What Hat Are You Working On Today?

[RickP]

Well it is all one hat now and not separate pieces. Got the sweat sewn in WITHOUT pricking my fingers once!. Still have some shaping and brim work to do, BUT ITS A HAT

 

[Stu K 323]

I have a question about dying a brown hat to maroon. It's a fur-felt hat, cotton sweat rather than leather so in theory I should not have to worry too much about shrinkage. I have removed the liner as well as It was really bad in the summer and stuck to my head all the time.

Can anyone tell me: 1) which dyes I should try, and tips on methods? 2) how easy it will be? 3) is it worth it? should I bother, or should I just buy a maroon hat at some point in the future?

 

[StoryPNW]

Been trying my hand at some light restoration work. I got this Stetson Playboy for really cheap. Here are the seller pictures.

I cleaned it up a little. In the process I pulled the ribbon off and cleaned it and put it back on in reverse, it is actually grey. I might try to fix the holes in the felt or just see if someone wants a distressed vintage hat.

 

[RickP]

Merry Christmas morning to all!

Did a little ribbon experimenting on the newly scratch built hat this morning. ( no company for Christmas this year, so I had some free time) Figured it just didnt look right with a commercial off-the-shelf hatband. Ive always liked the 1890-ish campaign hat ribbon and bow so I thought Id try one here.

First one here was using 1" Grosgrain. Love the look but it might be just a bit large? Ill whip one up with some 5/8" ribbon Ive got and do a side by side comparison before I sew it on.. The smaller ribbon should be a bit less "in-your-face" lol I love the mild contrast with the Khaki color, but Taupe or Dark Brown might work well too ( Khaki, Taupe and brown ribbons side by side for comparison... let me know if you really like one color better than the others. Is contrasty better or should I go more subtle? )

 

[RickP]

Alrighty then..... Made up a 5/8" hatband ribbon/ bow in Kahki and dark brown. I think the smaller ribbon looks a bit more refined than the 1" version. Just need to figured out whether I like light and contrasty, or a dark one that blends in

The 1" version

the 5/8" in Kahki

and the 5/8" dark brown version

Decisions, decisions......

 

[RickP]

Got to thinking that while I had the ribbon out today, I should update my poor little Akubra Stockman.. it had such a plain skinny ribbon

 

[rogueclimber]

Got to thinking that while I had the ribbon out today, I should update my poor little Akubra Stockman.. it had such a plain skinny ribbon

View attachment 667465 View attachment 667466

That upgrade really works! (All those ribbons are outstanding)

 

[TheOldFashioned]

An extremely rare Rothschild Bros Hat Co western that is a work in progress:

Crown	7-1/4" (open crown)
Brim	4" to curl with asymmetric binding
Ribbon	Absent, though based on fading was 1-1/2"
Weight	192g

Not much is known about this company, and only a few references exist here on the forum. Based on the crest and comparing to old advertisements this probably came from the 1910s/20s timeframe. The hat obviously is showing it's age, but the felt is still sturdy aside from one weak spot in the crown front.

It arrived to me with one of those gaudy 70s feathered hatbands which I instantly removed. Unfortunately, the original ribbon and bow were missing. Based on sun fading it looks like the original was 1-1/2" wide. The binding has faded as well and shows signs of duress, but hasn't popped in any location.

I've slowly and gently attempted to reshape the brim as the hat was stored in a box too small which caused it to be distorted. Still more work ahead, but with the delicate nature of the binding I don't want to stress it too much. I may have to settle with it being perfectly imperfect.

 

[RickP]

Did a little maintenance on a Sovereign Stetson Firenze today. Beautifully soft dark grey felt. ( sort of has a greenish tint in the right light.) Almost too soft... brim just wouldnt hold its shape. 15 minutes of wearing and the brim was all wonky. ( had kinda a hobo-esque vibe to it). Steamed it, ironed and flattened the brim, and then added some stiffener to the brim and did some resting on a brim board to dry. Hit with some steam and then popped it on the head for final shaping. Now it looks the same on both sides lol. Worked the center dent into a semi diamond crease up top. Just letting it sit for a while before I do some final brushing. Looks like its back in the rotation!

 

[RickP]

Does anyone need some feathers? I bought a pack of hat feathers on etsy a while back. A couple I used but lots of them are colors that I have no real need for. If you can use them drop me a message and I can get them in the mail.

 

[RickP]

Little bit of ribbon experimenting today .

Have been wanting to re-equip one of the cowboy conversions with a slightly smaller ribbon and a campaign bow instead of a std dress hat bow. All thumbs today lol. Accidently got one of the legs on top of the bow instead of underneath.. Oh well... its an experiment. But I got a test piece done and on the hat so I have an idea what it will look like... I do think I like the thinner ribbon, and will like the campaign bow once I fashion one thats not quite so wonky.

