Hat making?? Learning Millinery..

[Gobi]

One other thing. I had already purchased my flanges in Long Ovals so I sent him a tracing & dimensions of the inside dimension of the flange to make sure his block profile matched my flange. He made the blocks about 5mm smaller to account for the thickness of the felt. If I had not received sucha great deal on the vintage flanges I would have bought both the block and flange from the same maker to insure a proper pairing. What size are you? If you want I may have a tracing for your size scanned and can send to you for reference in case Jerzy does not know what Long Oval means or what size is correct.

I'm a size 60 but I want to make it a size 61, I'm always happier with 61 hats in the long run. 60's tend to get too tight after a couple of years and I prefer not to always be in a fight to keep them stretched. The overall crown proportions look better with size 61 as well.

 

[Gobi]

Give some thought to the Guy Morse Brown offering. I have it and love it. The upside is that you can control the amount of curl so you only need one of them and it covers a wide range. I like a middle of the road curl so it is perfect....about a 3/8" is my sweet spot. Did not take me long to be competent with it. View attachment 266866 View attachment 266867

I like those curls a lot. Nice hats! I will be ordering his shackle for sure. I'm a sucker for kettle/pencil curls.

You're right Terry. Here's an old pic of Randal's Boss of the Plains block and the resulting hat.
View attachment 267068

What a great BOTP hat! Very nice.

 

[belfastboy]

I'm a size 60 but I want to make it a size 61, I'm always happier with 61 hats in the long run. 60's tend to get too tight after a couple of years and I prefer not to always be in a fight to keep them stretched. The overall crown proportions look better with size 61 as well.

Use a top quality leather sweat and shrinkage should not be a problem. The great aspect of making your own hats is you can dial in the fit to get it exactly right. I am a 59cm exact and I block on a 60cm block. The one cm diff gives me some slack to play with on the fit.

 

[KarlEscobar10]

Thanks for the advice regarding the brim curler guys! Will look into GMB’s one and will weigh out my options.

 

[Gobi]

I like the look of the 033 block, here are both the 032 and 052 from hat blocks Poland.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Oh yeah! That G0032 block is the one! The 52 in the photos looks WAY too tapered for me.

 

[belfastboy]

I like the look of the 033 block, here are both the 032 and 052 from hat blocks Poland.
View attachment 267453

View attachment 267454

Oh yeah! That G0032 block is the one! The 52 in the photos looks WAY too tapered for me.

I have just one of 032 (in my size as a test piece) and it will give you a Boss o the Plains type crown. The ones I have en route are the straight sides but has a slightly rounded dome. It is interesting how a slight taper in the block really shows up in the finished crown.

 

[Gobi]

I have just one of 032 (in my size as a test piece) and it will give you a Boss o the Plains type crown. The ones I have en route are the straight sides but has a slightly rounded dome. It is interesting how a slight taper in the block really shows up in the finished crown.

Will I need to order a size up or will his 61 make a 61 hat? I dont think his English is good enough to understand if I ask him.

 

[belfastboy]

Will I need to order a size up or will his 61 make a 61 hat? I dont think his English is good enough to understand if I ask him.

I would order a block that measures 62cm that will produce an end product after the leather sweat is sewn in and size 61 hat. The tricky part is cutting the sweat to the exact size....I fiddle with it and it is harder than i think it is. I have a band block now that is 59 cm in circumference so I use that to get the right measure. Make sure Jerzy understands you want a long oval. Here is a scan of the footprint of the block Jerzy made for me to fit my 7 5/8" flange. If you can I would erase the dimensions and send it to him to show him the Long Oval footprint along with the circumference you desire.

 

[Gobi]

I would order a block that measures 62cm that will produce an end product after the leather sweat is sewn in and size 61 hat. The tricky part is cutting the sweat to the exact size....I fiddle with it and it is harder than i think it is. I have a band block now that is 59 cm in circumference so I use that to get the right measure. Make sure Jerzy understands you want a long oval. Here is a scan of the footprint of the block Jerzy made for me to fit my 7 5/8" flange. If you can I would erase the dimensions and send it to him to show him the Long Oval footprint along with the circumference you desire. View attachment 267665

Thank you. I asked if he could do a long oval and he said "yes I can do debts". Maybe he uses speech to text and the word "that" sounded like "debts"??
I think I might ask for a 61.5 cm block, that way it will make approximately a 60.5 hat which will be a little closer to my head size. I just worry that a 62 will be way too big. I have to think on it.

 

[belfastboy]

Thank you. I asked if he could do a long oval and he said "yes I can do debts". Maybe he uses speech to text and the word "that" sounded like "debts"??
I think I might ask for a 61.5 cm block, that way it will make approximately a 60.5 hat which will be a little closer to my head size. I just worry that a 62 will be way too big. I have to think on it.

