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[belfastboy]

Brim Stitching.... from anyones experience, does adding multiple rows of "decorative" stitching on the brim of a soft hat add any appreciable firmness to the brim? (soft fur felt or wool)

I don't receive calls to add the decorative stitching on the brim very often. I would say no it does not add much if any. Binding the brim on the other hand certainly does, especially if a little tension is put into the brim by the binding. Flanging with a medium depth cupping also adds structural stability to the brim. And then you always have the option of adding shellac to stiffen the brim.

 

[RickP]

I don't receive calls to add the decorative stitching on the brim very often. I would say no it does not add much if any. Binding the brim on the other hand certainly does, especially if a little tension is put into the brim by the binding. Flanging with a medium depth cupping also adds structural stability to the brim. And then you always have the option of adding shellac to stiffen the brim.

Great. Ive got a couple older cheap hats that are pretty soft. I know with thin leathers, multiple row stitching near an edge can add some strength, but never really added any stiffness/ structure... just looked good. Looks like Ill be adding a wider Whippet style edge binding to those Thanks

 

[RickP]

I don't receive calls to add the decorative stitching on the brim very often. I would say no it does not add much if any. Binding the brim on the other hand certainly does, especially if a little tension is put into the brim by the binding. Flanging with a medium depth cupping also adds structural stability to the brim. And then you always have the option of adding shellac to stiffen the brim.

When setting up binding with a bit of tension (such as pre-sewing the ribbon into a circle slightly smaller than brim) Is there any advantage to adding a bit of shellac to the edge of the brim to stiffen prior to installation, or will clipping in place before basting/ sewing be sufficient?

 

[belfastboy]

When setting up binding with a bit of tension (such as pre-sewing the ribbon into a circle slightly smaller than brim) Is there any advantage to adding a bit of shellac to the edge of the brim to stiffen prior to installation, or will clipping in place before basting/ sewing be sufficient?

It really depends. Yes, I do it but I make that judgement on a case by case basic. I have added shellac after the brim binding but I have to be soooo careful . Getting shellac on the ribbon really messes it up. The tension is created by hand, tightening the ribbon as it is basted around. I have to be careful if I am creating a flat brimmed hat....too much tension and I get a bit of cupping on the brim which is hard to iron out. It is a bit of a dance and each hat, each felt is a new situation.

 

[RickP]

It really depends. Yes, I do it but I make that judgement on a case by case basic. I have added shellac after the brim binding but I have to be soooo careful . Getting shellac on the ribbon really messes it up. The tension is created by hand, tightening the ribbon as it is basted around. I have to be careful if I am creating a flat brimmed hat....too much tension and I get a bit of cupping on the brim which is hard to iron out. It is a bit of a dance and each hat, each felt is a new situation.

Thanks!. Getting ready to do my first serious edge binding ( I hand sewed ONE before and it took me forever !) The next one will benefit for some experimental machine stitching on brim trimmings. Ive got the thread tension down pat on the machine, and have had nice even results on the test pieces. Having quite a bit of experience with machine stitching on light leathers near the edges, , and the fact that Im not doing this for a living so time is of no consequence...I know enough to not be afraid to advance by hand lol... Foot pedals are subject to going wild if youre not careful with the foot lol.

 

[belfastboy]

Thanks!. Getting ready to do my first serious edge binding ( I hand sewed ONE before and it took me forever !) The next one will benefit for some experimental machine stitching on brim trimmings. Ive got the thread tension down pat on the machine, and have had nice even results on the test pieces. Having quite a bit of experience with machine stitching on light leathers near the edges, , and the fact that Im not doing this for a living so time is of no consequence...I know enough to not be afraid to advance by hand lol... Foot pedals are subject to going wild if youre not careful with the foot lol.

Having an adjustable presser foot on your machine is a huge benefit. I have an adjustable one so I can vary and set the edge.

 

[RickP]

Having an adjustable presser foot on your machine is a huge benefit. I have an adjustable one so I can vary and set the edge.

I have separate left and Right presser feet so I have plenty of room to use my edge guide without interfering with the foot in operation. I have figured out that on an edge, Ive had better luck with a smooth edge guide to the edge to slide gently against. Unless the felt is very firm on the edge, the roller guide can deform the edge if ones not careful. With really thin suede and garment leather, I learned to use edge guides as more of a visual guide than a physical barrier.

