Ask a question, get an answer

[RickP]

Does anyone know if the Stetson and Resistol wool hats are are laid up on a cone like furfelt hats ( or are they just pressed out of a piece of premade wool felt?)

 

[belfastboy]

Does anyone know if the Stetson and Resistol wool hats are are laid up on a cone like furfelt hats ( or are they just pressed out of a piece of premade wool felt?)

I have never seen one being made but wool felts are purchased from suppliers in the same shape as fur felt.....either cones or capelines.

 

[RickP]

I have never seen one being made but wool felts are purchased from suppliers in the same shape as fur felt.....either cones or capelines.

Thanks....have a wool cowboy conversion Im working on and I was wondering if pouncing to smooth up a bit worked the same way

 

[StoryPNW]

Just a kinda random question but are liners sized? Or are they generic that can be made to fit what ever size hat?

 

[Rmccamey]

Once upon a time...I was working with Mike Miller of Northwest Hats trying to get a pleated liner. He indicated his supplier provided liners in the generic Small, Med, Large sizes.

(I'm still searching for a source for a pleated liner!)

 

[belfastboy]

Just a kinda random question but are liners sized? Or are they generic that can be made to fit what ever size hat?

I have templates for each size hat & liner....so each liner is matched to the hat size. The liner then needs to be adjusted depending on the crown height. I suppose you can get away with using small, medium, large. When I started I used the liners out of old beater hats, deconstructed them and used them for the pattern.

 

[belfastboy]

Thanks....have a wool cowboy conversion Im working on and I was wondering if pouncing to smooth up a bit worked the same way

Wool does not felt as tightly as fur so it is much harder to get that smooth finish on a wool felt. I looked at making a line of ready to wear hats for ladies out of wool that I could sell for a reasonable price. I discovered that life is too short to have to work with wool. The price differential is just not large enough to make up for the vexation.

 

[StoryPNW]

I have templates for each size hat & liner....so each liner is matched to the hat size. The liner then needs to be adjusted depending on the crown height. I suppose you can get away with using small, medium, large. When I started I used the liners out of old beater hats, deconstructed them and used them for the pattern.

Great thanks Robert, I just picked up a vintage strat without a liner and was looking at other vintage hats I could salvage a liner from.

 

[RickP]

Wool does not felt as tightly as fur so it is much harder to get that smooth finish on a wool felt. I looked at making a line of ready to wear hats for ladies out of wool that I could sell for a reasonable price. I discovered that life is too short to have to work with wool. The price differential is just not large enough to make up for the vexation.

Ive worked on a couple wool hat to date and I agree... theyre really not worth my time. Watching a brim get all wavy and wonkey every time it gets steam or heat ws really frustrating. Funny but may favorite all time hat for years has been a Pendleton wool hat. its over 35 yrs old now, and has never stretched or shrunk. Still looks good to date... just too warm a hat for wearing in Texas. It kept my head warm for several cold wet years in Seattle. Always wondered why some companies can produce decent wool hats but most cant seem to.... what do they do differently?

 

[shopkin]

That's a nice one. Maybe it is the thickness of the felt?

 

[RickP]

That's a nice one. Maybe it is the thickness of the felt?

Thickness is fairly modest. the rolled brim edge makes it look thicker. nice and soft... it rolls up and re-deploys nicely

 

[CRH]

Wool does not felt as tightly as fur so it is much harder to get that smooth finish on a wool felt. I looked at making a line of ready to wear hats for ladies out of wool that I could sell for a reasonable price. I discovered that life is too short to have to work with wool. The price differential is just not large enough to make up for the vexation.

How's the Panama thing going? I need a big fat hat! Lol

 

[belfastboy]

How's the Panama thing going? I need a big fat hat! Lol

I have some straw Panama blanks left over from last season. They are tall crowns and wide brim styles. I just placed an order for a February delivery . This order will have more fedora like proportions.

 

[M Hatman]

Does anyone know if the Stetson and Resistol wool hats are are laid up on a cone like furfelt hats ( or are they just pressed out of a piece of premade wool felt?)

Different processes entirely, felted in sheets then formed for what ever shape desired. It seems I posted a vintage book from the 40's around here from a hatter that supplied wool (and fur) capes for hats and showed their wool processes. As an aside the wool far outsold the fur. Still true today.....

 

[Lunger]

I purchased this weekend a wool tweed Stetson…in the rain trilby. I bought it because it was my size, new with tags, and it is the exact hat (except for size) that my great-grandfather wore before his passing.

It has no stains or holes but does have some pretty good creases in the crown. I do have a steamer, for clothes, that I have used to steam creases/dents out of hats before but nothing this deep.

Should I try and steam this myself or take it to Henry the Hatter, the haberdashery where my gramps originally bought his, to give it the care it needs? Just want this one to look perfect due to its sentimental value!

Thanks,
Lunger