How much can you stretch a hat?

[Lorne]

Hello all,

I've got a 7 5/8 size head, and I keep seeing attractive hats in 7 3/8 and 7 1/2. Assuming we are talking a lined hat, how much can you stretch one before you end up with felt scraps?


Lorne D. Gilsig

 

[tonyb]

Depends on the individual lid, Lorne. Sizes tend toward inconsistency, for whatever reason. I suspect that some slightly too small hats were worn by the original owner until they gradually stretched up to something closer to his actual size, and others may have shrunk during their decades in storage. (I understand that heat will do that.) And then, maybe one manufacturer's 7 3/8, say, differed a bit from another's. So it's darn near impossible to know how a hat (especially an old one) will fit until you drop it on your head.
And some hats will "give" more than others.
This observation is worth about what it cost you, so keep that in mind before proceeding. You should be able to stretch up one size (a 7 1/4 to a 7 3/8, for instance), and perhaps a smidgen more, without regretting it. More than that, and you're entering a territory where only an experienced, reputable hatter should venture. Please, don't ask how I know this.
There are numerous threads here offering advice and observations on stretching, so check 'em out.
It's all enough to make you a little envious of those guys with smaller noggins though, ain't it? I almost wanna cry when I see all those really sweet-lookin' old lids in sizes 7 and 6 7/8 go for cheap.

 

[Pilgrim]

I agree, stretching 1/8 size shouldn't be a problem. I have an old Beaver western hat that's darn stiff - I bought it when I was 16 and it stretched with me from 7 1/8 to 7 1/4 - I suspect a lot of that was while wearing it in a rainstorm on an hour-long walk. It fit a lot better when I got back.

I've bought one Open Road that was labeled 7 1/8 but measured a hair under 22", which is an honest size 7. I stuck the stretcher in it and about 2 weeks later, it fits my 7 1/4 noggin nicely. I did use the trick of periodically moistening the sweatband before re-tightening the stretcher to take the hat larger.

I have no fear now of assuming I can stretch any honest 7 1/8 to fit me at 7 1/4. I have no experience that tells me how much larger I could go...but some thread searching will help you. This has been discussed recently.

 

[thefedorastore]

If it's too loose

fftopic: Well, if it's too loose then here's a product that has been moving fairly well since I packaged them up:
http://www.thefedorastore.com/product-p/strips.htm

 

[Pilgrim]

That's a handy item, Duane! Bet you get some takers on those.