THE SUNBODY ASSOCIATION

[trailrunner]

I seriously doubt it. Unless its going to sit on top of your head like a beanie.lol

That is exactly what I was thinking too.

 

[RBH]

I am wanting a straw for summer, and was just at the Sunbody site. They have a 4" open crown on sale that I was thinking of ordering, but I am a little concerned about my bashing options for such a short crown. The shortest crown I have ever personally had was a 4 1/2 inch. I realize that it would have to be shallow, but could I get something like a diamond or teardrop in that crown and still be able to wear it?

*Edited for spelling and cut and paste error

If nothing else get a wider brim and have them cut and put a bound edge on it. The 5 1\2 crown gives a good amount to crease.

 

[trailrunner]

If nothing else get a wider brim and have them cut and put a bound edge on it. The 5 1\2 crown gives a good amount to crease.

The bound edge would look pretty sharp. I was mostly curious because I was thinking I would like to try out a lower crown (My previous 4 1/2 inch was a cheap preformed wool felt) and that particular straw was on sale for 15 bucks - a good way to try out the short crown if it was not too short.

 

[hollowpond]

Exactly what crease would work on a 4" crown? I guess you could trim the brim to be a stingy, and make it a pork pie, but even then that seems like not enough crown.

 

[jpbales]

it has arrived...

My Sunbody has finally arrived. The guy who sold it to me said it took so long to ship out because he had surgery and then realized he had stuff to ship out. I guess I can understand that stuff like that happens.
It's all it's supposed to be, except it came with this really funky/dainty/skinny/lacy ribbon [huh]. If I wasn't already planning on changing the ribbon, I would be very, very dissappointed. Here's the pick the guy on ebay posted:

Here's what it looks like with the actual ribbon it came with (which just slides right off, by the way)

Here's my other pics of it without the silly ribbon:

The first thing I noticed is that the brim is so huge! It measures at a whopping 3 1/4 inches. I guess I'll just have to get used to it or get it trimmed and bound (or do it myself, which sounds risky, but a better option for my budget [or lack there of a budget!]).
Other than the goofy ribbon, the hat is excellent. I immediately re-shaped it just by sticking it under the faucet for a second, and I've found that it's still pretty pliable even when dry. It's really, really good at conforming to my head too- it's amazing. I got it a little wet and stuck it on my head and immediately it fit like most hats only fit after a long time of wearing.
So far I'm satisfied with the hat itself, but disappointed with the seller.

 

[RBH]

My Sunbody has finally arrived. The guy who sold it to me said it took so long to ship out because he had surgery and then realized he had stuff to ship out. I guess I can understand that stuff like that happens.
It's all it's supposed to be, except it came with this really funky/dainty/skinny/lacy ribbon [huh]. If I wasn't already planning on changing the ribbon, I would be very, very dissappointed. Here's the pick the guy on ebay posted:

Here's what it looks like with the actual ribbon it came with (which just slides right off, by the way)

Here's my other pics of it without the silly ribbon:

The first thing I noticed is that the brim is so huge! It measures at a whopping 3 1/4 inches. I guess I'll just have to get used to it or get it trimmed and bound (or do it myself, which sounds risky, but a better option for my budget [or lack there of a budget!]).
Other than the goofy ribbon, the hat is excellent. I immediately re-shaped it just by sticking it under the faucet for a second, and I've found that it's still pretty pliable even when dry. It's really, really good at conforming to my head too- it's amazing. I got it a little wet and stuck it on my head and immediately it fit like most hats only fit after a long time of wearing.
So far I'm satisfied with the hat itself, but disappointed with the seller.

Glad to hear you like the way the straw works. They are nice hats.
Look forward to seeing hoe you finish it out!

 

[rrog]

Hey jpb, the picture the guy used on eBay appears to be the picture straight off of Sunbody's web site. But the hat looks good now and that's what's important.

rrog

 

[jpbales]

the finished product

Ok, here it is after a 1.5" ribbon treatment and a tighter pinch.

and here it is on my noggin, a portrait in the Douglas fashion, of course:

It looks much better now

 

[cookie]

Ribbon Treatment

Very ARTistic... lol

 

[RBH]

Good job!!!

