synthetic fibers from any local fabric store that has a border and will work just fine. For fedoras and other hats requiring a wider ribbon, it's a whole different story. Only poly/cotton will do, because it will shrink to accommodate the shape of the crown, but synthetics won't. I don't know the cutoff, but guess maybe around 1/2" inch? That and under, synthetics will work.

The irritating part is that milliners sources online stock poly/cotton grosgrain ribbon, but they don't tell you that there's no border, i.e. the raised edge. Instead the edge is "loopy". I'd love to know where current hatmakers source their ribbon. Art scavenges some from derelict hats, per informants here. I.e. the really good old stuff.

In times gone by, hatmakers actually employed lines of ribbon makers, to provide unique colors and widths. Pretty much unimaginable in our day.

 

[Undertow]

Careful. Retail grade grosgrain ribbon is all-poly and won't stretch when wetted. That makes it all but useless for hat banding.

This is very true. Poly and other synthetics are useless in replacing hat ribbons. I have tried - I have failed. lol

You want a cotton/rayon blend, as this is what's typically used for proper hat bands. Unfortunately, most retailers I've seen, including wholesale fabric warehouses, Wal-Mart, Joann, Hancock, Hobby Lobby, etc., do not carry cotton/rayon. Everything is poly...wretched, wretched poly.

You might try a google search with "cotton rayon grosgrain". I found JMK Ribbon who is selling a 50yd spool for $25.

Are you planning to replace the ribbon for good, or was this just some kind of experiment? I suggested the poly stuff because it is cheap, but it's no alternative to real ribbon.