The Conversion Corral

[bond]

Here's a montecristi I ve been working on . It was marked a 7 1/2, but came to me as a small 7 1/4 with a busted up sweat, and overly tight ribbon. Straw steamed out ok. I made this silk liner and covered it with a light moire to protect it and add as a measure of protection to the crease and handling of crown pinching. It can be remove able if desired. Not finished with steaming shape or attaching ribbon at this point.

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Nice work.

 

[splintercellsz]

Very!

 

[bond]

Thanks guys , my sewing skills are improving slowly but surely.

 

[Geldoc]

Very nice, Bond. What's the brim size?

 

[bond]

Thank you David , the brim on this one is 3" and is a nicely back woven .

 

[bond]

Here's the ribbon I settled on attached now. Still have not finished steaming the hat to completion as my steamer just took a dive(3rd one in 3 yrs) but Steamfast stands by their products and they have a replacement on the way with out a hassle or charge. Love that kind of customer service !

 

[ManofKent]

bond - that ribbon looks good. Nice progress.

 

[bond]

Thanks man o kent, I learned something this go around on sewing sweats and ribbons into fine straws and that is to use as fine as a needle as you can manage to get a thread through its eye. In this case I used #11 straw needle and it worked well.

 

[John Galt]

Looks great, and is a very good quality weave. Did you shape the crease by hand?


"Faint hat never won fair lady."

 

[Geldoc]

Elegant looking hat. Will the brim bend much when it's worn?

 

[bond]

Hey guys thanks for the comments. JG yes shaped by hand as are all the hats I do, I don't really have a need for blocks and like the free form of coaxing a shape with steam and my hands.Geldoc brim is flexible but firm, As soon as I get my steamer back will work on finishing it. Its sort of flat now with out much flop in front .

 

[DOGMAN]

I like how you shaped this one bond.I dig that 3" brim.That will for sure keep the sun out of your eyes.Turned out great like all your others.

 

[bloc]

Here's a montecristi I ve been working on . It was marked a 7 1/2, but came to me as a small 7 1/4 with a busted up sweat, and overly tight ribbon. Straw steamed out ok. I made this silk liner and covered it with a light moire to protect it and add as a measure of protection to the crease and handling of crown pinching. It can be remove able if desired. Not finished with steaming shape or attaching ribbon at this point.

Great hat and I live that lining, really classy.

 

[John Galt]

Hey guys thanks for the comments. JG yes shaped by hand as are all the hats I do, I don't really have a need for blocks and like the free form of coaxing a shape with steam and my hands.Geldoc brim is flexible but firm, As soon as I get my steamer back will work on finishing it. Its sort of flat now with out much flop in front .

Bond, do you use a block, band block, or stretch block for sizing and making a good foot? It seems it would be difficult to do without at least one of these.

I did rebuild my first hat with just my head and a stretch block for sizing, but I found I it very unsatisfactory in terms of the foot. I ultimately had to fix it with a band block & brim iron when I gained the knowledge & proper equipment. I am curious how you deal with such issues without any block, if you do.

 

[bond]

Jg, I use only open crown blocks to size my hats , as well as a couple of hat jacks to size sweats and crown/ brim base,that and steam, some h2o, and coaxing the felt over time ,which I have lots of. To shape hats all I use is a steamer and my hands. Iam of the less is more practicum in my work and I like the simplicity of less clutter and stuff. The right tools of course helps though .

 

[John Galt]

Thanks. I had misunderstood your post, but understand now. I just couldn't picture how you got a crisp edge without some sort of block. One of the old hat books I have expressly mentions hand shaping straws as an alternative to blocking. I'd say you have the methodology down. It's inspiring me a bit to take on a couple of very nice buntal bodies I have.

 

[bond]

JG I can say that's it's taken some practice and a few ruined hats to get this down. I always err on the side of caution working with straw , especially older stuff that maybe more brittle and prone to cracking or breaking at the pinch, which is why I like to reinforce that area with a silk crown protector inside .

 

[Geldoc]

Bond and JG, one challenge I have with straws is getting a smooth edge of the brim all the way around., so that the brim is pretty flat, which is what I prefer on most straws (just my taste). I want to avoid 'waves' in the brim. What I currently do is steam the brim and then flatten it while still moist with some heavy (flat) books. When it's dry, I pull off the books. This is, obviously, a naive approach, which works some of the time. Could you, or anyone else, provide some guidance on this? Many thanks.

 

[John Galt]

I believe you need a flange, or at least an iron (careful) to get your brims just right. We have the same issue with felts, and those are the generally prescribed methods. The old hat books I've read specifically discuss ironing of straws.