The Conversion Corral

[John in Covina]

I used ordinary sharp scissors. It worked well along with a little sanding once finished.

***************
What type and grit was the sand paper?

 

[RJCNTX]

I used the leftovers in my toolbox...luckily this was fine and extra fine grit. I gave it two light passes.

 

[Stoney]

Since you mentioned it J.T.

I was talking with Jimmy Pierce (J.P. Designs) on Saturday. He said once in a while someone wants a hand stitched edge binding (instead of machine). He will do it for $15.00 per hour, while he watches t.v. I think he said it takes him 8 to ten hours. I do believe that's one skill I'll put off cultivating for a while!

This is my entry for the Cowboy to Fedora conversion. I was planning on making this as simple as possible until I read about hand stitching a ribbon to the brim and had to give it a try. JP's time estimate was pretty accurate. It took me more than 8 hours to stitch the ribbon on the brim.

This hat started out with a 6 1/4 " crown and a 5" brim. I removed the liner, cut 2 1/2 inches off the brim and re-blocked it on my favorite no-taper block. This is what it looked like before I modified the crown.

I removed the ribbon and sweatband, soaked the entire hat in cold water and pulled an inch of crown into the brim using a flange. I flanged and blocked the hat, then and let it dry for two days. I finished putting it together this afternoon and took it out on the town about an hour later.

This is the finished Fedora. The color of the hat is actually dark brown and the ribbon is royal blue. The crown height is now 4" front and rear and 4 3/4" on the sides. I trimmed the brim down to 2 1/4".

There are a few flaws in the stitching ,but I'm satisfied with the results.

One thing about converting a cowboy hat is all of the stiffener that is in the felt. Although I worked the felt quite a bit when it was in the sink; it was still pretty stiff when it came off the block for the last time. Giving it a good brushing ,with a stiff nylon brush, took care of the stiffness and raised the finish of the felt. This hat is as soft now as most of the other fedoras that I own.

 

[J.T.Marcus]

Stoney, I am super impressed!!! What you have produced is one of the most beautiful conversions I've ever seen.

Would you mind telling us where you got your edge binding?

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Stoney]

Thanks for the complement J.T.

The main ribbon and binding are both regular poly grosgrain ribbon.
I just steam ironed the main one first to put a curve in it and pulled the binding ribbon tight as I stitched it. I used quilting clips to help keep the binding ribbon in place while I stitched and stitched and stitched some more. The binding was a bit puckered when I finished, but a little steam iron took care of that. I think JP is undercharging at $15.00 an hour for the task.

 

[RBH]

WOW Stoney, thats a job well done! :eusa_clap
I love the looks and you did great on the crease!
It now looks as if Howard Hughes could have worn that fedora.

 

[Stoney]

Thanks RBH,


I forgot to mention that this hat was a Resistol 5X beaver hat that my Father bought for me in 1969. It still had the price tag under the sweat, before I soaked it :eusa_doh: , and it cost $45 back then. I'm not sure what the deal is with the X values for felt grade. there are just too many version of the "standards" and they seem to keep changing. I assume that it is a better hat than a current day 5X Beaver.

I had a heck of a time pulling that inch of crown into the brim. I was afraid that I would ruin the hat before it was over, but it came out OK.

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

Super nice

Excellent job.

 

[thunderw21]

Nice Stoney. The color combo is great.

It would seem that if you want a fedora with an uber-tall crown (6") at an inexpensive price and don't mind putting some work into it, cowboy conversions are the way to go.

 

[Stoney]

Nice Stoney. The color combo is great.

It would seem that if you want a fedora with an uber-tall crown (6") at an inexpensive price and don't mind putting some work into it, cowboy conversions are the way to go.

Thanks very much for the kind words, and you as well, Gentleman Farmer. I took it as a challenge and enjoyed working on the hat. Just two more things that I've added and the hat is now finished. First I've added a wind trolly to the crown and dubbed the hat Vox Atomic. I installed a custom crown piece for the liner using a printable cotton sheet and an epson inkjet to make the liner piece, replacing the old Resistol logo.

The next project is a custom hat starting with a new fur felt body, rather than a cowboy hat.

 

[Stoney]

One more hat.

I figured while I was at it to post some pictures of another conversion that I've done. This one was not a cowboy hat. It was an Amish Mens hat.

The crown was fairly tall on it, near 6 inches and the brim about 3 inches.
I cut the brim down to 2 3/8 front and back and 2 1/8 on the sides. I didn't lower the crown any at all. I just bashed it with as deep of a center dent as I could get away with. I think the hat came out looking a little like something a banker, or stock speculator in the late 20s would have worn so I dubbed it the Fat Cat and added the liner as it was an unlined hat.

 

[RBH]

I figured while I was at it to post some pictures of another conversion that I've done. This one was not a cowboy hat. It was an Amish Mens hat.

The crown was fairly tall on it, near 6 inches and the brim about 3 inches.
I cut the brim down to 2 3/8 front and back and 2 1/8 on the sides. I didn't lower the crown any at all. I just bashed it with as deep of a center dent as I could get away with. I think the hat came out looking a little like something a banker, or stock speculator in the late 20s would have worn so I dubbed it the Fat Cat and added the liner as it was an unlined hat.

Another job well done. I like the crease you gave it.

 

[Ande1964]

Stoney... just amazing work! I have one question, though. When you pull down the crown, what happens to the holes from where the sweat was stitched before, which I assume are now on the brim? Are they small enough that they just close up?

Anj

 

[Stoney]

They are indeed in the brim. Those holes were only as big as the thread that went through there. They vanished before I even started to stretch the crown into the brim.

Thanks Anj. BTW like that new western Fedora you picked up.

Thanks again RBH.. This hat conversion is a lot of fun for me.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Wow! Just...wow! Really amazing work. I mean...well...WOW!

 

[GentlemanFarmer]

Very, very nice

I love the idea of doing your own logo for the liner. Very creative.

 

[Tango Yankee]

Wow, Stoney... very, very impressive! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Regards,
Tom

 

[deanglen]

They are indeed in the brim. Those holes were only as big as the thread that went through there. They vanished before I even started to stretch the crown into the brim.

Thanks Anj. BTW like that new western Fedora you picked up.

Thanks again RBH.. This hat conversion is a lot of fun for me.

Stoney,

Having done a few conversions, some with brim binding stitched by hand, I think you'll agree it was worth the time and effort! Very well done!





dean

 

[MrFusion]

I love the idea of doing your own logo for the liner. Very creative.

Agreed! I love those custom liners! :eusa_clap

 

[Stoney]

Thanks guys!

Again, thanks for the comments guys.

For anyone who wants to make their own liner tops...this is what I used to make them. It's cotton so it does not have the sheen that the satin does. However when covered with plastic it looks OK. The epson ink dries waterproof so the images should be fine if they are soaked.

http://avery.com/us/Main?action=product.HierarchyList&node=10210868&catalogcode=WEB01

However, I'm toying with the idea of using regular satin fabric. Just iron the fabric, lightly spray starch the back side first. Then tape the stiffened fabric to sheet of paper and run it thorugh the injet printer. Let it dry for a day or so and then hand wash in woolite to loosen the fabric back up.

What do you think? Will this work?

Thanks Dean. You inspired me.