How to make an AAF Crush Cap

[fishmeok]

I didn't have any interest in my Lancaster officer's hat repop so I decided to make it into a "crush cap" along the lines of a Flighter a Dobbs. The hat is made well and uses good materials, but it is essentially a standard size regulation cap- about 11 1/4" diameter across the top and stiff. I disassembled the hat down to it's component parts, reduced the diameter to 10", topstiched the seams, and removed a lot of excess bulk. I also re-hand stitched the band. The hat is almost a copy of my original Dobbs now although I should have removed one of the layers from the brim to soften it up more. I'm happy with it, especially since it only took a few hours. Good thing to do on a Friday night with thunderstorms popping up all over the place.

Before:

After, next to the Dobbs:

Cheers
Mark

 

[rgraham]

General Savage called. He wants his hat back.

Nice job. Looks the ticket.