Sourcing Hat Bodies Wool, Straw, Blends?

[Susan J]

Ok, great! Good to know, I'll do some more digging/searching around. The sunrise hat bodies look nice, they are make out of Nutria..

 

[Cornshucker77]

Ok, great! Good to know, I'll do some more digging/searching around. The sunrise hat bodies look nice, they are make out of Nutria..

They are Nutria. I bought one and I was pleased with it.

 

[Emilis]

Hello dear friends,

I'm slowly but surely getting into buying the equipment for making my first hat and I was wondering if anyone knows a better source of fur felts? The cheapest I can find for rabbit is around 35$. Maybe someone has some connections in China or something?

Please private message me (or post here if you wish), I could possibly provide you a very good source of hatblocks

 

[hatsRme]

No PMs for you yet, Grasshopper. You need more postings first.

Yours is an interesting approach. Better felts? From China?! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Better than what? What sources have you sampled, and please tell us about your “possible” source of blocks. I’m sure we can help you!

 

[jlee562]

https://www.tonak.cz/hatbodies-en/?search=offset:0|articlesCount:0

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I doubt that a hat body that cost less than $35 is worth making a hat from.

 

[belfastboy]

I have conducted a search, not exhaustive, but a decent search. Agnoulito in Greece has the best pricing on Tonak rabbit felts. He offers a variety of sizes, weights and colours along with liners and leather sweats. The downside is he is a pain in the ass to deal with. I placed a $400 order on the weekend and have yet to hear from him. I will cancel in the next 24 hours if no response. Guy Morse-Brown in the UK offers a Czech rabbit felt in a decent weight and they have awesome customer service. A bit more expensive but still reasonable. I have been buying a variety of felts from different suppliers to give me experience working with different furs and weights....part of my learning process. HatMakersEmporium sells western weight only and is pricey....plus they are in Australia. There are others but they are N American based and you would be much better served to find a European supplier to cut down your wait and cost. My first choice if you can get one is the Tonak Antelope (suede) finish from Agnoulita. They are on the small side so you won't get a huge crown and brim but a 5' x 2 1/2" is possible and it is wonderful felt. Requires very little pouncing and produces a great hat.

 

[jlee562]

Tim at Alley Kat is now a FEPSA distributor, check in with him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/purebeaver/

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I have conducted a search, not exhaustive, but a decent search. Agnoulito in Greece has the best pricing on Tonak rabbit felts. He offers a variety of sizes, weights and colours along with liners and leather sweats. The downside is he is a pain in the ass to deal with. I placed a $400 order on the weekend and have yet to hear from him. I will cancel in the next 24 hours if no response. Guy Morse-Brown in the UK offers a Czech rabbit felt in a decent weight and they have awesome customer service. A bit more expensive but still reasonable. I have been buying a variety of felts from different suppliers to give me experience working with different furs and weights....part of my learning process. HatMakersEmporium sells western weight only and is pricey....plus they are in Australia. There are others but they are N American based and you would be much better served to find a European supplier to cut down your wait and cost. My first choice if you can get one is the Tonak Antelope (suede) finish from Agnoulita. They are on the small side so you won't get a huge crown and brim but a 5' x 2 1/2" is possible and it is wonderful felt. Requires very little pouncing and produces a great hat.

Hmmm, I’m a size 62cm and I have a couple Agnoulita’s Tonak felts in antelope finish with 6” crowns and 2 3/4 to 3 1/8 inch wide brims. I know the peach bloom felts were only available as smaller hoods, but the antelope were available in larger sizes.

And I completely agree that Agnoulita is a pain to deal with. I tried to place an order over two months ago and still no answer!

 

[belfastboy]

Hmmm, I’m a size 62cm and I have a couple Agnoulita’s Tonak felts in antelope finish with 6” crowns and 2 3/4 to 3 1/8 inch wide brims. I know the peach bloom felts were only available as smaller hoods, but the antelope were available in larger sizes.

And I completely agree that Agnoulita is a pain to deal with. I tried to place an order over two months ago and still no answer!

It would seem there is a great variance in the Antelope sizing. I ordered one through Rick, he specifically asked for a larger blank to meet my 6" x 2 3/4" order. It arrived in Rick's hand much smaller. I bought it from him so he wasn't stuck with it and used it in my class. It came out okay about 5 x 2 1/2". Love the felt.

