A new cowboy hat is an enjoyable experience to a person who is interested in adopting the traditional American western outfits. A good hat will not only ensure that you are well covered against the sun but it will also give you an added style to your collection. The most important thing is to have the right fit to buy. When you wear a hat which is too tight then it leaves you with a terrible headache and makes you red on the forehead. Having a hat that is too loose implies that it will blow off your head the second a heavy puff of air comes in the direction of the ranch or the city street. Conscious of the correct way of measuring a cowboy hat will ensure that you are always comfortable and sure whenever wearing a cowboy hat. It is completely simple and involves few simple materials that you probably have at home. You will be able to go through all the instructions of how to determine the right hat size with the help of this guide.
The reason why it is important to find the right cowboy hat size.
The last reason why you have to find the perfect size of your head is that of comfort. The cowboy hats have usually been made out of hard materials such as beaver fur felt or hard woven straw. These materials are not stretchable and will not miraculously fit the head size to a significantly different size throughout the years. An appropriate hat should be fitted well on your head and it should not exert extra pressure. It must be firmly fixed when you ride a horse or when you bend down.
An ugly hat is an absolute disaster to the style you are attempting to attain. Hats which are too high on your head are clumsy and disproportionate. Sinking hat with ears stuck in is a hinder to sight, and a shabbiness. The first attempt is always better than having to go through the process of sending back and exchanging goods with online retailers. It is also a sure way of walking into any western wear store and requesting just what you require. Five minutes spent in the measurement of your head will bring years of ready-to-wear.
Meters You will require to measure your head.
You do not require some special gadgets to determine your hat size. A soft tailor sewing tape measure is the best equipment that can be used in this job. It is a flexible tape that is easily wrapped around the heads contours and offers the best reading that can be made out. These soft tape measures are available in any of the local craft stores or supermarkets at a few dollars.
Household alternatives can be easily used in the event that a soft measuring tape is not readily available. All you have to do is to have a stretchless piece of string or a shoelace. A normal metal tape measure or a long ruler will also be required to measure the string later on. This is strongly advised to be done before a mirror of the bathroom to enable you see the exact location of the tape or the string on your head. It is better to have a friend or a relative who could assist you and take the measurement since he/she would guarantee that the tape is fully leveled at the back of your head.
12-step Tutorial to Measuring Your Head.
The real procedure of timing your head, really does not take much time. The measurement of the tape should be placed exactly to have the correct figure. To begin with, take the end of the soft tape measure and place it directly in the mid forehead. The tape has to be about one and half to two fingers above your eyebrows. It is at this particular point that the sweatband of the cowboy hat will be resting.
Be careful to put the tape measure around your head. Carry it round the side of your head that is approximately one finger width above you ears. Keep on wrapping around the broadest section of your head then towards the back and to the point of origin on your forehead. The tape must be snug though it should not pinch or squeeze your skin. Read the tape number to which it is attached to the starting end. This should be measured in inches and centimeters that should be recorded. You can repeat the whole process two or three times, this is a good idea to make sure that your numbers are entirely consistent.
Cowboy Hat Sizing Charts: How to Know.
The American hat makers have a certain system of fractions sizing which may seem confusing to the eye at first. These conventional sizes normally go between 6 3/4 to 7 3/4. This is in fact the diameter of the head and not the circumference. You will not have to do some complicated calculations in order to calculate this since each hat brand has a conversion chart that is easy to follow.
You just make the measurement of your circumference and compare it with the brand sizing chart. An average of 22 1/4 inch or 57 centimeters head will generally be equivalent to a typical US 7 1/8. The head is 23 inches or 58 centimeters which equals a size of 7 1/4. There are other contemporary casual hats that just apply small medium large and extra-large sizes. A medium usually covers sizes 7 to 7 1/8 while a large covers 7 1/4 to 7 3/8. The certain sizing chart of a brand you are purchasing should be always checked as there are a few differences between the makers of different hats.
The influence of Hat Shapes and Oval Types A in Fit.
It is not all about the perfect cowboy hat, but only finding the right hat in terms of its circumference. The heads of humans are in various shapes and the hat makers manufacture their products to suit such differences. Your head shape when looked at it in a top-down direction is referred to as your head oval. Majority of the people belong to the regular oval category, which implies that the head is a little longer in anterior to posterior verses to the side to side.
There are those with long oval shaped heads. This implies that they have a distinctly long head in front to the back and rather small in the sides. The shape of the head of other people is round oval with almost the same length and width. Most high-end western brands of hat such as Stetson and Resistol model their hats in the shape of long ovals as this is the shape of the American head. When a regular oval hat is put on a long oval head, the forehead will experience tightness and leave gaps loosely on the sides. The shape of your head can be easily identified by the old baseball caps that you have worn to observe the way they stretched.
Hints on how to make a loosely fitting hat fit.
There are times when you will be stuck in-between the two sizes of hats. There is a golden rule when it comes to purchasing a cowboy hat and it is always to buy the bigger size when you are in between sizes. It is quite easy to make a slightly big hat to be smaller and quite hard to make a small hat larger without the help of professional tools that stretch the hat.
The perfect remedy of a hat that is somehow loose is hat sizing tape. It is a strip of weather-stripping foam, of a thinness, and consisting of an adhesive. The inside leather sweatband is just flipped down and the foam tape is placed on the hat material and the bottom of the band. Taping a small piece of tape behind the front of the sweatband and another piece behind the back of the sweatband tends to reduce the size of the fit by a half. Folded paper towels are also a temporary solution in case you are in need of one when you are on the town.
Frequently Asked Questions
What about the size that is in-between two sizes? There is always a need to size up in case your size lies between two sizes. It is not hard to fit a slightly larger hat with the help of foam hat tape that is placed under the interior sweatband. A hat which is overly small will also make one experience headaches and needs professional steam stretching.
May I measure my head using construction tape measure that is made of metal? One should never take a metal tape measure on your head since the same will not curve with your skull smoothly and will produce a totally inaccurate reading. Instead, you should encircle your head with a piece of string and that string you have should be measured using your metal tape measure.
Is my cowboy hat a matter of hair? The very thick hair will surely provide a boost to the size of your head. Never forget to put your head under the hat with your hair on, and measure it. A bit bigger hat may be required in case you have used to have thick braids or dreadlocks of hair.
Will a felt cowboy hat reduce as the years go by? Felt cowboy hats may shrink in case they are fully wet in the rain and may be left to dry in the presence of a high source of heat. Whenever you are leaving a wet hat to dry up, you must always leave it to dry naturally at the room temperature but resting the hat upside down on the crown of the hat to ensure the band does not shrink.
To what extent is a new cowboy hat supposed to be tight? A newly bought hat must be snugly and comfortably tight. And you must not part with it leaving a deep red streak across your forehead. It must remain well fastened on your head, as you shake your head to and fro, or bend to lace your shoes.
Final Thought
Knowing how to fit a cowboy hat is a crucial knowledge to a person who is developing a western wardrobe. The just-right-fit transforms an ordinary headwear into an extremely comfortable everyday item that is keeping you out of the weather. It will save you a lot of time to take the time to pick up a soft tape measure and wrap it around your ears above and this will ensure that the size you would be ordering will be correct each time. It is important to always keep in mind that your specific inches or centimeters should be compared to the sizing chart of the particular brand and should never be afraid to use sizing tape as long as you are in between sizes. An apt cowboy hat is beautiful and seems as though a part of your self.