Old ribbon was 1" and the new one is 3/4". Took a few tries to get the size of the bow just right for the smaller ribbon. Ill see if this size grows on me or if ill make one with a hair longer bow loop. Some OTHER day after I make up a flat bow with no bloodstains Ill get it sewed on ( If I kept on trying today Id just end up with MORE pricked fingers and bloodstains on the ribbon and quite possibly the hat lol) One of THOSE days

 

[Door mouse]

My latest find. Rather hairy no lining . Any ideas where from? Are the grouped hole in the sweat band a factory mark? My new posh looking causal dog walking hat.

 

[RickP]

My latest find. Rather hairy no lining . Any ideas where from? Are the grouped hole in the sweat band a factory mark? My new posh looking causal dog walking hat.

Back in the day lots of hat stores had a machine that punched your initials in the sweatbands. Nice find... Hairy hats are popular around here these days!

 

[Rollin Rains]

Just picked up this Mallory western. I'm going to use it for my next western-to-fedora conversion. I've been looking for something in this smokey-brown color, and it already has a nice crown height and crease.
On a side note - does anyone want to trade a dead rooster for some vintage grosgrain ribbon?.....

 

[RickP]

Just picked up this Mallory western. I'm going to use it for my next western-to-fedora conversion. I've been looking for something in this smokey-brown color, and it already has a nice crown height and crease.
On a side note - does anyone want to trade a dead rooster for some vintage grosgrain ribbon?.....

Dead Rooster? I always thoughts those 70s-80s feathers bands were dead owls! lol. Good luck on the transition.... I really like the taller crowns on some of the ones Ive done. Gives it a good vibe in my mind compared to more modest crown heights. I dont have much actual vintage grosgrain, but Ive reached a point that if I find a decent source in a color I like, I buy a big roll of 5/8", 3/4", 1", and 1-1/4" ribbon.... then I can play around and fine tune what works best with the hat.

 

[Rollin Rains]

Dead Rooster? I always thoughts those 70s-80s feathers bands were dead owls! lol. Good luck on the transition.... I really like the taller crowns on some of the ones Ive done. Gives it a good vibe in my mind compared to more modest crown heights. I dont have much actual vintage grosgrain, but Ive reached a point that if I find a decent source in a color I like, I buy a big roll of 5/8", 3/4", 1", and 1-1/4" ribbon.... then I can play around and fine tune what works best with the hat.

I may wear it for at least a day with the "bird band", but I'll have to find some mirrored aviator glasses to go with it. Haha...

I recently ordered some of the vintage ribbon because my last conversion gave me fits when I tried to get the modern stuff to lay against the felt correctly. I just don't seem to be able to get a good bend in it with the iron the way that the old cotton/rayon does. I'm hoping I wont need it for this hat, but of course they all have their own personality.

This will be my first Mallory. It looks like it was made in the early 60's, shortly before Stetson bought them out. Does this seem correct to you??? Also, there is nothing specifying the felt type. Should I be worried that it is possibly wool???...
It doesn't appear to have the texture of wool in the pics, but obviously that is not a good way of judging.

 

[RickP]

I may wear it for at least a day with the "bird band", but I'll have to find some mirrored aviator glasses to go with it. Haha...

I recently ordered some of the vintage ribbon because my last conversion gave me fits when I tried to get the modern stuff to lay against the felt correctly. I just don't seem to be able to get a good bend in it with the iron the way that the old cotton/rayon does. I'm hoping I wont need it for this hat, but of course they all have their own personality.

This will be my first Mallory. It looks like it was made in the early 60's, shortly before Stetson bought them out. Does this seem correct to you??? Also, there is nothing specifying the felt type. Should I be worried that it is possibly wool???...
It doesn't appear to have the texture of wool in the pics, but obviously that is not a good way of judging.

Ive got one Stetson Mallory cowboy thats marked as 100% wool(its stiff as all get outs) an ok outdoors rough hat but its sure not a refined dress hat. I think the older Mallory hats WERE fur felt. Ive throught several times about trying to pounce/ sand my Mallory to see if I could smooth up the surface a bit

 

[Rollin Rains]

Ive got one Stetson Mallory cowboy thats marked as 100% wool(its stiff as all get outs) an ok outdoors rough hat but its sure not a refined dress hat. I think the older Mallory hats WERE fur felt. Ive throught several times about trying to pounce/ sand my Mallory to see if I could smooth up the surface a bit

Thanks. I hope you're right. I got it pretty cheap and need a new project anyway, but it'll be nice if it turns out to be quality felt.

 

[RickP]

Thanks. I hope you're right. I got it pretty cheap and need a new project anyway, but it'll be nice if it turns out to be quality felt.

As I understand it... if its wool it WILL have a 100% wool stamp somewhere on the sweat or on a tag. It also seems to me that the wool is substantially lighter than fur felt ( thicker but lighter with a bunch of stiffner added)

 

[Rollin Rains]

As I understand it... if its wool it WILL have a 100% wool stamp somewhere on the sweat or on a tag. It also seems to me that the wool is substantially lighter than fur felt ( thicker but lighter with a bunch of stiffner added) View attachment 684679

Yeh, I always thought it would have to have the wool stamp.
This is the only thing given on the sweatband and the liner is just the simple logo seen in the first pics.