Bashed Western

[Scary Mc]

I've had this custom western hat laying around the house for several years and never really wore it much. I guess I'm not as cowboy as I had hoped...
I've decide to fedora'ize it and wanted to know what y'all thought of my first bash. Any suggestions?

The felt is 100% beaver and pretty heavy, it took a lot of steam and time to get it to look this way. Due to the very high crown I had to put a sizeable dent in for my noggin.

I'm going to have the brim cut down to 3" to start with and might work down from there. Better to take too little off than too much.. I'll also need some ribbon work and might do it myself.

 

[DOUGLAS]

It looks great already:eusa_clap

 

[feltfan]

I agree with Douglas. Put a nice ribbon on it and
wear it when you're out hiking if you don't want to
wear it around town. That's a nice hat.

Who made it?

 

[Scary Mc]

I agree with Douglas. Put a nice ribbon on it and
wear it when you're out hiking if you don't want to
wear it around town. That's a nice hat.

Who made it?

It's a Kevin O'Farrell out of Santa Fe. I've already made the trip down the the local western store and back. The brim is down from 4 1/2" to 2 5/8". A little steam and the snap is coming around. The store has the neatest old brim cutter I've ever seen, I wish I had taken my camera with me.
I had planned to send it to J.W. Hats in Salt Lake but I just learned of an 'old school' hatter about 20 minutes from me. A quick call to them and I found that they will do a nice ribbon job for $10 bucks.

 

[jkingrph]

It's a Kevin O'Farrell out of Santa Fe. I've already made the trip down the the local western store and back. The brim is down from 4 1/2" to 2 5/8". A little steam and the snap is coming around. The store has the neatest old brim cutter I've ever seen, I wish I had taken my camera with me.
I had planned to send it to J.W. Hats in Salt Lake but I just learned of an 'old school' hatter about 20 minutes from me. A quick call to them and I found that they will do a nice ribbon job for $10 bucks.

I just did one to look almost exactally as yours does this last weekend. I Like the oook much better than that of the western. Mine still has a 4" brim which will remain as is for a while.
Jeff

 

[Duck]

Looks great!!!! Be sure to posts pics with the band!

 

[Rick Blaine]

That looks fantastic!

Great bash on the crown, great job on the brim triming as well. Looks like a pretty much taper-free block,straight up from the brim. Give the brim a bit of a curl in the rear, snap in front & a new ribbon & that'll be a keeper. Outstanding!

 

[John in Covina]

Specializing in Conversions

Congrats on a great start for that old cowboy hat conversion.

:eusa_clap

 

[Havana]

I think it looks great. You're doing an excellent job. I've done this myself about six times. I could never find a fedora to suit me and wasn't willing to pay hundreds for a custom fedora. So I started buying large brim western style hats (mostly Akubra Snowy Rivers) and cutting them down and reshaping them to my liking. I've even done my own ribbons and silk linings which I learned from an old library book. It's really a great cost effective alternative that many people overlook. Just remember, you can't make a good hat out of a bad one so be sure that you're starting with a quality hat if you try this.

 

[RBH]

Fantastic job, Mc !

check out the 2nd thread if you should decide to try the ribbon yourself.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=13636

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=13873

Didnt you just love seeing the results on an old hat you no longer wore?
Now it will see some new life!

 

[Scary Mc]

check out the 2nd thread if you should decide to try the ribbon yourself.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=13636

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=13873

Didnt you just love seeing the results on an old hat you no longer wore?
Now it will see some new life!

RBH, would you mind divulging the process you used for the bow, is it tied or just cross-laid pieces? Did you stitch the ribbon on or use another method?
I'll also entertain suggestions for ribbon color from the loungers. The hat is a 'fawn' or dark tan with a greenish tinge. The felt has a bit of sheen to it as well.

 

[RBH]

Glad to try to help.
The bow is one piece. The ribbon around the crown is one piece, two pieces total. Till I get better that is the way I have to do it.
I lay the bow piece out in comparison to my Stratoliner, I like the 'wings' of the bow to be over the top of the 'arms'. I hope you understand what I mean, I then place it [ the finished bow] over the crown ribbon and place a small stitch to hold it to the hat. All that is left now is to finish up with the sewing.
Hope this helps!

 

[Tough Cookie]

Wow, it looks amazingly improved already! Kudos to you for seeing the potential it had.

Regarding ribbon colors, I'm a big fan of staying in the same family, but using a different shade for trims. Anything that works with "fawn" will continue to work with a darker brown, for instance. Although if you could get something that brings out the green tinge you mentioned, that would be smashing.

Next, a picture of it upon your head!