Hat distressing

[Tucker jay]

Here is what I learned from my one attempt at dyeing a hat. The hat was a 10X beaver western in a pure white. I stripped it down before dyeing. Treat the hat first with a mordant to clear any oils or dirt that might inhibit dye absorption. www.Maiwa.com has a great Pdf on dyeing natural fabrics and I learned there are separate dyes for natural fibres such as wool and fur felt and what to use to prep it for dyeing. Also cut your brim to size first. I did not and then when I cut the brim I discovered the dye did not penetrate the entire depth of the felt and I had an Oreo cookie affect.....grey on the outsides with a white core in the middle. I fixed it by sewing brim binding but would have preferred it raw edge. My result dyeing a white hat a medium grey is that I ended up with a bit of a mottled colouration. I call it my "Cloud" hat. I quite like the mottling....it is subtle but still noticeable.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I think I would prefer a cloud effect to make it not so solid, but a more raw appearance. Do you remember the kind of dye you used? I was thinking of buying a powder dye and doing an ‘ice’ effect.

 

[T Jones]

The problem with those is that they only have a 13.5 cm (a hair over 5") crowns & once you've blocked & sized them, you'll be lucky if you get a 10 cm (4") finished crown. Doesn't leave much room for creases.
I suppose one could try & recuperate a few more cm's from the brim but even so, there still won't be enough crown for a decent tear drop, which I believe is what you're planning.

Nope. 5 inch crowns aren't for me. Pure Beaver Hat Supply has felts. He's on Instagram.

 

[belfastboy]

Nope. 5 inch crowns aren't for me. Pure Beaver Hat Supply has felts. He's on Instagram.

Yes, I bought my Millinery Whse felts primarily to make women's hats. I have some Fepsa coming from PureBeaver but the difficulty is the expense if you are making a custom for resale.....you have to put a high sticker price to get your money back out of it.

 

[belfastboy]

Yes, I bought my Millinery Whse felts primarily to make women's hats. I have some Fepsa coming from PureBeaver but the difficulty is the expense if you are making a custom for resale.....you have to put a high sticker price to get your money back out of it.

I just received my Millinery Whse felts. Now my review is in terms of comparing other felts made for the women's millinery market. I like these felts a lot. They are thick and plush and I look forward to making a hat with them For the money I think they are better quality than the others I have sourced that have all come from Czech Republic...assuming they are Tonak but cannot say for certain. Looking at the 180 grams Western they advertise a 5.3" crown and I pretty sure I can coax another 1/4 to 3/8" out of them so I think I will place an order just to see. I am not crazy about the colour palette but they have a grey I can make work.

 

[belfastboy]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I think I would prefer a cloud effect to make it not so solid, but a more raw appearance. Do you remember the kind of dye you used? I was thinking of buying a powder dye and doing an ‘ice’ effect.

Ciba Washfast Acid dye in powder form. I used black at half strength to get a nice medium grey with blue tones. Maiwa has great directions on their website. I used Glauber's Salt as a levelling agent to promote even dyeing and Acetic Acid to achieve the correct pH level

 

[M Brown]

easy, just wear it all summer, do some yard work with it on, get it dirty, take a dip in the pool with it on, wear it dry, repeat.

 

[belfastboy]

This whole thread "Distresses" me.................Poor, poor, abused hats......yes, quite distressing.........

and the Lounge is supposed to a safe space too!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

oh no :/ I thought you had to stretch the crown. I had no idea that you had to purchase them tall. This is quite frustrating because of the lack of resources to learn how to make these things. Hopefully I will have room. I’ll take pics today when they come in, if not looks like I’m returning them.

You can stretch it some and you can gain brim height at the expense of brim width. I sent a Millinery Warehouse 180g western to Mike at NW and I don’t see any problem getting a 6” open crown with a 4” brim in my 7 5/8 LO hat size.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I’m hoping to have success in dying them as well. Im on the hunt for some powder dyes today. I’m all for making a personalized hat a statement piece.

Best luck with acid dyes and a pressure cooker.

Dyeing felt and getting a nice even and consistent finish isn’t easy. Witness the number of failed dye jobs at Winchester trying to duplicate past colors.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

You can stretch it some and you can gain brim height at the expense of brim width. I sent a Millinery Warehouse 180g western to Mike at NW and I don’t see any problem getting a 6” open crown with a 4” brim in my 7 5/8 LO hat size.

I'm not sure the OP has access to the industrial machinery & indeed, know-how required to coax a little extra felt from those hat bodies. From what I understand, he is a first timer & will simply be forcing the things over a block. There are prehaps, fewer foreseen problems in sending something to a professional to take care of, than actually doing it one's self in the kitchen with minimal equipement.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I'm not sure the OP has access to the industrial machinery & indeed, know-how required to coax a little extra felt from those hat bodies. From what I understand, he is a first timer & will simply be forcing the things over a block. There are prehaps, fewer foreseen problems in sending something to a professional to take care of, than actually doing it one's self in the kitchen with minimal equipement.