That was my thought that 62 is a big jump and perhaps too big. You can always make a block bigger by the use of tape. I just finished a hat for a client that needed a 59.5cm so I added .5cm to my 60cm block by using a layer of painters tape then a layer of gorilla tape. That adds about the .5 cm and the painters tape makes it easy to remove it all without tape residue.

 

[Gobi]

I just measured my head, I haven't actually done that in years. I swear your head keeps growing in adulthood. I used to be able to wear a 59 comfortably, now a 60 is borderline and 61's seem to fit the best but they have to break in a little. My head measures at right about 60cm. It used to measure right about 59, maybe a tad over.
Anyway, I went ahead and ordered a 62 so the finished hat will be a 61 which will give me a loose fitting hat which I prefer so I shouldn't have to worry about it becoming too tight. I actually have a size 62 hat that fits well enough and it'll only get better with time instead of getting too tight.
I sent him that outline picture to show the long oval and wrote "long oval" or "długi owal" in polish so he should understand.

 

[belfastboy]

Question to the other hatters out there: What tape do you use to tape the seam on the leather sweats prior to zig zag sewing them together? I looked for a fabric/cloth tape at fabric stores and cannot find anything that approximates that which I find in my custom hats.
Also I broke down and bought me a JiffySteamer.....great upgrade. I love it.

 

[belfastboy]

Question to the other hatters out there: What tape do you use to tape the seam on the leather sweats prior to zig zag sewing them together? I looked for a fabric/cloth tape at fabric stores and cannot find anything that approximates that which I find in my custom hats.
Also I broke down and bought me a JiffySteamer.....great upgrade. I love it.

I have been using a fabric like tape that I nicked from the ER the last time I was there. But I am thinking long term I can't be sneaking into ER to steal tape.

 

[Frunobulax]

Question to the other hatters out there: What tape do you use to tape the seam on the leather sweats prior to zig zag sewing them together? I looked for a fabric/cloth tape at fabric stores and cannot find anything that approximates that which I find in my custom hats.
Also I broke down and bought me a JiffySteamer.....great upgrade. I love it.

I don't know what to call it, and I likely picked it up at JoAnn or Michael's, but i just use a fairly strong fabric tape I found there. It's kind of like a heavy duty surgical tape. Has a serrated edge.

 

[belfastboy]

I don't know what to call it, and I likely picked it up at JoAnn or Michael's, but i just use a fairly strong fabric tape I found there. It's kind of like a heavy duty surgical tape. Has a serrated edge.

Thanks, I have a Michaels just down the road from me so will have a look.

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

Question to the other hatters out there: What tape do you use to tape the seam on the leather sweats prior to zig zag sewing them together? I looked for a fabric/cloth tape at fabric stores and cannot find anything that approximates that which I find in my custom hats.
Also I broke down and bought me a JiffySteamer.....great upgrade. I love it.

If you want the same stuff that Art used, look for: Water Activated Kraft Paper Tape, you can find it in brown and white. It is gummed on one side and you will have to wet it, either with a wet sponge or by licking it.

I bought my roll off of ebay, here is a link for reference: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ONE-ROLL-1...229901?hash=item56c3ec498d:g:ZNgAAOxyUrZS9OmS

They have other listings that have more than roll.

I use this and it works well. When I bell my sweets, I use a bit of upholstery thread to keep the ferrule and reed in place and pulled together. Then I use the paper tape to align the ends of the leather together and hold it in place. Then I take it to the sewing machine to finish it off. The paper tape makes it so I don't have to fight the sweat when sewing.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

I have been using a fabric like tape that I nicked from the ER the last time I was there. But I am thinking long term I can't be sneaking into ER to steal tape.

ER fabric tape and ER paper tape in time will get gummy as it ages and becomes quite messy. This has been my experience.
B

 

[belfastboy]

Well I ruined my first felt today. I wanted to push the pouncing to see what would happen and to find out how far was too far. The good news is that I pounced a fairly thick and stiff Winchester beaver felt to a wonderfully soft finish....a wonderful hand. The bad news is the dye is so very mottled. I am thinking that I have some natural indigo dye laying around and I will re dye this and see what I get. It was a noble experiment....I just wish it had a better result. Pics are not great.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Well I ruined my first felt today. I wanted to push the pouncing to see what would happen and to find out how far was too far. The good news is that I pounced a fairly thick and stiff Winchester beaver felt to a wonderfully soft finish....a wonderful hand. The bad news is the dye is so very mottled. I am thinking that I have some natural indigo dye laying around and I will re dye this and see what I get. It was a noble experiment....I just wish it had a better result. Pics are not great. View attachment 270325 View attachment 270326

You mean you learned how to duplicate the old masters’ marble finish and it only adds $200 to the cost of the hat!

Rick @humanshoes can share photos of a similar finish on my nutria in pewter.