Thank you, steur! I thought seriously about going with a mid ribbon but I just had to make it a thin ribbon for some reason. I guess that's probably what I'm partial to. It's definitely satisfying to save one from the trash and to be able to give new life to it.
You never cease to amaze me with your craft work Terry. The new life you breathe into hats is well, breathtaking. You have a great talent for making an old tattered hat look practically new. I truly admire your dedication, patience, skill and desire. Keep up the good work buddy!One of three hat projects finished, maybe. Going back to my favored thin ribbon fedoras. This was a 7 1/8 Bradford Ltd. OR clone that I won on a bidding site about five years ago. The hat was way too small. When I first started experimenting with doing conversions I thought I'd mess with this one to get it to fit me. I really messed it up. It ripped out at the crown when I was trying to tug on it. It became a donor hat for its thin ribbon and brim binding for my Bradford 7X Quality that I'm also working on at the moment. I was going to throw this one in the trash but decided to see if I could save it and make it at least wearable. I taped the torn part together and then stitched it up as best I could. I reblocked it to a 7 1/4 to fit me and it held together! I found another thin ribbon and bow that I had laying around, put in a new sweat, and got it put back together. It ain't pretty in the back but it's definitely wearable, and it's a favorite! I wish now I had a 3/8 ribbon to do the brim binding. I got a 5 3/4 open crown out of it and a 2 1/2 inches wide brim in the size up. The proportions are nice and the crown is fairly tall and is creased in my preferred teardrop. I really like this one. I think from the fact that I was able to save it and make the hat wearable rather than throwing it in the trash, gave me a sense of accomplishment. Like I said, it's not pretty in the back and it's not perfect but it's nicely proportioned and it has a lot of wear left wear left.
Mein Frankenhut....
On the head
Alden 403 Moc Toe Boot - Brown Chromexcel - $680 The classic "Indy" style Alden Boot in the classic Horween brown Chromexcel. 
Grant Stone Diesel Boot Dark Olive Chromexcel - #395 Goodyear welted, Horween Chromexcel, classic good looks. 
Himel Bros. - The Ross Mk. 1 Leather Jacket Classic D-pocket motorcycle/aviator style jacket.
Thank you, Ryan. I really appreciate that. Here's the one I'm most anxious to finish. I could never afford to buy an actual Strat so I basically gave up ever trying to get one. Though one is on my bucket list, I'll probably kick that bucket before I could ever get a Strat. Next best thing for me, if I can't afford an actual Strat, I'll make my own version of one. This Bradford 7X Quality will be my take on a Strat when it's finished, probably this week. Just gotta sew on the brim binding and the ribbon....the donor hat for this one was the Bradford Ltd. I finished, and if I can find another 3/8 ribbon I'll put a brim binding on that one too.
Looking forward to this one. If you can produce a decent Strat clone, it would be your opus!Thank you, Ryan. I really appreciate that. Here's the one I'm most anxious to finish. I could never afford to buy an actual Strat so I basically gave up ever trying to get one. Though one is on my bucket list, I'll probably kick that bucket before I could ever get a Strat. Next best thing for me, if I can't afford an actual Strat, I'll make my own version of one. This Bradford 7X Quality will be my take on a Strat when it's finished, probably this week. Just gotta sew on the brim binding and the ribbon....the donor hat for this one was the Bradford Ltd. I finished, and if I can find another 3/8 ribbon I'll put a brim binding on that one too.
It definitely would. That's why I want to take my time with this one. I've always wanted a Strat but they were always out of my reach, and remain to be. I've given up on ever getting one. I'll have to try and clone one of my own. I hope I do well enough with this conversion. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Fantastic work, Terry, and a great pictorial of your efforts!Here's my latest project. This is an early '60s Royal Stetson OR that was too small for me. It started out as a 7 1/8 Long Oval and I took it completely apart and reblocked the hat to a 7 1/4 to fit me. Except for the sweat I was fortunate to be able to put all the original stuff back on the hat. I even put the original 7 1/8 LO size tag back in it even though the hat is a 7 1/4 now. I was concerned and not expecting the wind trolley to fit after the size up but it went back on too. I have to say that the hat came out really nice and crisp. At first I wasn't too happy with the 2 1/2 inch brim but I was able to work some hat magic with a few choice four lettered incantations to make the brim to appear a little wider than it actually is. Here's the results....
I took plenty of pictures during the tear down to make sure that everything went back on the hat the way it was originally done
Off the block with temporary basting stitches to hold the sweat in place while I sew in the permanent stitches for the new sweat
Completed and sized up with a Teardrop crease, the brim flanged and all the original stuff back on the hat
New soft goat skin sweat with the original liner and size tag
On the head
Thank you Tuk!
Fantastic work again, Terry. I think the brim suits the hat just fine. Superb.Here's my latest project. This is an early '60s Royal Stetson OR that was too small for me. It started out as a 7 1/8 Long Oval and I took it completely apart and reblocked the hat to a 7 1/4 to fit me. Except for the sweat I was fortunate to be able to put all the original stuff back on the hat. I even put the original 7 1/8 LO size tag back in it even though the hat is a 7 1/4 now. I was concerned and not expecting the wind trolley to fit after the size up but it went back on too. I have to say that the hat came out really nice and crisp. At first I wasn't too happy with the 2 1/2 inch brim but I was able to work some hat magic with a few choice four lettered incantations to make the brim to appear a little wider than it actually is. Here's the results....
I took plenty of pictures during the tear down to make sure that everything went back on the hat the way it was originally done
Off the block with temporary basting stitches to hold the sweat in place while I sew in the permanent stitches for the new sweat
Completed and sized up with a Teardrop crease, the brim flanged and all the original stuff back on the hat
New soft goat skin sweat with the original liner and size tag
On the head
Thank you steur!
Terry you are getting way too good at thisHere's a quick little project as soon as I make it to a fabric store to buy some matching thread. This was the 6 7/8 Stagecoach in Tan Bark that a Lounger gave to me. I converted it to a 7 1/4 Longhair and I'm now getting ready to sew on this brim binding. Here's an idea of what it will look like once I'm finished....
I'm trying buddyTerry you are getting way too good at this
Thank you, buddy. I really appreciate that....and I just got another project out of the way. Pictures below, soon.
Fantastic, again, Terry!Here's my Longhair Resistol Stagecoach conversion with the addition of a brim binding. I've always wanted a vintage Whippet but could never afford one when they came up on ebay. So, I did the next best thing. I made my own.
I can appreciate that Hatters like Penman and Black Sheep hand stitch their creations. Personally, I don't see the attraction in it. This hand sewing sh*t literally sucks! If I had a vintage sewing machine that was designed especially for hats, I wouldn't be hand sewing. Gotta give Penman and Black Sheep their due, though. They have a lot of patience for that. Here's my hand made vintage hat sewing machine. It's no Singer but it gets the job done, eventually...
On the head. Nice tall crown with a deep dished Tear Drop crease. The open crown is six inches tall and is creased to five inches tall at the pinch with a rake sloping back to four inches.
My thanks to Bob Hufford who originally gifted this hat to me. It started out as a size 6 3/4 Tan Bark Resistol Stagecoach.
Thank you, Tuk!
