Sourcing Hat Bodies Wool, Straw, Blends?

[sombreros charros delfin]

Hello friends, I greet you from Mexico. They know I'm looking for bodies for high top hats and wide brims, I am dedicated to making charro hats and I really like the type of fine finish of the old hats since unfortunately here in Mexico I can't get them. here they only make some of wool in very regular quality with hair and like those made of rabbit hair they also have a lot of hair. I would like to know if you know of someone who can sell me this type of material in large sizes. 8 to 10 inch cup and wings over 15 inches in fine finish. them Attached some pictures of some old hats that I am currently repairing and reconditioning. that kind of material I need. Before here in Mexico the house "Tardan" made them but unfortunately it stopped producing in the 80s. leaving only a few out there. and many others are already collector's items. then I have the need to turn to you knowing that this site is exclusively for the Fedora type. I leave my contact for any information and thank you for taking the time to read my request. leaving you a good handshake also your friend "dolphin" my phone +5219211201302 with WhatsApp. sorry if I do not write well as I am using google translate. Hahaha.

 

[hatsRme]

Hello friends, I greet you from Mexico. They know I'm looking for bodies for high top hats and wide brims, I am dedicated to making charro hats and I really like the type of fine finish of the old hats since unfortunately here in Mexico I can't get them. here they only make some of wool in very regular quality with hair and like those made of rabbit hair they also have a lot of hair. I would like to know if you know of someone who can sell me this type of material in large sizes. 8 to 10 inch cup and wings over 15 inches in fine finish. them Attached some pictures of some old hats that I am currently repairing and reconditioning. that kind of material I need. Before here in Mexico the house "Tardan" made them but unfortunately it stopped producing in the 80s. leaving only a few out there. and many others are already collector's items. then I have the need to turn to you knowing that this site is exclusively for the Fedora type. I leave my contact for any information and thank you for taking the time to read my request. leaving you a good handshake also your friend "dolphin" my phone +5219211201302 with WhatsApp. sorry if I do not write well as I am using google translate. Hahaha.

Get in touch with @Joao Encarnado.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

For anyone interested, the Millinery Warehouse has some 100X beaver western hat bodies in stock. They sold out of the two colors I was interested in within one hour so....

They also have 50X beaver 210g western weight hat bodies which is a new type of felt for them. $105 plus shipping. I’m curious, but I’m not ready to buy.

https://millinerywarehouse.com/fur-felts/210g-western-weight-5050-beaver-blends

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Two Millinery Warehouse 140g velour capelines arrived: camel and ash gray:

The felt is wonderfully soft, and although I can’t make a fair comparison between two finished hats, it seems to be much nicer than my Tonak velour from Agnoulita. This is also a double sided finish whereas the Tonak was a single sided velour. The felt has minimal, perhaps no, stiffeners. I suspect if you don’t plan on adding stiffeners it will make a fairly floppy hat. It looks like the capelines are large enough to make most normal sized fedoras, but if you have a larger head and want a full/minimal taper crown around six inches then I doubt you can get much more than three inches of brim width.

The hand is wonderful on these felts, but it looks and feels more like a short nap long hair finish more than a velour finish. The only disappointment is that with the weather warming up I probably won’t get to wear the hats these capelines are destined to become until next autumn.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Hello friends, I greet you from Mexico. They know I'm looking for bodies for high top hats and wide brims, I am dedicated to making charro hats and I really like the type of fine finish of the old hats since unfortunately here in Mexico I can't get them. here they only make some of wool in very regular quality with hair and like those made of rabbit hair they also have a lot of hair. I would like to know if you know of someone who can sell me this type of material in large sizes. 8 to 10 inch cup and wings over 15 inches in fine finish. them Attached some pictures of some old hats that I am currently repairing and reconditioning. that kind of material I need. Before here in Mexico the house "Tardan" made them but unfortunately it stopped producing in the 80s. leaving only a few out there. and many others are already collector's items. then I have the need to turn to you knowing that this site is exclusively for the Fedora type. I leave my contact for any information and thank you for taking the time to read my request. leaving you a good handshake also your friend "dolphin" my phone +5219211201302 with WhatsApp. sorry if I do not write well as I am using google translate. Hahaha.

I don’t want you to think that we are ignoring you. I wish I could help, but I don’t know of a source for fur felt in the dimensions you need. Winchester is one of the only US felters offering hatters felt, but it’s my understanding that they are not currently accepting new accounts. For the sizes you need you might be looking at a special run with a significant minimum order too.