 

[belfastboy]

I have separate left and Right presser feet so I have plenty of room to use my edge guide without interfering with the foot in operation. I have figured out that on an edge, Ive had better luck with a smooth edge guide to the edge to slide gently against. Unless the felt is very firm on the edge, the roller guide can deform the edge if ones not careful. With really thin suede and garment leather, I learned to use edge guides as more of a visual guide than a physical barrier.

They work well on felt. The secret for me is to take the time to baste. It takes about an hour+ to prep the ribbon and baste. Then about 15 minutes to machine sew. The more care I take in the baste the better the outcome.

 

[RickP]

Wish I had found you on Fedora Lounge when I lived in the Seattle area... Would have had a good excuse for a road trip up your way and have a coffee and chat! ( I used to make a Vancouver run every year or so when I lived up there) Ive picked up some really good points from you like hand basting before machine work... makes lots of sense to me. (sounds safer than depending totally n spring clips) Im still trying to translate some of my leather knowledge into felt work lol. Its been a blast so far

 

[RickP]

Ill throw an odd question out there..... Has anyone here done wet felting? Ive been saving clean Chocolate Labrador undercoat 'down" for a couple years. Id love to make hat out of my dog someday, even if its just a paneled flat cap. (hes a gorgeous brown) From what Ive figured out, Ive only got about 1/2 of what Id need to make a full cape so far

 

[shopkin]

Wow, I want to see that.

Here's the best place I found for learning to wet felt. Wool is not too difficult because the fibers are fairly long, it's curly, and the hair has lots of scales. All are characteristics that make it easier to felt. Beaver and nutria don't really have long hair, but the pelts are better when they have their winter coat. Supposedly, just about any animal hair will work but it comes down to the amount of effort you have to put into it. Felting can give you a good work-out.

https://feltandfiberstudio.proboards.com/

 

[M Hatman]

Supposedly, just about any animal hair will work but it comes down to the amount of effort you have to put into it. Felting can give you a good work-out.

https://feltandfiberstudio.proboards.com/

Yep, their are people who make felt things out of Cat hair even. Just for giggles, I have even made felt balls from our cats brushed hair, so they can "play with themselves".

Felting a Mini Kitty From Your Cat's Fur

Felting a Mini Kitty From Your Cat's Fur: My cat has a never ending amount of fur that comes out when I brush him. I always thought, "I could make a whole cat with all this fur!" Well, why don't I; it'd be hilarious, disturbingly adorable, and upcycling all at the same time. So, in this tut…

www.instructables.com

EDIT: I toyed with saving enough hair to make a hat, but think it would be quite time consuming to make a cape in my size.......

 

[RickP]

Wow, I want to see that.

Here's the best place I found for learning to wet felt. Wool is not too difficult because the fibers are fairly long, it's curly, and the hair has lots of scales. All are characteristics that make it easier to felt. Beaver and nutria don't really have long hair, but the pelts are better when they have their winter coat. Supposedly, just about any animal hair will work but it comes down to the amount of effort you have to put into it. Felting can give you a good work-out.

https://feltandfiberstudio.proboards.com/

excellant... ill take a look

 

[RBH]

Ill throw an odd question out there..... Has anyone here done wet felting? Ive been saving clean Chocolate Labrador undercoat 'down" for a couple years. Id love to make hat out of my dog someday, even if its just a paneled flat cap. (hes a gorgeous brown) From what Ive figured out, Ive only got about 1/2 of what Id need to make a full cape so far

Here is what I came up with....good luck!!

"Felting dog hair is possible, but it depends on the type of hair. Short and slippery hair like lab fur and chihuahua fur is very hard to felt. The fluffy undercoat of dogs is easiest to felt, such as collies, sheltie, huskies, shepherds, poms, and any breed that is double coated1. Wet felting requires hot soapy water and some sort of fiber, like your dog’s fur. The method is relatively easy—just lay the fur out flat, then rub it together using your fingers and the water."

 

[belfastboy]

Wish I had found you on Fedora Lounge when I lived in the Seattle area... Would have had a good excuse for a road trip up your way and have a coffee and chat! ( I used to make a Vancouver run every year or so when I lived up there) Ive picked up some really good points from you like hand basting before machine work... makes lots of sense to me. (sounds safer than depending totally n spring clips) Im still trying to translate some of my leather knowledge into felt work lol. Its been a blast so far

I write a monthly column in HaTalk eMagazine. It is a millinery focused mag and they added me to address hat making techniques. They offer a month's free trial and you can go into the archives and print the articles . It is not complete, I think I have abut 6 months more to complete.

