Trying my hand at hat restoration

[Darek]

Hey guys. I got a Mallory fedora off of ebay in fairly poor shape. The crown needed reshaping, and the brim had a memory of pointing up. There was also a very large stain on the band
I took it all apart, cleaned the brim, cleaned the hat, used a little steam to reshape the hat by hand, and then reassembled everything.
Here are some pictures
I think its from the 40's due to the height of the crown, and the Mallory logo. Can someone confirm this?
Tell me what you guys think...

How I recieved it...

In the middle of it...

And done...
I still need to sew up the bow flat to the hat though.

Thanks!
-Darek

 

[jamespowers]

Hey Darek,

That is not bad for a first try. Did you replace the ribbon or clean the old one? You managed to shape that ugly duckling into quite a hat. Not bad at all.

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

Hey Darek,

That is not bad for a first try. Did you replace the ribbon or clean the old one? You managed to shape that ugly duckling into quite a hat. Not bad at all.
Now you are ready to tackle this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8108444801 . LOL

Regards,

J

 

[Darek]

I think I need some more practice before I try that one LOL


Yep, I reused the same band. Big difference, no?


Thanks!

 

[SHARPETOYS]

First try or tenth i would say great looking fedora. You should be proud of yourself. Way to go!

 

[Canadave]

Pretty danged good! That stain was uuuuugggg-leeeee!

David

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Darek
I think I need some more practice before I try that one LOL


Yep, I reused the same band. Big difference, no?


Thanks!

Aw, come on. You can do it. Can you believe someone paid $7 for that mess?

You reused the same band? That is a great cleaning job! What did you use to get rid of the stain? Not a bad job at all. :cool2:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Art Fawcett]

Nice job Derek, with no equipment?? One pointer though. Turn the bow over, you have it backwards. The double bow goes to the back, single at the front

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Isn't it nice to have a Hatter here to help us all out. I never noticed the bow was on backwards. Good job Mr. Art.

 

[Matt Deckard]

This one looks pretty cool as is

 

[havershaw]

Darek,
You have yourself a beautiful hat there. Congratulations!!!

And as far as that other hat goes...I almost bid on it myself, believe it or not (well, I have a Fedora block, and a man needs a guinea pig once in a while...!).

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Matt Deckard

This one looks pretty cool as is

Sure it would look wonderful and picturesque. It reminds one of a time when you could go down to the local train yard and see bums huddled around a campfire with hats just like that one on. LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by havershaw
Darek,
You have yourself a beautiful hat there. Congratulations!!!

And as far as that other hat goes...I almost bid on it myself, believe it or not (well, I have a Fedora block, and a man needs a guinea pig once in a while...!).

A guinea pig is one thing but that needs a complete face lift. If you have a fedor block then it might be easier that is for sure. A new ribbon, liner, sweatband, cleaning, blocking and some TLC would make it acceptible. :cool2:

Regards to all,

J

 

[Matt Deckard]

You have to get the clothes to match

 

[Darek]

Eek, never knew the bow was backwards. Thanks for the head up, I'll swap that around.

I used OxyClean believe it or not to clean out the stain. Let it soak for 10 mins in warm water w/ OxyClean, and then scrubbed it a little against its self. When it dried, it was gone!

Thanks great feedback
-Darek


On the hat that someone posted, think the felt is still in good enough shape to reuse? Looks pretty rough...

 

[jamespowers]

Originally posted by Matt Deckard
You have to get the clothes to match

Actually, using all the research methods at my disposal, I found the original owner of that hat. Here he is:http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/London/Writings/TheRoad/19.jpg .
Check out those vintage duds.
If any of you see him, tell him I want my newspaper back! LOL

Regards to all,

J

 

[Canadave]

Originally posted by Art Fawcett
...The double bow goes to the back, single at the front

WOW! Great little detail...good to know!

David

 

[Art Fawcett]

If someone on the lounge buy's this hat..PLEASE don't send it to me. It looks like it would frustrate the doo doo out of me as it will never be perfect. ))

 

[havershaw]

Yeah, it seemed a little too ambitious for me. Plus, I have three or four ahead of it that are in much better shape.