When Rain was GOOD for an unprotected wool fedora

[Mycroft]

Ok, weirdest story you will hear today, maybe. Ok, I have my Indy, Dorman Pacific hat which has gone through rains and a smooshing/stomping from an ex-girlfirend. OK, so i wore it becuase it is lucky, and they it poured rain. Then I started fiddleing with the brim and crown and got it back to the shape it came in basically, just thought I'd let you all know this if you need to mold back an abused untreated wool hat.

 

[Matt Deckard]

The felt will stay the shape in which it dried... though it may shrink a bit.

 

[Mycroft]

The felt will stay the shape in which it dried... though it may shrink a bit.

Exactly what happened. Thanks, I thought that was just my hat and my ego growng

 

[John in Covina]

The felt will stay the shape in which it dried... though it may shrink a bit.

If you put one of those hat stretchers in before it dried would it keep it's correct size? Any problems doing that?

 

[Not-Bogart13]

It Half Works.

If you put one of those hat stretchers in before it dried would it keep it's correct size? Any problems doing that?

Years back, my father got a "high quality" wool hat drenched in a winter ice/rain storm. I didn't have a stretcher, but I put something in the opening to prevent shrinking (at the sweatband where you'd have a stretcher). The result was that the hat was ok around the sweatband, but the rest of it shrank! Looked kind of funny, and developed a severe taper.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I've done it before... I've placed a stretcher in a wool hat while it dried... the sweat band yes stayed the same though the hat shrunk a bit around the sweatband.

With fur felt... Vintage hats haven't shrunk on me, though The same applies to modern fur felts as with wool felts.