Before Covid we would travel to Seattle twice a year or so. Once, to attend the opera and another time to either take in a ball game or just hang out. Covid and the border closure broke that habit and have only visited twice in the last few years.

 

[RickP]

I write a monthly column in HaTalk eMagazine. It is a millinery focused mag and they added me to address hat making techniques. They offer a month's free trial and you can go into the archives and print the articles . It is not complete, I think I have abut 6 months more to complete.

Before Covid we would travel to Seattle twice a year or so. Once, to attend the opera and another time to either take in a ball game or just hang out. Covid and the border closure broke that habit and have only visited twice in the last few years.

Ill definately check out the eMag!..

My ex was living near Bellingham after I moved back to Texas. ( her road ended at the border about 1 1/4 mile past her house. Made a few trips up there to visit... Funny but we used to drive to Vancover for Concerts and events instead of paying Seattle prices where we lived lol. I actually used to fly from Texas to Vancover instead of Seattle. A little more involved going through customs, but I could get to Bellingham about 3 hrs faster than flying into SeaTac and driving across Seattle lol. Shes back down in the Everett area now so I guess if I run up there Ill have to go back to fly into SeaTac again.

 

[belfastboy]

Ill definately check out the eMag!..

My ex was living near Bellingham after I moved back to Texas. ( her road ended at the border about 1 1/4 mile past her house. Made a few trips up there to visit... Funny but we used to drive to Vancover for Concerts and events instead of paying Seattle prices where we lived lol. I actually used to fly from Texas to Vancover instead of Seattle. A little more involved going through customs, but I could get to Bellingham about 3 hrs faster than flying into SeaTac and driving across Seattle lol. Shes back down in the Everett area now so I guess if I run up there Ill have to go back to fly into SeaTac again.

I have all my US purchases shipped to a border town parcel depot in Blaine WA. So many suppliers offer free or at least cheaper shipping to a US address. Driving them back over the border I often just get waived on through so even avoid paying the taxes. We used to have to drive to Bellingham to get decent Mexican food, Fairhaven had a good one...But now Mexican food is almost as ubiquitous as Starbucks up here. The company I worked for had the international head office/factory in Houston so I know that well. My next job, the company was headquartered in OK City. So I know a bit of Texas. Then with our motorhome we toured much of west Texas until the tornadoes and hail storms scared us back into New Mexico. I love Texas, especially west Texas and the Permian.

 

[RickP]

I have all my US purchases shipped to a border town parcel depot in Blaine WA. So many suppliers offer free or at least cheaper shipping to a US address. Driving them back over the border I often just get waived on through so even avoid paying the taxes. We used to have to drive to Bellingham to get decent Mexican food, Fairhaven had a good one...But now Mexican food is almost as ubiquitous as Starbucks up here. The company I worked for had the international head office/factory in Houston so I know that well. My next job, the company was headquartered in OK City. So I know a bit of Texas. Then with our motorhome we toured much of west Texas until the tornadoes and hail storms scared us back into New Mexico. I love Texas, especially west Texas and the Permian.

My ex was just north of Fairhaven.. I never had any trouble heading north into Canada, but the US guys really gave things a twice over coming back... Think I still managed to get back with a couple boxes of Cubans every trip (guess Ive got a bit of pirate and smuggler in me lol). We used to always hit the little portable hot dog stand with about 40 different sauces that used to set up between downtown around the park. There was also a little wine blending shop down there that we always stopped at. Blaine and Bellingham had a few decent little microbreweries. Nice area but it was really getting expensive ( and over-run with free spending Calfornia refugees) a few years back.

 

[The Shoe]

I’ve been looking at puggarees on a website that Brent (where have you been Brent @deadlyhandsome?) shared a while back. Some of them have two hooks (like ones I’ve used so far, but some of them say one hook.
My question is how do you attach a one hook pug. Do you put the hook through the pug to hold it in place?

 

[M Hatman]

I’ve been looking at puggarees on a website that Brent (where have you been Brent @deadlyhandsome?) shared a while back. Some of them have two hooks (like ones I’ve used so far, but some of them say one hook.
My question is how do you attach a one hook pug. Do you put the hook through the pug to hold it in place?

Good question...I have never seen a one hook pug......