Resize both up and down

[jamespowers]

I have worn out 2 Akubra Snowy River Hats, both of them were Sz 59 which is my normal size, and both were too large. It was a combination of the short crown height, and just the hat I guess. I padded sweatband, etc. etc. After a shortime, having been out in the rain and sun, it had shrunken down to where I had to pull it on to get it to stay.

All of that will work well with a modern hat. They will taper and the felt will tighten up when it dries. I am almost afraid to tell people to get a modern hat wet though. Sometimes the color runs. [huh]
A vintage felt hat will not shrink when exposed to water or sun. Believe me, I have tried it out and they will not taper or shrink---even if you walk around in a downpour for four hours (Long story). They must have done something to the unfinished hat bodies back then that prevented a large amount of the shrinkage in the future.
For the vintage hats, the cork, cotton, felt or some such material under the sweatband works well. I know because I have removed it from several hats over the years. There must have been many sales on hats that were size 7 1/2 and over because they tried everything to get them to fit. Being a 7 5/8 I have only encountered one vintage hat that was too big for me---a 7 3/4 Knox. If I had known then what I know now, I would have bought it and "felted" it. Hats in that size don't come along every day.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Prairie Shade]

Shrink a little more

The above is reply is correct in as much as the colors DO fade on the Snowy River the more often it is rained on (Fawn that is). When I finally said good bye to mine it was almost pink. Enough is enough right?

 

[jamespowers]

Oooooh! Pink? Wow, that not only faded it changed entirely. This happens with black modern Stetsons too. Lampblack can help but it will run eventually as well.
Vintage hats will fade with exposure to sun as well. They do not get to the point that they cannot be pounced back to their original color unless they get too thin, then you are stuck with the color. :cry:
I think your snowy river might have been pouncable. Those things are thick. The extent of the color permeation into the felt is not know to me though. Akubras are a bit stiff for my tastes.
What do you wear currently? Has that one faded over time?

Regards to all,

J

P.S. Welcome to the Lounge. I saw later in the thread that you are a fairly new member.

 

[Prairie Shade]

I Dont Wear Pink

Well, I dont know how to answer that without disclosing my hat fetish, but I guess everyone here suffers the same cravings. I have 3 Akubras, Federation, Snowy River, and Territory. The first two Snowy Rivers that went Pink on me were from a combination of sun and rain. Your right about their texture, but with enough abuse they become floppy. I dont have a favorite Akubra (maybe Federation) at this time. I do have a closet full of Stetson Fedora's that I have aquired over the last 15 years from their factory nearby. I dont believe I could tell you which was my favorite there. I do use hats outside, riding horses, working etc. and if given a choice I prefer softer texture hat with 2-3 inch brim that wont blow off at a gallop. One thing about Akubra's, they can be walked on by any critter and still be pulled down to your ears, good to go again!!!!

 

[Biltmore Bob]

I have a gray Biltmore that has gotten so faded by the sun and rain it's a light gray green. The brim binding is so faded it's almost white.

 

[jamespowers]

Hat fetish? You came to the right place. I think I might just have a few more hats than you though. I stopped counting at 70.
I had heard Akubras will take quite a beating. Someone mentioned running them over a few times to make them a little less stiff. So if a horse stomps on it, that is much less stress.
So BB, you now have a gray/green Biltmore fedora with a white bound edge? Sounds interesting. I might need pictures of that.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Prairie Shade]

You Win

If the expression I see here is correct,"He who dies with the most hats wins" is correct, then if the world should end today, you win. I may have 15 or 20 if I looked in all the closets. Since I only have one head, Im challenged already. BUT, I understand your craving and am slightly jealous.

 

[jamespowers]

If the expression I see here is correct,"He who dies with the most hats wins" is correct, then if the world should end today, you win. I may have 15 or 20 if I looked in all the closets. Since I only have one head, Im challenged already. BUT, I understand your craving and am slightly jealous.

My problem is that I can't turn away a hat that I know from an ad or by name. I have tons of hat ads and I have heard of just about every name of hat out there.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Canadave]

...Since I only have one head...

Have you seen JP in person? It's kinda scary!

David

 

[jamespowers]

Hey, Hey! There's no Hydra thing going on here. :kick: I just wear one at a time---over three months. Saves on wear.

Regards to all,

J

 

[Papa Smurf]

Hat resizing

I was looking for a similar thread but couldn't find one. I have a hat that is 7 1/8 and is slightly too large for my size 7 head. Is there something that can be purchased to make it smaller, like some sort of hat band padding?

 

[Duper]

They do sell hat band liners to resize hats and they can be purchased from some of the online dealers. Some of them have adhesive. Myself, I just used some thin white flexible packing styrofoam cut into strips. As my hat Akubra conformed/shrank more to my head size I trimmed it back a bit at a time. It doesn't stick so it will be asy to remove eventually and there will be no sticky mess from any glue.

I'm sure others will suggest purchasing some felt from your local craft/sewing store that you can cut into strips and insert. I also read in another thread that some folks would fold up dollar bills and use them to help resize a hat.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

The "hat sizing tape" is just 1/4" thick foam insulation like you use on windows and the like.

 

[avedwards]

You can purchase pieces of sizing tape/foam but personally I wouldn't bother. Just get a piece cloth, fold it and place it inside the sweat band. Use more cloth if necessary.

You could also steam the sweat band on the inside (using steam from a kettle) as this will shrink it. Wearing the hat in rain should eventually shrink it a little bit unless it is a particularly shrink-resistant felt (vintage or very dense felts like good quality rabbit or beaver).

 

[Papa Smurf]

Thanks for all the tips, I'll try them out.

 

[avedwards]

By the way, what sort of hat is it. Vintage or modern and which maker and what sort of felt?

 

[gtdean48]

Papa Smurf, you can get felt sqaures at craft stores or craft dept at Wal-mart or Target & cut strips to go behind your sweatband. Another thing to try is soaking the hat & sweatband with distilled water & letting it dry in a hot car. Take care that the sun doesn't hit the hat directly or you could get some fading. Also treat the sweatband with some leather conditioner to replace the oils it lost. I'm a 7 5/8 & I shrunk a 7 3/4 down like this.

 

[Papa Smurf]

I'm not sure if it is vintage or modern, I got it on eBay. It looks vintage to me. The felt is like velour. Here are a couple pictures. There are no markings on the band, so I don't know a model or anything.

 

[gtdean48]

That is a fairly modern Stetson liner as well as size tag...

 

[Roninjedi]

Personally I just have a square of paper towel folded up under the band of my Sunbody straw. I've only had the hat about a week and I think it's already shrinking to something more comfortable.