Did I ruin my hat?

[ninman]

So I bought a new open crown Fedora about a week ago, and used a bit of steam to try and shape it. Unfortunately, I didn't realise that you should hold it a bit away from the kettle, and that too much steam can mess it up. So now my hat is shaped like this |\, i.e. the left side is tapered and the right side is straight. It's a Christys' adventurer, and I'm wondering if it's possible to fix it so that it's shaped like this || again. Thanks a lot.

 

[Banky]

Try to get pictures up. The hat could need to be relocked or it could just need more steam to straighten it out. Based on your description I'd venture relocking is what it needs.

 

[frussell]

I'm afraid that's pretty standard behavior for a modern Christy's hat. Any moisture seems to induce taper that is usually irreversible. You could try sending it to a hatter to re-block, but the damage may be done. Christy's felt is beautiful, and it usually feels nice as well, but I've never seen a modern hat from them that didn't have this issue. Sorry, Frank.

 

[ninman]

How do you post pictures on this?

 

[Banky]

Host them on an image hosting site such as photo bucket and link them here.

 

[ninman]

Not sure if the quality of the picture is good enough but here it is.

http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/Fraser_Stewart/media/photo_zpsdd2ef656.jpg.html

 

[ManofKent]

Sorry I'm with Frank - my experience with modern Christy's is (apart from the bowlers) they don't take moisture very well. Once they've shrunk once they won't shrink again, but yes steam or rain shrinks them. I'd be tempted to steam it even more then re-shape into a diamond crease which will at-least allow you to minimize the side to side taper. Not ideal but would give you something better than what you've got...

 

[gtdean48]

Use the IMG link provided...

 

[ninman]

Do you know any good hatters here in the UK that could do that for me?

 

[ingineer]

Wow!!
I would be tempted to ask for a refund.
Even a cheap Stetson 3X would not do that
Richard

 

[ninman]

Wow!!
I would be tempted to ask for a refund.
Even a cheap Stetson 3X would not do that
Richard

But isn't that because I over steamed it, rather than a poor quality hat?

 

[ingineer]

But isn't that because I over steamed it, rather than a poor quality hat?

Perhaps, but after spending 100 pounds I'd be very annoyed and at least express my concern to the vendor
JMHO
Richard

 

[ninman]

Perhaps, but after spending 100 pounds I'd be very annoyed and at least express my concern to to vendor
JMHO
Richard

I was told that when you shape a hat, you basically just hold it over the kettle to soften the felt, and if you're not happy with it you can always start over. So I shaped it around 6 times before I got it the way I wanted it, and I did notice bits of felt coming out of the hat while I was doing it. Is that normal?

 

[tonyb]

It's probably not worth the trouble in this case, but many are the lower-quality (but not necessarily low-priced) hats that have tapered (and dimpled, in some cases) after exposure to rain or snow or, in this case, a tad too much steam, which have been turned into once again presentable hats after a reblock. Typically, once those bodies have done their initial shrinking they're less prone to a repeat performance. Me, I like to leave a hat, a new one or a refurb, on the block for at least a couple of days, and to thoroughly iron it (using a cloth between the iron and the hat, in the case of refurbs; new hats get thoroughly pounced after ironing, so there's no need to protect the finish from a directly applied iron). The ironing gets the fibers to tighten up, but they tighten against the block, so that the crown retains its shape.
We've gone over the nature of fur felt hat bodies many a time here, so there's no need to rehash it all. But the gist of it is that felt often continues felting, tightening up and getting thicker but smaller in its other dimensions, given conditions conducive to felting. Heat and moisture (steam, anyone?) will do that.

 

[tonyb]

I was told that when you shape a hat, you basically just hold it over the kettle to soften the felt, and if you're not happy with it you can always start over. So I shaped it around 6 times before I got it the way I wanted it, and I did notice bits of felt coming out of the hat while I was doing it. Is that normal?

Little bits of fuzz? Like lint? Did it stain your fingers?

 

[ninman]

Little bits of fuzz? Like lint? Did it stain your fingers?

No, it didn't.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Felt coming out of the hat. No, that's not normal!:eusa_doh:

 

[tonyb]

Did you use your hands only, ninman? If you used something at all abrasive -- a dish-scrubber, for instance -- you might well get some loose fuzz. But just handling by hand shouldn't do that. Hmmm ...

 

[jlee562]

But isn't that because I over steamed it, rather than a poor quality hat?

While you can oversteam any hat, as an owner of a Christy's adventurer myself, they are not known for quality felt these days. An Akubra, for example, would not have reacted in the same way.

 

[ninman]

While you can oversteam any hat, as an owner of a Christy's adventurer myself, they are not known for quality felt these days. An Akubra, for example, would not have reacted in the same way.

Ok, but I'm British, so I would always choose a British hat maker over a foreign hat maker. Do you think I should ask for a refund?