You can ask Agnoulita on Etsy if he can get you what you’re after. Most all of the felt Agnoulita uses is made by Tonak and they seem to have the ability to make most anything. Good luck.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

New line of 160g men’s weight rabbit capeline and three new colors:

https://millinerywarehouse.com/fur-felts/160g-mens-weight-smooth-felts

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I dipped a toe in the water and bought one of the new Millinery Warehouse 160g mens rabbit fur felt capelines/hat bodies. The felt feels about what I was expecting and I think it can make a decent hat. It has some body and stiffeners added (unlike their velour), but it isn’t at all harsh. It’s thicker and more substantial than I’d like, but it’s just a capeline and hasn’t been pounced to it’s final thickness. The felt isn’t spongey, but it’s not exactly dense either. It’s what I expected from a 100% rabbit fur felt hat body.

The color is “steel gray,” but it’s actually very blue. To my eye it isn’t gray with blue tones, it’s blue with gray tones. It’s not bad, but it’s not the color I was hoping for and it’s VERY different from Winchester’s steel color.

I can live with the felt color (I like blue hats...and I’m thinking this is close to cadet blue!) and quality is acceptable, but it’s just not the size that the website says it is. It’s sold to us as having a 14.5cm crown and an 11.5cm brim. Nope. Mine is a 14cm crown (pretty close) and has a 10.0cm brim. Too small!! If you have a larger hat size, like tall crowns with minimal taper, and prefer wider brims...not sure you can get there from here. @Millinery Warehouse are you hearing this?

 

[jlee562]

Tim over at Purebeaver has been showing off some 20% beaver FEPSA blanks that I might have to jump on. I haven't inquired on pricing, but he is saying they can accommodate 7"x6"!

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Here’s an odd twist to my dabbling with The Millinery Warehouse:

My first felt was a western capeline in bottle green. I sent it to Mike at Northwest Hat Co. To be made into a western. Mike said the felt was too small for much more that a 3” brim and he said the felt was very coarse and he suspected it was at least partly wool. Mike said he couldn’t make me the hat I wanted with that felt and I upgraded to a Winchester beaver felt. Millinery Warehouse said the felt was rabbit fur felt and gave a refund. The felt eventually ended up at Wolfbrae where it was made into a nice smaller western.

Subsequently, I tried several of the suede finished felts along with some of the velour and the newly introduced men’s weight felt. The felt quality has been decent across the board; however, the dimensions of the felts I received did not always match the descriptions on the website. As they were still generally large enough to get me a hat I could live with I kept buying them. When the men’s weight steel gray (see a couple posts up-thread) arrived it was significantly undersized. I sent an email to The Millinery Warehouse informing them of the undersized felt. I was offered a refund and sent a return shipping label: neither of which were asked for. Rather than return the felt, I’m sending it to a hatter; I just wanted Millinery Warehouse to know the capelines were not as advertised and hopefully get them in larger sizes suitable for bigger sized and bigger proportioned hats.

I recently placed another order: a suede finish rabbit capeline and a 100% beaver capeline. I also asked when the company expected to have the bone colored capelines back in stock and I was told that they might have one for me now. I asked for it to be added to my order and to invoice me for it as they had done in the past. I never received a response. A couple days later I saw I was given a refund without explanation. I sent an email asking for an explanation and didn’t hear back. Several days later, I was told that do to my having problems with their felt they would no longer be selling to me. Very odd. I enthusiastically expressed my disappointment in their decision.
The problems I had with them were either relayed second hand to me from Mike at Northwest or were demonstrable errors on their part regarding the sizes of the capelines. Undersized capelines and hat bodies are industry wide problems, but I can no longer endorse The Millinery Warehouse as their website does not accurately describe their products and their customer service is horrible. My experience might not be the same as yours.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Does anyone have any experience with hat bodies from Hats by Leko Millinery Supply?

https://www.hatsupply.com/beaver-rabbit-blend-dress-hat-body/

https://www.hatsupply.com/cowboy-cuenca-panama/

 

[deadlyhandsome]

My hat bodies from Leko Millinery Supply arrived. Here’s my impressions:

The felt is listed as a beaver blend but the percentage of beaver is not disclosed. Based on the made in “Czech Republic” sticker I’m assuming it’s a Tonak product. The felt has a nice hand and is pre-finished, but the crown needs to be thinned by half for my taste. It easily dry creased and molds decently well. It is several shades darker than the website photos (mine is the gray in the bottom right). The unfortunate, yet not unexpected, problem are the dimensions: 5 1/2” open crown and 3 1/8” brim. Sounds good, but the un-blocked crown has a huge amount of taper and is pretty small to begin with. Block it up to my size and give it a less than ideal 5 3/4” minimal taper crown and I doubt I could squeeze 2 1/2 inches of brim from it. Instantly upon picking it up I knew it was small. The felt did slip onto my head easily and I bet it would be a dream to block. I think a smaller headed person wanting a modest proportioned fedora could be very pleased with this felt. The darker photos are the most color accurate.

The Cuenca Panama western hat body is a strange one. The open crown is only 5 1/4” tall, but the head opening measures 8 1/4” by 8 3/4”…it’s huge! The brim is 5 7/8” wide too!!! Surprisingly, the brim edge is nicely finished and not the folded and sewn edge I was expecting. There is certainly enough real estate to make a good sized western, but I don’t know why the crown isn’t higher. I should add here that when I placed my order I made a note requesting the largest hat bodies they had in both felt and straw. The WPSI isn’t going to impress anyone, but I’m curious to see how the hat turns out…just have to find a hatter to block and finish it.

 

[Isabella Josie]

Hi there,
I’ve been asked to make my first men’s hat - a pale blue straw porkpie hat. However, I’m stuck on what hood / capeline to use and where to buy this in the uk.
So far I’ve dyed a paraisisal which took well but it’s too fine a weave… tried to dye a Panama straw…but was unable to get the dye to take evenly. Please can I have the groups advice on what type of straw I need to buy, how to dye it properly to a light blue shade and where I can buy the straw in the UK. Thank you so much!

 

[Snowman]

I dipped a toe in the water and bought one of the new Millinery Warehouse 160g mens rabbit fur felt capelines/hat bodies. The felt feels about what I was expecting and I think it can make a decent hat. It has some body and stiffeners added (unlike their velour), but it isn’t at all harsh. It’s thicker and more substantial than I’d like, but it’s just a capeline and hasn’t been pounced to it’s final thickness. The felt isn’t spongey, but it’s not exactly dense either. It’s what I expected from a 100% rabbit fur felt hat body.

The color is “steel gray,” but it’s actually very blue. To my eye it isn’t gray with blue tones, it’s blue with gray tones. It’s not bad, but it’s not the color I was hoping for and it’s VERY different from Winchester’s steel color.

I can live with the felt color (I like blue hats...and I’m thinking this is close to cadet blue!) and quality is acceptable, but it’s just not the size that the website says it is. It’s sold to us as having a 14.5cm crown and an 11.5cm brim. Nope. Mine is a 14cm crown (pretty close) and has a 10.0cm brim. Too small!! If you have a larger hat size, like tall crowns with minimal taper, and prefer wider brims...not sure you can get there from here. @Millinery Warehouse are you hearing this?

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I really like that blue. Anxious to see what you do with it.

 

[belfastboy]

Hi there,
I’ve been asked to make my first men’s hat - a pale blue straw porkpie hat. However, I’m stuck on what hood / capeline to use and where to buy this in the uk.
So far I’ve dyed a paraisisal which took well but it’s too fine a weave… tried to dye a Panama straw…but was unable to get the dye to take evenly. Please can I have the groups advice on what type of straw I need to buy, how to dye it properly to a light blue shade and where I can buy the straw in the UK. Thank you so much!

Have you checked The Trimmings Company in the UK? Here in the US check out @purebeaver on Instagram. Tim the owner may be able to help you out.

 

[Isabella Josie]

Have you checked The Trimmings Company in the UK? Here in the US check out @purebeaver on Instagram. Tim the owner may be able to help you out.

I’ve checked the trimming company website but couldn’t find many straws, any recommendation on what the best type of straw would be for a mans pork pie style hat?

 

[belfastboy]

I’ve checked the trimming company website but couldn’t find many straws, any recommendation on what the best type of straw would be for a mans pork pie style hat?

I have refrained from attempting to make a straw hat for anyone. In my investigation the best advice was not to attempt it unless you had the right hat blocks to mold the straw. I only have open crown blocks and creasing the straw by hand is hard and the results less than satisfactory. Apparently it is very hard to do....not like a felt hat at all to work with. I chose not to take on the expense of buying the specific hat blocks needed and will leave the Panama straws to others. I know Tim @purebeaver has good toquilla straw blanks. They seem to me to be expensive (more than a good felt blank). Have you worked with straw bodies before? Perhaps pick up one from the TrimmingCo to try out first.

 

[Melkat88]

Help!!
Can anybody help me out where I can find a medium brown color but with subtle auburn undertone? Beaver would be not necessary, 100% felt is totally fine. But I'm not able to find this color...

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Maybe a honey color? Sunrise offers them in Nutria fur felt, but they are temporarily out of stock.

https://www.sunrisehatsupplies.com/...-gram-coypu-hat-bodies?variant=32805431050320

 

[Melkat88]

Not too bad. Thank you!!! Maybe it'll be back in stock. Another pictures. This is the color I'm looking for. A matching hat for the chaps and outfit. But I wasn't too lucky until now...

 

[belfastboy]

Not too bad. Thank you!!! Maybe it'll be back in stock. Another pictures. This is the color I'm looking for. A View attachment 397127 View attachment 397128 matching hat for the chaps and outfit. But I wasn't too lucky until now...

Tim @purebeaver (Instagram) was selling a FEPSA beaver felt in what he called Buckskin....a colour close to that. It was very expensive at $180. He may still have stock. It was not western weight but still a substantial weighted felt that would stand up to a western style