Teardrop Workshop

[T Jones]

I'm curious, is that some sort of stitch awl in the second picture?

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It's actually a sewing machine needle. I work it like a stitch awl, though. To be honest, if I had a millenary sewing machine that did this, you better believe I wouldn't be sewing this sh*t by hand. It's a literal pain in the a$$.

 

[ChicagoWayVito]

It's actually a sewing machine needle. I work it like a stitch awl, though. To be honest, if I had a millenary sewing machine that did this, you better believe I wouldn't be sewing this sh*t by hand. It's a literal pain in the a$$.

You can do it with a general sewing machine and the closed loop method that Art shared in another thread some time ago. I am lucky enough to have a Singer 108w20 and the binding attachment but it requires the grosgrain ribbon to have a well pronounced vwoven edge. Last week I bound a hat with vintage grosgrain that had a very fine woven edge and the attachment didn't work so I did the closed loop method and took it to my vintage general sewing machine and it did great.

 

[T Jones]

You can do it with a general sewing machine and the closed loop method that Art shared in another thread some time ago. I am lucky enough to have a Singer 108w20 and the binding attachment but it requires the grosgrain ribbon to have a well pronounced vwoven edge. Last week I bound a hat with vintage grosgrain that had a very fine woven edge and the attachment didn't work so I did the closed loop method and took it to my vintage general sewing machine and it did great.

Unfortunately for me, though, a very tight budget these days won't even allow me the luxury of the proverbial "pot to pi$$ in". Otherwise I'd definitely give it shot. So for me, I'm stuck with hand sewing. On the upside, I'm getting better and better at hand sewing. On the downside, I still hate hand sewing.

 

[The Jackal]

I guess I use a method similar to that instruction pic. Start with a center dent then just sorta shape it with my hand until the dent is rounded. Once I have it roughly teardrop shaped, I use one of those Styrofoam heads to give it that bubble in the center

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[JessieJames]

I guess I use a method similar to that instruction pic. Start with a center dent then just sorta shape it with my hand until the dent is rounded. Once I have it roughly teardrop shaped, I use one of those Styrofoam heads to give it that bubble in the center

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if I don't have a styrofoam head or shaper, how do you suggest I do this?

I saw one person just your their hand, I couldn't tell if it was a fist? someone else suggested putting it on your head but it's hard given you can't see where you're putting it and if it's well centred or not

 

[The Jackal]

if I don't have a styrofoam head or shaper, how do you suggest I do this?

I saw one person just your their hand, I couldn't tell if it was a fist? someone else suggested putting it on your head but it's hard given you can't see where you're putting it and if it's well centred or not

I have used my hand before. I took my fingers and pressed up from the inside while keeping my other hand in the outside to try to maintain the ridge I was creating. From there is just working your fingers inside and outside to get the ridge and overall shape you want.

When it has the desired shape I had to adjust the pinch in the front again.

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[The Jackal]

This one was done using just my hand

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[Zombie_61]

The Bluegrass Green has a C-Crown rather than a Teardrop crease, but my process for shaping is still the same:

I spray the crown with distilled water, start with a Center Dent crease to establish the centerline of the hat and approximate the desired heights front and back, expand it to form the Teardrop/C-Crown/Diamond shape, create the side dents, then push the center bump/hump/dome (whatever you want to call it) up and refine it's shape. All by hand. I try to make the shape as symmetrical as possible at first, but after that I don't fuss too much with them until/unless I want to re-crease them. They aren't perfect, but I like the imperfections of a hand-creased hat.

 

[Granville]

I didn't want to start a new thread on this old topic, so I'm resurrecting this one. I posted about "finding" a teardrop crease in my Royal Stetson "beater" a few days ago in What Hat Are You Wearing -- here's the follow-up.
When I got home I pulled out my Flying Cloud, the only lid I have to come to me with the teardrop. F-ing around and finding out, I decided the "stingy" hats don't like the teardrop, makes 'em look like pork pies (not my style). But my Trilbys with 2" brims like 'em. I have a Towncraft with a bound edge that seems too formal for the teardrop, but my Rose Selentino took to it like a duck to water. A hat I've been thinking about selling now has found a home! You know I like the stingy's, and even the 2" brims feel like sombreros, BUT, the teardrop crease transforms them into more casual toppers.

