Having hats resized

[fedoralover]

I, like probably many others here have bought fedora's that didn't fit just because they were great hats at a decent price. I've always tried with limited success to still wear them by padding the sweatbands. But recently I've had several resized down from a 7 1/2 and 7 3/8ths to a heavy 7 1/8th. Here's the pics. I had Mike Miller of Northwest hats do the work. He meticulously took out the original sweatbands, ribbons and liners and reblocked the hat down to fit me. 2 of the hats had sweatbands that couldn't be saved but the others were along with the ribbons and liners, all put back to where you'd never know they had been taken out and put back.

I've passed up numerous other hats that were either too big or too small, but now that I know they can be resized without ruining their look I have more purchasing options.

Mike also recently purchased a vintage Stetson Open Road that was a 6 7/8 and resized it to a 7 1/4 and it looked great. I never thought you could go that far up but it really opens up new possibilities.

I'm storing the Mallory and Stetson 20 in open crown condition to help keep their original shape. They take a crease and pop right back to open crown after being worn all day.

Here's the resized hats.
Mallory 20 in a Pearl blue

Black Open Road-color doesn't show up well.

Vintage Custom in light pastel blue

Sovereign Stetson 20 in Blue gray

 

[bowlerman]

That is really cool, and good to know! Are the rates reasonable?

 

[randooch]

Nice results, fedoralover! You got the added benefit of winding up with more brim on a downsize, I imagine.

Jeff, yes indeed, Mike is quite reasonable and a super nice guy to boot!

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Stunning hats, fedoralover!! Love the Mallory and the Stetson!!

:hail:

 

[fedoralover]

Thanks, Mike's prices are very reasonable. You should call him personally for exact quotes. I was surprised the Mallory sucked in so well, it was a 7 1/2 and padded to the hilt, now it fits perfect with no padding. A real plus for me is not having to pay for shipping, but with the price of quality fedora's nowadays, it can still be worth it to get one off size and have it redone to fit.

fedoralover

 

[splintercellsz]

I love that Mallory!

 

[skyvue]

Oh, to find to a hat that's a size or two too large. If I live 100 years that likely won't happen to me.

 

[JonnyO]

Those look fantastic! Like everyone else, I love the Mallory, the Stetson looks great as well.

 

[Brian Niebuhr]

So when blocking a hat larger, is the whole crown pushed into a larger block so that it doesnt cause taper? Does this cause any loss in brim width? I recall reading somewhere that sizing up will take away some brim and sizing down will add some. Is this true?? Sounds like it would be the case but maybe not enough to really show.

 

[mayserwegener]

I had one hat upsized by Optimo and it lost some of the brim width but the block (crown height and taper) was similar to the original. I would expect the opposite when down sizing assuming a similar block. Personally I would only have this done if the hat (assuming vintage) has missing or damaged major components.

 

[Brian Niebuhr]

I would think that only a good felt would hold up. A poor felt or modern would probably shrink back down and or become weak. Not sure about down sizing though. I have two hats that I bought a size small. They fit after putting in thinner sweats and giving them a bit of a stretch but the crowns look slightly small now. Only slightly but I like lots of crown though.

 

[fedoralover]

I'm not sure of the exact mechanics of it, you'd have to ask Mike or another hatter. I've only seen the results and they were pretty good. As mentioned earlier, Mike took a 60s or 70s Stetson Open Road size 6 7/8 and took it to a 7 1/4. If it lost anything in dimensions it wasn't noticeably discernable. He did say as long as the felt isn't too thin he can do it without a problem. He put a wide ribbon on it and totally changed the look. Taking it down a few sizes only modestly alters the dimensions, after all they go in 1/8th increments. You can obviously feel the difference on your head, but visually it's had to tell. Also the felt just shrinks up some when reblocked. It is just a mass of interlocked hair fibers that can be made tighter with water and steam.

I just remeasured the brims and crowns on the Mallory and Stetson 20. The Mallory which was a 7 1/2 picked up about 1/8th of an inch in the brim and about 1/4th in the crown. The Stetson was a 7 3/8ths and I couldn't measure any difference in dimensions than it previously had. The Mallory was a large brim and high crown to begin with, so the incremental increase is not detectable unless you get out the tape measure.

Here's the Mallory on my head.

fedoralover

 

[danofarlington]

Good one.

 

[gtdean48]

One of the challenges with resizing is how the sweatband is sewn on to the original hat body.
That could create what is comparable to a perforated line on paper but in the felt which makes a weak spot.
When the felt is pulled over the block, it could tear along this line.
Going up sizes puts this area higher up the crown & going down sizes puts it out on the brim area.
The fibers can come together if the felt isn't totally "dead".

 

[fedoralover]

Didn't see any stitch holes on mine or the one Mike did. I asked him about it and he said that you do have to start with a decent felt but after he wets, steams and irons the felt he's never had a problem with the old stitch holes. I know some have have torn the brim off the crown pulling it down over the block, so that is possible. But as long as the hatter works the hat down from the crown rather than just pulling on the brim it really minimizes the odds of it happening.
Here's the 6 7/8ths Open Road that was converted to a 7 1/4. No stitch marks or evidence of thin spots. Brim and crown measurements pretty much stayed the same.

Here's Mike himself wearing it.

fedoralover

 

[randooch]

Great pics and impressive work.

 

[RBH]

Good work and thanks for the shot of Mr Miller, always nice to put a face with a name.

 

[-30-]

"start with a decent felt but after he wets, steams and irons the felt he's never had a problem with the old stitch holes."
QUOTE.

I was wondering about that since the start of this thread; now answered.

Thanks.


Regards,
-30-

 

[Brian Niebuhr]

Wow! Love it! looks about as happy as one should be in a hat like that!

 

[hutch]

Thanks for this info. Do you happen to have a website address or contact phone number? I found a website but I wanted to make sure it is the right shop.