Removing creases from hat

[ninman]

So I'm trying to remove the bash from one of my hats to make it open crown again so I can rebash it. However, steaming it isn't working, and I'm not sure what else to do.

Can anyone help me?

 

[Andykev]

What kind of hat? Is it wool or felt? Any felt hat should be able to take a new shape with steam..and a proper block.

 

[TheDane]

However, steaming it isn't working, and I'm not sure what else to do

Exactly what are you doing - what happens - what doesn't happen?

 

[moontheloon]

if you have a proper block you can get it back to open crown

but if there were hard creases this sometimes causes permanent marks in the felt often called a "ghost crease" which will always be at least semi visible

this stays because it is not a stain or discoloration in the felt but fibers of the actual felt worn away from being bent and ... well ... creased
... think of when you bend a piece of plastic and it turns white

ghost creases can often be dealt with by using a hat sponge, a block and a good brushing ... but there are cases where it is too far gone ... in this case you will either have to crease the hat where it was once creased or just live with the mark showing in your crease.

I have seen cases of what I thought was a ghost crease end up being simply surface dirt

but if your hat had a soft crease... a block, some steam and your hands should get it back to a blank canvas state

have any pics of what you are dealing with ?

 

[TheDane]

A 4-5" soup ladle and a more or less cylindrical glass can often do the trick in lack of a block and iron. Like Moon, I would like to know, what you're working on, though

 

[gtdean48]

soak it with a spray bottle of distilled water & use something to iron out the creases, like a bowl or large spoon & a steam iron.
Use a handkerchief between the felt & the steam iron. If you do this a lot, a Hat Shaper block is a good buy = http://www.hatshapers.com/
factory crease =

open crown =

hat shaper used =

 

[TheDane]

I'm personally not a fan of the "one-fits-all" hat shapers - just like I don't fancy the use of a random block. There's a lot if difference between the open crown silhouette of a Playboy and an Open Road.

The block should have the right profile for the hat in question. If not, I prefer the old soup ladle

 

[Frunobulax]

I'm personally not a fan of the "one-fits-all" hat shapers - just like I don't fancy the use of a random block. There's a lot if difference between the open crown silhouette of a Playboy and an Open Road.

The block should have the right profile for the hat in question. If not, I prefer the old soup ladle

A too small block (say, a 7 for a 7 1/4 hat) can be monkeyed with to iron out creases without changing the block profile. A little more stable than the soup ladle/salad bowl technique.

And as Moon says, a hat sponge, or pouncing with, maybe 300 grit sandpaper, can minimize the ghost crease, if not outright eliminate it.

 

[tommyK]

I've found the only way to completely eradicate an old set-in crease, to bring an old hat back to square one, once again an open crown to really start over is to use an iron and a hat block. You have to cover the area of felt you're working on with a light cloth so as not to crush the fur fibers and leave "shiney" spots. These shiney spots can be brushed out with steam but this can be easily avoided by using a cloth. I use the handkerchiefs you can get by the dozen at a department store.
To Ole's point, I have a few different hat blocks to work with common shapes you find in old hats. A 51 and 52 type block are the least you should have. I have modified a 51 block to mimic the shape of Stratoliner and Playboy crowns. When all else fails I have a 51 block I cut in half and put that in to iron the side walls of the crown in order to do the least harm to the original profile of a crown.

Same goes for brim flanges. They are not all the same depth and/or shape as well as size. I've had to custom make and customize those as well.

This can be a deep rabbit hole to go down

 

[tommyK]

Careful use of these things gets you from this;

to this;

I realize it looks a different color in each photo but this is all the same hat

 

[EstherWeis]

This can be a deep rabbit hole to go down

Great post!
Agree 100% !

But those flanges! Drooling over here

 

[RJR]

Good information and techniques,thanks.

 

[tommyK]

I would like to say that gtdean's hat shaper is probably the way to go for many who don't want to get bogged down in an endless search for different hat blocks and fussing over very small details of crown shapes.
I think, perhaps when dealing with a vintage hat of some value like a Whippet, Playboy, Stratoliner, etc one might want to be more careful not to de-value your investment or change the character that make them so sought after

 

[ninman]

Basically, I bought an open crown Akubra fur felt hat, and I wanted to move the pinch I put in it slightly, so it's a little more centred, but I can't get rid of the original creases that I put in it.

What I mean by that is that when I try to put new creases in it, it still conforms to the old creases I had.

 

[Frunobulax]

Basically, I bought an open crown Akubra fur felt hat, and I wanted to move the pinch I put in it slightly, so it's a little more centred, but I can't get rid of the original creases that I put in it.

What I mean by that is that when I try to put new creases in it, it still conforms to the old creases I had.

Oh, well then you're doomed. Doomed, I tells ya!

If steam doesn't do the trick, I 'd get it good and damp with distilled water and reshape it that way. Let it dry. You should be good to go.

 

[ninman]

Oh, well then you're doomed. Doomed, I tells ya!

If steam doesn't do the trick, I 'd get it good and damp with distilled water and reshape it that way. Let it dry. You should be good to go.

Thanks, how do you get distilled water? If I boil water in the kettle and let it cool is that good enough?

 

[rclark]

Thanks, how do you get distilled water? If I boil water in the kettle and let it cool is that good enough?

You might be interested in this video:

 

[BobHufford]

Thanks, how do you get distilled water? If I boil water in the kettle and let it cool is that good enough?

Maybe not as it could still leave minerals, etc. A gallon of distilled water is super cheap and easily available at our local Wal-Mart. You probably have some at your local grocer.

 

[Frunobulax]

Thanks, how do you get distilled water? If I boil water in the kettle and let it cool is that good enough?

No, the distillation process is a little more complicated than that. I buy it at the grocery store. About 99 cents for a gallon. I'm assuming you can get it in the UK, as well.

Or I'm going to start selling distilled water on eBay UK!

 

[ninman]

No, the distillation process is a little more complicated than that. I buy it at the grocery store. About 99 cents for a gallon. I'm assuming you can get it in the UK, as well.

Or I'm going to start selling distilled water on eBay UK!

Ok, so then all I do is pour the distilled water onto the hat to get it wet then leave it to dry in an open crown shape?