 

[portolan]

I just got my Sunbody from OFAS as well....

marked 7 1/2, but is way too small. I will see if my wife can wear it or I will give to someone here on the lounge. The weave is much nicer than that on my Stetson straw. I like the hat very much (lousy ribbon - and I have no idea how to change it), so hopefully it will work on my wife. It fit like a 7 1/4 or so. I think I will go ahead and order the fine weave one on the website and get a wider ribbon or horsehair band.

 

[gtdean48]

Those palm leaf hats stretch fairly easy, just soak it & put it on your head while it dries. That is what I do with my western style one. Don't want to impact your reason to buy another hat tho!!!

 

[portolan]

JP...A little clarification please...

Are you saying you stuck the whole hat under the faucet? Would doing that enable it to conform to my head when it is a bit too small out of the box? If so, I will try it. How ever did you do that ribbon change? Great work. Do you have a stock of ribbons with that nice bow on hand? Details, please. Phil

 

[gtdean48]

I totally soak my palm leaf with the garden hose at the wash rack after hosing off my horse, let it dry on my head while he dries off...

 

[jpbales]

like gtdean said, all you gotta do is stick it under the faucet (like I did) and get it fairly wet, then stick it on your head, and it will quickly conform to your shape. My hat wasn't to small though, just my head is long oval so most regular oval hats don't fit me right away, but with this hat it conformed right away. I hope you have some good luck stretching the hat, or getting a new one!

Ribbon replacement isn't all that easy. I used two main pages to show me how:
http://dalexs.whitvani.net/hat/hatpage.html
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?p=625448&posted=1#post625448

I just ordered a few yards of black, brown, and red ribbon from Farmhouse fabrics:
http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/st...=198&Page_id=17&categ_id=189&parent_ids=0,179

The bow and everything I made myself. It's not that complicated, it just takes a little while to get it all done. It probably took me about 2 or so straight hours to do it all. Making the bow is the fun and easier part though. I pretty much just used the Indy ribbon then changed it up however I want.

But, if that sounds like too much for you, I would probably recommend just getting it from the Sunbody website if you have the money. Then you can get the ribbon you want, a bound edge if you want, and the size that you want for only a few bucks extra.

 

[jpbales]

trimming the brim

I figured out a way that you can trim the brim of your Sunbody, and I trimmed mine some. You need to be confident enough with sewing though.
I figured out that since the whole hat is sewn together, all you have to do is rip some of the seams and cut out the weaves that you don't need. The whole hat is basically layers of woven pieces sewn together in a circle.
So what I did was I ripped the seam of the outside trim piece and took it off.
Then, figure out how much you want to take off. I took out two "rings". It's all attached, like one big piece, so you have to cut it off.
Then, I stitched the end of the ring where I cut it off back to the rest of the hat.
Then, I just cut the trim a bit (since the hat's brim circumference is now smaller, the trim is too long), then placed it back in place and sewed it back on with a sewing machine.
I took my hat from having a 3 1/4" brim to having a 3" brim, and you can just as easily make it smaller just by removing more (requires more seam ripping though).
That 1/4" seems little, but it makes a difference on the look of the hat!

Here are the pieces I took out:

This one shows the trim piece I was talking about:

Each piece is about 1/2" thick and they can be stacked up to 3 high in some spots and can have 1-3 rows of stitches through them.

 

[RBH]

Great info JP. Thanks!!!

 

[carter]

:arated: And a well-done job to boot! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[BobC]

We just got back from the Domican Republic and my Sunbody could not have been a better choice for the hot weather there. The hat was plenty rugged to make the trip and survive all the sweating, heat and water there. Thanks for the heads up, Rusty. The hat worked great!

Here's something else I found interesting. Take a look at how they marked the restrooms at the place we stayed.

 

[RBH]

We just got back from the Domican Republic and my Sunbody could not have been a better choice for the hot weather there. The hat was plenty rugged to make the trip and survive all the sweating, heat and water there. Thanks for the heads up, Rusty. The hat worked great!

Here's something else I found interesting. Take a look at how they marked the restrooms at the place we stayed.

You are welcome!!!
That hat looks plenty good on you!!!
Do we get to see any more photos?