Push from 7 1/8 to 7 1/4?

[Pilgrim]

I'm watching a navy blue Stetson on Ebay but it's a 7 1/8. I'm 90% sure I can use my hat stretcher to push it out to my size, 7 1/4. Any confirmations or cautions??

By the way, if others here are watching this as well and it's their holy grail, just let me know and I'll sit out the auction. I don't want to get between someone and their dream hat.

 

[Johnnysan]

I tried this with an older Borsalino that I have with the same specs: 7 1/8 to 7 1/4. The sweatband pulled apart a bit at the back seam, but other than that, the hat is just fine and fits well. It does seem to want to creep back to it's old size, so I've been storing it with the stretcher in place and slightly snug. I'm guessing that the felt will eventually retrain itself to remain at the larger size.

Bid away and good luck!

 

[tonyb]

It's good for others interested in that Stetson 15 that I've already made my acquisitions for the season. Love that color. Congrats to whoever ends up with it, and here's hoping its price stays within the realm of the reasonable.
I would be much less reluctant to stretch if I were more confident that the original sweatband would come through the process unscathed. (Among the more intriguing aspects of the vintage lids are the labels from the long-defunct retailers embossed on the sweats.)
I've read in other threads about some stuff called Lexol, a leather softener/conditioner. Does it work? Will it transfer to the lining or (horrors) the felt? Where can I get it?

 

[havershaw]

You can also try just splitting the seam of the sweatband with a stitchripper. I don't mean the one that attaches it to the hat, but the one in the rear of the hat. A local hat shop here in town recommended I do that for my hats that were too snug, and it has worked great for me to be able to wear 6 7/8 size hats (I'm generally a 7). Sometimes I have to stretch them out, too, but usually just opening that seam up will let me wear a hat that's a size down. It's probably easier (and will look better on the crown) than stretching it.

 

[D. Hats]

Navy Blue Stetson

Are you talkin' about that navy blue Stetson 15? It is a beauty !! Good Luck, hope you get it !

 

[Snrbfshn]

Yep, I saw that one, too...

And like you, being a 7 1/4, I considered it. But after acquiring a number of vintage lids over the past year I've seen that quite a few 1/4s have shrunk over the years and I have to stretch them out to 1/4 again. That makes me leery about getting 7 1/8s that might have shrunk, so I'd be stretching them double to get them to 1/4, if that makes sense.

I'm more willing to look at 7 3/8s in hopes they fit like 1/4s. If they're a little big, I can use the felt or cork strips.

 

[tonyb]

Go figure

It seems it's not possible to know how an old hat will fit until you drop it on your head. In newer hats, I take a 7 3/8, typically, although some 3/8s fit kinda loose and some 1/4s are a touch tight. Three old stingy brims--a Stetson, a Knox and a Vauxhall, acquired at a thrift store a few years ago--all fit fine and all are marked 7 1/8! (While another vintage 7 1/8 of mine is decidely snug.) I suspect all three were purchased new by the same man, as they all have the same store label and are of the same general style. Maybe the retailers offered some kind of in-store fitting service back then? Or maybe sizing conventions have changed some?

 

[SHARPETOYS]

I have found about 90% of all hats unless custom are not sized correctly. Get the seller to measure the inside of the hat for you. Better to be safe than sorry!

 

[Pilgrim]

Well, it sold for $71 and that's a bit rich for my blood right before Christmas. I can afford to wait for a similar hat to show up in a few months,

Meanwhile, maybe I can find the elusive silver-grey Open Road that I REALLY want!

 

[tonyb]

Stretching sweats

At a western wear store I found some stuff called Fiebing's Shoe S-T-R-E-T-C-H It. It's liquid, in a spray bottle, seems to work OK. It doesn't transfer to the lining, as best I can tell. It was only $2.95, so I gave it a try.

 

[Pilgrim]

Well, now I have a chance to run a test. I bought a western hat on Ebay for my oldest daughter's boyfriend, and it was grossly different than advertised (6 7/8, not 7 1/4). The lady selling it shipped it in the original hat box labeled 7 1/4, so I'm sure she got careless and didn't check the actual size in the hat.

But - my youngest daughter likes it, and she's a size 7. So I'm keeping it, as the price was right. My antique hat stretcher (with a metal turnbuckle replacing the old wood screw unit) is in it now, and I'll hit it with a bit of steam, then let it sit for a few days. If that stiff stuff can move 1/8 size, a dress hat will be no problem.

 

[PutALidOnIt]

That blue Stetson is sweet!

I am a 1/4 L.O. But, with so many of us vying the 1/4's and 3/8's on eBay, I have gambled on a few 1/8's with fair success. I have used a regular modern "retainer" stretcher on 3 lids that were snug 1/8's and they seem to fit as nicely as the 1/4's after a week on "the rack". I do, however, find that they will succumb to memory after a while if the rear stitching is not cut or broken a bit.

In the oher hand, I do have a couple of 3/8's that felt a bit oversized and IMHO, the comfort factor declined with any heavy stuff added under the sweatband. I settled on a solution that works for me; while thrifting, I will find a fine (thin) silk tie for .50 or $1.00, cut it, and use the slim end to snug the band. It's a comfortable and economical solution.

 

[havershaw]

I split the seam on the sweat all the time for 6 7/8 hats to make them fit better for me (I'm a 7 also). If you do that and use the stretcher just a bit, it should fit great.