 

[Millinery Warehouse]

Hi All,

My name is Drew, I'm new here on the Fedora Lounge. I wanted to share my felt supply website with everyone, www.millinerywarehouse.com. We specialize in rabbit fur felts and carry velour, suede, smooth, and melusine finish. All of our felts are double sided and pre-stiffened, and we have no MOQ. We are located in New York and the felt origin is Ukraine. If anyone has any questions at all feel free to ask away! Looking forward to working with everyone.

 

[belfastboy]

Hi All,

My name is Drew, I'm new here on the Fedora Lounge. I wanted to share my site felt supply site with everyone, www.millinerywarehouse.com. We specialize in rabbit fur felts and carry velour, suede, smooth, and melusine finish. All of our felts are double sided and pre-stiffened, and we have no MOQ. We are located in New York and the felt origin is Ukraine. If anyone has any questions at all feel free to ask away! Looking forward to working with everyone.

I checked out your website and have sent an inquiry to you. Do you sell other millinery supplies such as leather sweats, ferrules, liners, ribbon etc.?

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Hi All,

My name is Drew, I'm new here on the Fedora Lounge. I wanted to share my site felt supply site with everyone, www.millinerywarehouse.com. We specialize in rabbit fur felts and carry velour, suede, smooth, and melusine finish. All of our felts are double sided and pre-stiffened, and we have no MOQ. We are located in New York and the felt origin is Ukraine. If anyone has any questions at all feel free to ask away! Looking forward to working with everyone.

Welcome! It’s always nice to have another source for felt.

 

[Millinery Warehouse]

Thanks for checking out the site! At this time we are not selling any of the supplies you mentioned. Perhaps in the future!

 

[belfastboy]

Thanks for checking out the site! At this time we are not selling any of the supplies you mentioned. Perhaps in the future!

It is a big plus to offer one stop shopping especially when I can include all the little fiddly items along with the felts.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I recently received my 180 gram western hat body in bottle green from The Millinery Warehouse. I can’t fairly compare it to my Tonak felts they are all dress weight felts, but I’d say it is in the same league.

The brim measures 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 inches from the current brim break. The open crown is 5 1/4 inches. The head opening measures approximately 7 3/4 inches by 6 1/2 inches. The felt comes pre-stiffened and it feels about like I’d expect for a western. It’s not at all hard, but it’s maybe 50% stiffer than the dress weight Winchester unfinished beaver felts I’ve experienced. The felt is reasonably dense, but not as dense as Winchester’s beaver or Sunrise’s nutria. In short, it is what I’d expect for a 100% rabbit fur felt western felt at this price point. I’m not put off at all. Experience has also shown that it’s not easy to gauge what a finished hat will be from the unfinished hat body. I’m sure experienced hatters can estimate better. The color is accurate to the website’s photos.

Depending on how much felt is left after it’s blocked to my size with my crown height, I’ll decide on the hat details.

The last photo is the most accurate representation of the true color, but it’s even a touch darker.

 

[belfastboy]

I recently received my 180 gram western hat body in bottle green from The Millinery Warehouse. I can’t fairly compare it to my Tonak felts they are all dress weight felts, but I’d say it is in the same league.

The brim measures 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 inches from the current brim break. The open crown is 5 1/4 inches. The head opening measures approximately 7 3/4 inches by 6 1/2 inches. The felt comes pre-stiffened and it feels about like I’d expect for a western. It’s not at all hard, but it’s maybe 50% stiffer than the dress weight Winchester unfinished beaver felts I’ve experienced. The felt is reasonably dense, but not as dense as Winchester’s beaver or Sunrise’s nutria. In short, it is what I’d expect for a 100% rabbit fur felt western felt at this price point. I’m not put off at all. Experience has also shown that it’s not easy to gauge what a finished hat will be from the unfinished hat body. I’m sure experienced hatters can estimate better. The color is accurate to the website’s photos.

Depending on how much felt is left after it’s blocked to my size with my crown height, I’ll decide on the hat details.

View attachment 238708 View attachment 238709 View attachment 238710

The last photo is the most accurate representation of the true color, but it’s even a touch darker.

I plan to order a 160gr felt from them as soon as they are back in stock.

 

[Millinery Warehouse]

It is a big plus to offer one stop shopping especially when I can include all the little fiddly items along with the felts.

We will be offering leather sweatbands next month

 

[belfastboy]

We will be offering leather sweatbands next month

Any delivery date yet for the 160gr western weight?

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

We will be offering leather sweatbands next month

What kind of leather?
What widths? (1 5/8 in and/or 2 in)
What colors?
Is there a minimum order quantity?