So now I have three t-drops

Here's the Royal Stetson. It was wet from the rain and I was fiddling with it and, bam! Teardrop. In the hat's memory.

Knox Flying Cloud came this way.

Rose Selentino with new teardrop bash.

Here's Question One: Did I lower the back of the crown too much?

For contrast, here's the Cloud, which I assume came from the factory this way.

And the Stetson, which has the highest rear crown of the three.

Question Two and Last: What, if any, is the difference between a "C" crown and a Teardop?
Cue up Jackie Wilson.

 

[dkstott]

I didn't want to start a new thread on this old topic, so I'm resurrecting this one. I posted about "finding" a teardrop crease in my Royal Stetson "beater" a few days ago in What Hat Are You Wearing -- here's the follow-up.
When I got home I pulled out my Flying Cloud, the only lid I have to come to me with the teardrop. F-ing around and finding out, I decided the "stingy" hats don't like the teardrop, makes 'em look like pork pies (not my style). But my Trilbys with 2" brims like 'em. I have a Towncraft with a bound edge that seems too formal for the teardrop, but my Rose Selentino took to it like a duck to water. A hat I've been thinking about selling now has found a home! You know I like the stingy's, and even the 2" brims feel like sombreros, BUT, the teardrop crease transforms them into more casual toppers.

So now I have three t-drops
View attachment 485870
Here's the Royal Stetson. It was wet from the rain and I was fiddling with it and, bam! Teardrop. In the hat's memory.
View attachment 485867

Knox Flying Cloud came this way.
View attachment 485865
Rose Selentino with new teardrop bash.
View attachment 485869
Here's Question One: Did I lower the back of the crown too much?

View attachment 485868
For contrast, here's the Cloud, which I assume came from the factory this way.
View attachment 485864
And the Stetson, which has the highest rear crown of the three.
View attachment 485866
Question Two and Last: What, if any, is the difference between a "C" crown and a Teardop?
Cue up Jackie Wilson.

I thought the biggest difference between them is the height of the crown in the rear of the hat. Teardrop has a more pronounced drop than a C crown. I'm sure the better experts will be along soon.

 

[Zombie_61]

I thought the biggest difference between them is the height of the crown in the rear of the hat. Teardrop has a more pronounced drop than a C crown. I'm sure the better experts will be along soon.

The crown height doesn't matter much; the difference is the shape of the crowns when viewed from the top:

Imagine the "point" at the tops of these shapes is the pinch. The Teardrop makes a smooth transition around the crown and returns to the pinch, like the shape of a teardrop; the C-Crown makes a reasonably straight line towards the rear of the crown on both sides, but there is a noticeable "break" in the shape between that transition from straight to curved. The two hats should look a little like this when viewed from the top, side-by-side:

Hope this helps to explain it.

 

[dkstott]

The crown height doesn't matter much; the difference is the shape of the crowns when viewed from the top:

Imagine the "point" at the tops of these shapes is the pinch. The Teardrop makes a smooth transition around the crown and returns to the pinch, like the shape of a teardrop; the C-Crown makes a reasonably straight line towards the rear of the crown on both sides, but there is a noticeable "break" in the shape between that transition from straight to curved. The two hats should look a little like this when viewed from the top, side-by-side:

Hope this helps to explain it.

Thanks.

I guess I've seen more teardrop shapes where the REAR crown height was significantly lower than the front.

C shaped hats seem to have crowns where the front and rear heights are the same.

 

[Zombie_61]

Thanks.

I guess I've seen more teardrop shapes where the REAR crown height was significantly lower than the front.

C shaped hats seem to have crowns where the front and rear heights are the same.

The angle of the top of the crown(s) are usually a personal choice made by the person who wears those hats regardless of the crease. I personally prefer the rear of the crowns on my hats to be at least slightly lower than the front, but it really depends on the hat. BTW, around here we call a crease on which the front is significantly taller/higher than the back a "Tugboat".

 

[Short Balding Guy]

The above pic shows a Stetson Playboy that I used a teardrop crease and put in enough rake (sloping from front to rear) to make a "tugboat" crease. The tugboat for my taste has a steep slope but does not show the crown bulb from the side profile.

Below is slightly out of focus comparison pics of the diamond and teardrop (vintage Stetson Stratoliner (30-40's) and the Playboy (50's)) .

I hope this assists the conversation.

Cheers, Eric -