An excellent western hat is a requisite element of the American culture. Your hat is your good friend whether you are going to Nashville country music festival or a rodeo in Texas. However, your favorite headwear may be a bit scruffy after spending a summer of tailgate and outdoor labour. It is possible that somebody has sat on it in the truck or it has been packed in a suitcase on a flight. The form becomes distorted and the sharp lines have been lost. This leaves a lot of hat wearing people in a dilemma of what to do next. The optimistic is the fact that you need not waste it. Though the old fashioned western appearance may be revived in a few easy tricks in your own kitchen.
How to Reboot a Straw Cowboy Hat.
The brief response to this is that yes you can remodel a cowboy hat of straw. Majority of the good western hats are shaped. During manufacturing, the stiffening agent is a special one used by Hatmakers. This is a stiffener that keeps the straw in a position however when subjected to heat and water, this stiffener becomes soft. The tons of hats also include a thin wire secreted in the external brim. The wire can be bent and moulded with the brim by you, in order to suit your own style. You should be aware that the reshaping project that you do is greatly determined by the kind of material your hat was created out of. The party store can melt a cheap novelty hat or fall to pieces but a true western brand is constructed so that it can survive through the maintenance.
Knowing What To Wear on Your Hat.
You must first know what type of a straw you are sitting on before you begin to bend and pull it off. Most of the white or natural colored hats worn by people at the country concerts in America are usually prepared using the Shantung straw. Shantong is in fact a high performance paper yarn that is highly tough and weather resistant. It reacts well with steam yet it will be destroyed once it is taken to water. The other highly popular material is palm leaf which is particularly used by the working cowboys in the hot southwest. The palm leaf hats are also unique in the sense that they are supposed to be wet. One can even literally plunge a palm leaf hat into a horse trough and cool it down before reshaping it when wet. Being aware of what you own will mean that you do not end up destroying it in the process of repairing.
Extremely Necessary Reshaping Tools.
Even those who do not have a professional shop in western wear do not have to approach them to fix their hat. You are likely to have all you need at the comfort of your home. The greatest resource is a steam generator. The handheld garment steamer is the best by all means since it has a constant and concentrated stream of moisture. In case you do not have a garment steamer a normal stovetop tea kettle would do the trick. One only needs to boil the water until a powerful stream of steam comes out of the spout. A clean flat surface on which to work and a clean towel to the crown to rest on should also be provided. Be sure that your hands are thoroughly clean, and then you may begin to touch the straw. Fingerprints will also be easily transferred to light-colored surfaces and cause permanent stains.
How to Reform the Brim without risk.
The hat is normally readily repaired at its brim. To begin with, get your steamer or tea kettle boiling. Keep the part of the brim which you wish changed in full blast of the steam. Also, keep the hat on the move, otherwise, you will be overheating at one point. The stiffener will start after approximately ten to fifteen seconds and the straw would become soft and flexible. Bend the brim with your fingers to the shape that you want. In case you wish to have a traditional cattleman appearance you will drag the sides in. In case you want a flatter buckaroo style you will pull the sides down. