Stetson "The Motor" and sewing a sweatband?

[Levallois]

Well I got my Stetson model - The Motor - Feather Weight - and it fits! Here's the ebay ad:

Contrary to what we thought the sweatband is in pretty good shape - only one very small tear on an edge and some scuffing but, by and large, very sound and very soft and maleable. Some idiot folded the sweat in half at some point in the last 85 years but, other than the crease, it didn't damage the leather. What doesn't look good is the stitching holding the unreaded sweat to the hat. At least 1/3-1/2 of the threads have deteriorated/torn loose.

There was also some concern since this is an older hat that replacing the sweat would ruin it's historical value. I will not replace it. My question is that if I have someone sew the sweat back on, it this also ruining the history of the hat? If so, then wearing the hat infrequently shouldn't hurt it the sweat. If not, I would appreciate some thoughts and/or recommendations as to who can do this well. Thanks.

John

 

[Lefty]

Take the hat to a milliner in your area and explain the issue well. The milliners I've met know nothing about men's hats.

My old Playboy Airlight had similar issues and I didn't want to replace the sweat. A local milliner gave it a pretty basic sewing job and it works fine for now. I'm sure I'll need a new sweat at some point but, for now, I love having the hat in a more original state.

Check out this thread for the auction photos with the separation issue, and shots showing the milliner's work.

 

[alanfgag]

If the leather is good enough to restitch through the existing holes you might have a chance. Another route might be calling a professional theater or university theater dept. costume shop, These often have some very talented stitchers on staff or on contract basis. I bet there are a gazzillion stitiches holding this old sweatband in... will take some time and a magnifying glass.

hope it works out!
Alan

 

[Levallois]

I appreciate the replies! I'll see what I can do but, like I wrote, I think it is wearable as is if I take some simple precautions like don't jerk the hat off my head too fast. On another note, do these numbers mean anything to the forum or is this a Stetson need to know only kind of numbering thing and we don't need to know?

 

[Lefty]

Going through the existing holes isn't just risky on the sweat, but on the felt. The milliner tried that one mine, and where the sweat was strong enough to handle the stress, the tiny bits of felt just came right through the hole. This is a problem that rlk and I discussed through pms for a while, as he had the problem long before I ever bought my hat. He went with a replacement and I settled for close enough.

I'm sure there's someone out there who could restore the sweat perfectly. Finding that person could be difficult, and the cost of their expertise could be significant.

 

[monbla256]

From everything you've said and shown with your photos it looks like you have one of two choices to make, 1) get the sweat replaced to allow the hat to be worn or 2) leep the hat as is and merely have a "collectable" example of this model and just occasionally put it on to look at but NOT wear. Visually it looks good on you but if it were mine, and i wanted to keep it original I would do nothing and NOT wear it.

 

[Matt Deckard]

[/QUOTE]

What are those glasses?

 

[Levallois]

As I wrote, I will not replace the sweat, so that's not an option. Resewing the sweat may be an option and wearing it without doing anything to it is an option. The latter would involve (gasp) wearing it out of the house even. What's interesting about the stitching is that the part that is loose/broken, is is loosebroken from a separate line of stitching that parallels the top edge of the sweat all the way around. This stitching is not broken except in one very small area. In other words, the thread to be replaced would not go into the felt but around this parallel thread and then back into the leather. Also, the leather is good as are the holes as viewed under a 10X loop. You can see this sewing best in this photo. Is this common for a non-reeded sweat? Thanks!

 

[Levallois]

What are those glasses?[/QUOTE]

Matt,

I got them off of eBay a couple of years ago. They are unmarked.

John

 

[Lefty]

The stitching is like that because it was done with a machine that is in the hands of very few at this point. Brad posted a photo of it in this thread.

See also:
this
and this

 

[Levallois]

The stitching is like that because it was done with a machine that is in the hands of very few at this point. I'll find the photo of it that Brad posted and put it here.

But Lefty, would this make it easier to replace the stitching by hand if it doesn't need to go though the felt but just around this parallel stitch?

 

[Lefty]

I don't know. To me, it looks like that parallel line of stitching is unraveling as well. I can just tell you that I told the milliner that I was willing to pay whatever she needed to fix the sweat and she said that method wasn't going to work. Of course, my sweat is significantly thinner than yours - part of the design of the Airlight hats - so your results may vary.

 

[Levallois]

Thanks Lefty! I have examined the parallel to the sweatband stitch with a 10x loop and it appears mostly untorn. I'll take it over to a local hat repair and see what they think. If they can't do a credible job then it will remain untouched. Many thanks to all who replied!

John