THE SUNBODY ASSOCIATION

[rrog]

It looks fine to me, cybergentleman. But I had to stand on my head, close one eye and hold my leg just right so I could see the dip you're talking about.

After seeing your initial pictures, I went home and re-did my brim so it is now turned up in the back too. I'm still trying to warm up to it but my wife thinks it looks better. (which means it's staying up!)

rrog

 

[RBH]

Looks great CG!!!!

 

[cybergentleman]

brim/bash etc

Thanks for the comments,

i initially had the brim turned up in the back and dipped forward like a snap brim fedora. I just did not like the way that looked. it looked like i was trying hard to make a fedora out of a cowboy hat.

so I started curling the front brim upward, like the quaker oats man, and suddenly realized this made the brim look more horizontal and so i soaked the brim and eventually ended up with the finished product.

also, i did not like the way the crown tapered with the center dent. when i rebashed it to a teardrop, i pulled the sides of the crown out with my fingers. this made the top look like a baseball diamond rather than that a true tear or raindrop shape, it has ever so slightly tighter corners where that arch begins.

to my eyes this made the crown appear taller, straighter and and overall in better proportion with the brim dimensions.

in hindsight i am curious as to how a 4 inch brim would handle. i really can't imagine going larger than 3.5"

When I called sunbody, I spoke to Scott, he suggested that I may be able to handle a 6" brim, but i insisted I did not want to fall into the arena of parody...as it is hats already turn heads these days.

 

[Roninjedi]

Chopped Sunbody

Okay, folks.

Here's my submission to the illustrious Sunbody Association. I picked up an open crowned 4 inch brimmed example from a local western wear store. It's size 7 3/4 which is a little large for me. 7 5/8 long ovals fit perfectly, but leave absolutely no room for shrinkage over time. It's much easier to get a larger size and just fold some paper towel into the band. The hat was much cheaper than I could've gotten it on the Sunbody site, so I couldn't resist. I gave this one a bit of a porkpie bash and cut the brim down to about 2 1/4 inches. (My head and shoulders are so wide, any stingier might look a little comical on me.) I bought some black grosgrain ribbon from a nearby fabric store and made a bow to replace the simple elastic strip the hat came with. The very amateurish edge binding was done with simple twill tape. I may try and re-bind the edge later.

Here 'tis!

From the front:

Profile:

I'm particularly proud of the bow. I got it right on the first try.

My thanks to the skilled craftsman who made this hat.

On my head:

My girlfriend hates the brim-up look. She thinks it looks too much like Ducky from Pretty In Pink. Sometimes, when I'm feeling goofy, I'll wear the brim up when she's not around. Shhhh!

I'm keeping an eye out for another cheap Sunbody in my ginormous size. I also want to find an appropriate dye for straw and make my next one brown or black. Any ideas on what dyes work well for straw hats? I don't want a black or brown ring around my head after wearing the thing in the Texas sun for a day.

 

[RBH]

Welcome Ronin!
Nice SunBody!!!!

 

[4and1]

That looks good, Ronin.

If you saved the excess palm from the trimming try some RIT dye on it for color. I think you can get it at any grocery store. Let us know if it works.

Also, give that hat some time. I may shrink quite a bit. Mine did.

 

[CRH]

...I bought some black grosgrain ribbon from a nearby fabric store and made a bow to replace the simple elastic strip the hat came with. The very amateurish edge binding was done with simple twill tape. I may try and re-bind the edge later.

...

Yah, your accouterments do look a little rough but a guy's gotta start somewhere. You get points for being brave enough to tackle the job. Please accept my - and I think I can speak for other loungers too - our encouragement .

My wife dislikes the brim up look also. I say where your brims however you like and wear them with confidence. If you feel confident in your attire you will look good.

It strikes me that these Sunbodys can be anything you want them to be.

Welcome to the Lounge, RJ!

:arated:

 

[CRH]

...
...it looked like i was trying hard to make a fedora out of a cowboy hat.

...

That will be my dilemma also. This hat is on my list. I'm thinking of an outback style for maximum sun protection [huh].

What you've done is fine. See my previous post.

 

[cybergentleman]

outback

My advice:

1) search the forum for ideas as well as google image search first
2) keep the brim flat as long as possible.
3) any pinches will have to be made tighter than you picture as the straw may begin to open up a tad as it dries
4) once the crown looks the way you want it, begin curling the brim as you wish.

* my first attempt resulted in a center dent fedora style which just did not look right b/c of the material and brim size. Changed it to a C-crown, much better! I found that too much dip or swoop of the brim in the front also gave a hillbilly shape to the hat (3.5 inch brim) so i pushed it up in a the front a tad and now it is more flat all around...looks more amish in style and in my mind a tad better.

The good news is you can always alter these hats- a great bargain in my mind. Be aware of shrinkage. i am a 7 3/8's bought a 7.5 and in hindsight may have been better with a 7 5/8 with padding (mine fits fine, but i am concerned it may continue to shrink...time will tell). i also found that my c-crown bash has resulted in my 5.75 inch crown being ~4.5 inches high and my head touches the crown, next time i get one I may go for something even more massive....although I am no cowboy.
feel free to PM me or write on here for opinion on your results. I would like to see it,

 

[Roninjedi]

Yah, your accouterments do look a little rough but a guy's gotta start somewhere. You get points for being brave enough to tackle the job....It strikes me that these Sunbodys can be anything you want them to be.
:arated:

Thanks, CRH! I've always been kind of a DIY, tinkerer kind of guy so an easily customizable hat like the Sunbody is an ideal place for me to start. If I can learn how to do or make something cool, I'm all over that. 'Course once I get fairly good at that thing then I'm usually finished with it and off to the next project.

I did learn from the edge binding and ribboning of this Sunbody (on my head as I type). The next two hats I ribboned were better. I haven't attempted edge binding again but I've got an idea or two on how to make it work a bit better next time.

I've made three hats out of leather, each one a tad better than the last, and I'm trying to teach myself to weave so that I can make a decent straw hat from the ground up. I'll never be as good as even the most mediocre Ecuadorian hatmaker, but I just want to learn how it's done. Surprisingly, there don't seem to be many hat weaving instructions on the Web. [huh] I'm having to teach myself from scratch. It's slow going, I might add. (Still figuring out "vueltas" and such.)

I think I may put the weaving aside and start by trying the spiral-sewn braid style like Milans or Sunbodies use. I'll post the results if I manage to make it work at all.

 

[Roninjedi]

If you saved the excess palm from the trimming try some RIT dye on it for color. I think you can get it at any grocery store. Let us know if it works.
Also, give that hat some time. I may shrink quite a bit. Mine did.

Yeah, I still have the trimmed off ring specifically to test dyes. I tried leather dye on another cheap straw hat once and it didn't work at all. I think it was some kind of seagrass thingee I bought at a convenience store in Port Aransas, TX. The leather dye just sat on the surface and rubbed off on everything. Not a good look. I seem to remember reading somewhere on the Web that some dyes are especially good for cellulose (which is all straw really is, anyway). I might pick up a box of RIT, too.

I think all my future hat purchases will now take shrinkage into account. I used to think my size was 7 5/8 or XL, but that's really too small. A few days ago I trimmed and rebashed an old Aussie style felt hat ($30 in 1987) that I never wear. The bash and brim cutting produced a nifty short brimmed safari styled fedora, but the hat simply doesn't fit anymore. Oh, well. Maybe I'll find a friend who can wear it.

 

[Chuck Bobuck]

Nice work Roninjedi and welcome to the lounge!

 

[cybergentleman]

my hat off to you

Nice work on the ribbon and edge binding.

I considered switching the ribbon and bow on my sunbody too, just havent done it yet. My idea though was to use elastic band and then stitch the bow to the elastic band. If the crown is 23" in circumference you make the elastic band about 22.5 inches around- This way it is not so tight as to dent the crown while possibly adding support to the hat itself. Also, this removes the need to stitch the ribbon to the hat, and unlike the default sunbody ribbons, would have more staying power (I think).

I have not tried this idea yet. if anyone out there gives it a shot, please be sure ot give some feedback on results.

 

[gtdean48]

My Sunbody ribbon didn't survive a bit of bushhogging. Guess I need to get with the re-ribbon program or just use one of the horse hair hat bands I have laying around here... [huh]

 

[RBH]

My Sunbody ribbon didn't survive a bit of bushhogging. Guess I need to get with the re-ribbon program or just use one of the horse hair hat bands I have laying around here... [huh]

Put a 1 inch ribbon on that dude and you will be surprised!!!!!

 

[gtdean48]

Put a 1 inch ribbon on that dude and you will be surprised!!!!!

What color to go with the khaki edge binding? I really like 3/4 inch like my Buckaroo F&S that you molested in TN....

 

[CRH]

My Sunbody ribbon didn't survive a bit of bushhogging. Guess I need to get with the re-ribbon program or just use one of the horse hair hat bands I have laying around here... [huh]

What you have on hand sounds like a no brainer to me.

 

[gtdean48]

What you have on hand sounds like a no brainer to me.

Just have to remember to take off the hat band next time I bushhog!

 

[RBH]

What color to go with the khaki edge binding? I really like 3/4 inch like my Buckaroo F&S that you molested in TN....

Wait a minute!!!! I treated that hat as my own....

I think a color like the F&ST would be sweet! Any of the 'brown' colors would work also.

 

[cybergentleman]

ribbons

naturally, stitching the ribbon to the hat will be the sturdiest way to keep it from flying off..but i'm pretty sure my elastic hypothesis will work too.

rather than use all elastic, the other idea is using grosgrain etc, you use a piece of elastic to hold the ends together that 1 inch piece would be obscured by the bow that woudl sit over the elastic. the idea would be like a belt loop with the bow held to the elastic by a loop of fabric behind it so the elastic can expand. the bow would not slide much, i think, bc the stitching holding the elastic to the ribbon would act to catch the loop (maybe).

i hope someone does this so i dont have to