The Conversion Corral

[Joshbru3]

1950's Stetson Homburg Conversion (BEFORE)

I really wouldn't consider this a full conversion, thats why I didn't take pictures of the hat being "converted."

I started out with a 1950's Stetson Homburg with a very tall and straight crown. I ironed the brim, chopped the brim to 2 1/4 inches, replaced the liner with a 1950's Stetson cowboy hat red liner that I liked better, and did a little ribbon work. I gave the ribbon a bit more "wing" and frayed it ever so slightly on the back end. My goal was to turn a 1950's homburg into a 1930's fedora.

Before pictures:

 

[Joshbru3]

1950's Stetson Homburg Conversion (AFTER)

AFTER pictures:

 

[DJH]

Nice job there, Josh. Who would have thought there was such a nice hat waiting to be freed from the hommie!

I love the red lining, a great finishing touch.

 

[RBH]

I like it!

 

[BR Gordon]

Josh, that is a great conversion. You did a beautiful job on the bow, and I really like the finished fedora.

 

[Joshbru3]

Nice job there, Josh. Who would have thought there was such a nice hat waiting to be freed from the hommie!

I love the red lining, a great finishing touch.

I like it!

Josh, that is a great conversion. You did a beautiful job on the bow, and I really like the finished fedora.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Gentlemen!!! I love this hat so much. Mostly because the sweatband is so comfortable and soft, its really a pleasure to wear. The seller has another homburg exactly like this one except in a dark grey. I am thinking about converting that one into something similar to this. Possibly a vintage pleated boxed bow for next time.

 

[Cicero]

Great conversion!
Well done.

 

[hatophile]

Dude you are the conversion champ! Let's see some shots on the head too.

 

[EggHead]

Josh, great conversion.
I also have St. Regis, maybe I will follow your footsteps if I get tired of homburg version.

 

[m0nk]

That homburg conversion is very well done!

 

[Aureliano]

Nice, Josh! do you own a rounding jack? or just pure scissors talent?

 

[alanfgag]

Very impressive, Josh... very sensitive transformation of a few elements to create the shift in style. I'm also interested to hear your brim modification technique.

 

[Joshbru3]

Great conversion!
Well done.

Dude you are the conversion champ! Let's see some shots on the head too.

Josh, great conversion.
I also have St. Regis, maybe I will follow your footsteps if I get tired of homburg version.

That homburg conversion is very well done!

Thanks very much!! I really appreciate the very kind words!! I like using the early 50's or late 40's Stetson St. Regis homburg above other homburgs usually because of the tall and straight crown. Even if tall crowns aren't your thing, they are so versatile and can be made into any crease imaginable. The way I see it is that, you can always take a tall crown and make it shorter, but you can't really take a short crown and make it taller. That's why I always try and start with tall crowns....and I love them too.

Nice, Josh! do you own a rounding jack? or just pure scissors talent?

Very impressive, Josh... very sensitive transformation of a few elements to create the shift in style. I'm also interested to hear your brim modification technique.

Thanks, gentlemen!!! I don't use a rounding jack, because I don't own one.....but I would sure LOVE one. LOL. My brim technique works, but its fairly labor/time consuming.

The first thing I do is flatten the brim with steam or iron. Then I take a tailors tape and measure the width desired. Then I take a pencil and mark every half inch to an inch around the brim until it looks something like this:

Then I will use a very sharp scissors and while I cut the brim, I turn the hat so the cuts are more circular and not straight line cuts. One that's finished, the brim looks okay, but there are always some sharp cuts so I will take sandpaper anywhere from 60 to about 220 grit and in a very careful fashion go around the brim in a circular motion while constantly checking to make sure that I don't over sand the brim edge. Once I'm satisfied that the brim edge is perfectly round, I will take a finer grit and just smooth down the edge.

As far as flanging.....that's a different story. I don't have any flanges either. I am still working on getting some. If I'm converting a cowboy hat, I will literally sit there with the hat and lots of steam and curl the brim with my fingers. Constantly checking that the curl is the same front, back, and sides. The heavy shellac in cowboy hats really help because it sets up so quickly once off the steam. As far as homburgs go, I don't have to curl as much with my fingers because the brim is usually flanged already, but the ironing of the edge does flatten the flange out a little, so since felt has great memory, the flange usually comes back with some light coercing. The acquisition of a rounding jack and flanges would make my life SO much simpler.

 

[bowlerman]

Frankenbowler

When I received this hat, some of you may remember I discovered the crown had been unevenly cut completely off of the brim... I told the seller I'd keep it anyway, thinking that one day I might mess around with it. Today was that day.

I figured it was already in bad shape-- how much worse could I make it? The profile seemed to nice not to at least make an attempt.

I removed the liner, and not having any idea what I was doing, grabbed a needle and some black thread. Believe it or not, I'm the only person in this house who would even dare try to sew something, and... ahem... seamster I am NOT.

about halfway through:

Feeling overconfident in my mad sewing skills, I pulled a bit hard on the sweat and tore it partly from its own stitching. My "boo, hiss" moment, for sure!

I didn't estimate quite enough thread to go all the way around. Oh, well, I'll try and figure that out later!

 

[job]

Kind of Steampunk.

 

[randooch]

Or like Odd Job was playing around with deadly boomerangs before settling on a deadly hat. Kind of cool looking, really, and a good conversation piece.

 

[hatophile]

I like it. Who knows, you might start something new!

 

[bowlerman]

Thanks guys! Actually, I finished the stitching this evening (if you could even call it that), and though it wasn't sewn on exactly right, a little steam made it really wearable, even comfortable, with or without lining. I've always had a tinge of the steampunk about me, even if I never knew the term until about a year or two ago.

I think I like it.

 

[scottyrocks]

All you need is a wider ribbon. Sure the stitching'll show through, but it would indeed be a conversation piece.

 

[MikePotts]

Frankenbowler?


MP