Shrunk bowler

[Lokar]

My mother in law bought me a nice bowler hat second hand a while ago. I unfortunately have no idea of the history and whether it's very new or vintage, it was made in England but sold in Sweden by a company I've not managed to find anything about (P. Borgquist, Trelleborg). If anybody thinks they might know or want to see the hat, I can take some photos tomorrow (it's evening here and we don't have very good lighting). I'd assume it's relatively modern, as she got it for a steal ($25) from somebody who had just left it sitting in a barn, but it can't harm to ask!

To get to the point, it has shrunk a size (it was originally a 59, is now 58 cm - I at first thought this would mean it was modern, but Sweden changed to metric in 1878, so not much help there!). If I want to get it back to the original size, what specifically should I do? The only thing I know for certain is to use steam, but I don't know whether I should buy a hat stretcher, or just steam it and then put it on my head for a few hours, or something else. I'm also wondering if it will be different stretching a bowler compared to a fedora, due to the rigidity of the bowler.

If anybody could help me with a guide (how much steam should I use, hat stretcher/head/something else, and any other tips you may have) that would be fantastic.

I did try searching to see if there were any useful threads, and there were, but I couldn't find any regarding specifically a bowler, and most threads were about stretching a hat past the normal size, rather than getting it back to the original size.

 

[Brad Bowers]

That maybe tough to do, as I don't think steam would do enough to stretch it up a whole size. The only thing to soften shellac is alcohol, which wouldn't be good for the sweatband, so it would necessitate stripping the hat down.

Brad

 

[galopede]

Funny that this should come up today as I resized my old morris musician bowler today! We have the Cheltenham Folk Festival on the weekend and it had shrunk again. Never was the right size!

I did it my usual way. Pan of water steaming well. Fold the inner leather band out so it avoids the steam. Place the hat upside down on the pan not touching the water. The pan I use is quite large but not large enough for the hat to drop in.

I keep it moving around steaming the hat for a minute or two.

Then comes the interesting bit. Do this alone or you will look a total idiot!

The hat is hot so I place a tea towel, glass cloth, whatever you call it, a thin cloth, not a bath towel type, on your head then pull the hat down well over it.

Wander around like a total wally for five minutes and it's done. The cloth will have made it slightly larger but still the perfect shape for your head. It fits perfectly now whereas it was rather tight with the cloth under it!

No guarantees of course but I use this method for all my felt hats that need a bit of adjustment and it's always worked for me. JUST DON"T OVERDO THE STEAM!

Have fun

Gareth

 

[Lokar]

Thanks for the help! I'll try your suggestion galopede, being careful to not over steam, and see how it turns out.

 

[feltfan]

worthlesswithoutpics

With the towel, that is.