What! You mean you can’t watch a couple videos, but a few tools, and make a hat that’s as good as an experienced hatter?

 

[Tucker jay]

What! You mean you can’t watch a couple videos, but a few tools, and make a hat that’s as good as an experienced hatter?

I don’t see what’s wrong with trying?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I don’t see what’s wrong with trying?

Me neither. I say go for it, but have reasonable expectations.

 

[belfastboy]

I'm not sure the OP has access to the industrial machinery & indeed, know-how required to coax a little extra felt from those hat bodies. From what I understand, he is a first timer & will simply be forcing the things over a block. There are prehaps, fewer foreseen problems in sending something to a professional to take care of, than actually doing it one's self in the kitchen with minimal equipement.

I coaxed an extra 1/2" out of a Tonak felt yesterday by pushing it further down my 6" block and using one of the Guy Morse Brown blocking springs (a precut rubber ring to use instead of a cord). I managed to get a fat 5 12" out of the crown instead of just the 5". One of the things I love about the learning to make hats is the challenge of the 'work around'. Given that I am never going to spend the $$ to buy the equipment (in an ideal world and unlimited resources I would) I love the challenge of figuring out ways to make it work within my budget constraints.

 

[belfastboy]

I coaxed an extra 1/2" out of a Tonak felt yesterday by pushing it further down my 6" block and using one of the Guy Morse Brown blocking springs (a precut rubber ring to use instead of a cord). I managed to get a fat 5 12" out of the crown instead of just the 5". One of the things I love about the learning to make hats is the challenge of the 'work around'. Given that I am never going to spend the $$ to buy the equipment (in an ideal world and unlimited resources I would) I love the challenge of figuring out ways to make it work within my budget constraints.

Oh, note to Tucker.....steam is your friend....lots of steam!

 

[1961MJS]

Good evening,

I’m new to this hat making business. I’ve ordered 6 western weight 210G hat bodies(rabbit fur I think), brim cutter, brim cutler and a 58 hat block. I admire a lot of hatters yet finding resources to create and see how these are made is rather difficult.

I really like the distressed look. How do I achieve this rubbed look? I’ve looked into powder dyes, but when I look closer it looks like a worn leather look. Any tips and tricks to create this distressed look would help!

Also curious as how to set the hat on fire too!

Hi Tucker

The hats in the first post of the thread aren't what I would call "distressed" in a worn way, they're more on the order of screwed with. If you are set on making distressed hats, I would make a nice fedora or western hat and wear it mowing the lawn, cutting brush, walking in the woods, gardening etc. Keep that one as a model. Rain doesn't do much to hats by the way.

Just my $0.02 and good luck with this.

 

[belfastboy]

Hi Tucker

The hats in the first post of the thread aren't what I would call "distressed" in a worn way, they're more on the order of screwed with. If you are set on making distressed hats, I would make a nice fedora or western hat and wear it mowing the lawn, cutting brush, walking in the woods, gardening etc. Keep that one as a model. Rain doesn't do much to hats by the way.

Just my $0.02 and good luck with this.

Yes, I was thinking the same except....put in a temp sweat band and loan it to a gardener for a month or two. You would get back one highly lived in hat. Put in a new leather sweat and you can sell a legit distressed hat and you didn't even need to do the work.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Hi Belfast

The hats in the first post of the thread aren't what I would call "distressed" in a worn way, they're more on the order of screwed with. If you are set on making distressed hats, I would make a nice fedora or western hat and wear it mowing the lawn, cutting brush, walking in the woods, gardening etc. Keep that one as a model. Rain doesn't do much to hats by the way.

Just my $0.02 and good luck with this.

I think it was Tucker and not Belfast that wanted to make a “distressed” hat. @belfastboy was just offering his help and insights.

I don’t get why anyone would want such a “distressed” hat, but many people don’t understand why I like the hats that I do. I’m all for the inclusive big tent concept, but I just can’t look at those weirdly distorted and graffitied hats and see any appeal. Vive la différence.

 

[belfastboy]

I think it was Tucker and not Belfast that wanted to make a “distressed” hat. @belfastboy was just offering his help and insights.

I don’t get why anyone would want such a “distressed” hat, but many people don’t understand why I like the hats that I do. I’m all for the inclusive big tent concept, but I just can’t look at those weirdly distorted and graffitied hats and see any appeal. Vive la différence.

Yeh, even when young and foolish not sure I would be wearing one such hat.....but then I did wear bell bottoms (but not tie dye!)

 

[1961MJS]

Yeh, even when young and foolish not sure I would be wearing one such hat.....but then I did wear bell bottoms (but not tie dye!)

All heck, I had gold / brown plaid checked bell bottoms when I was 8 or 10 (1968 to 70) with a big collar and a gold / red paisley scarf deal. Glad there aren't pix of that.

Later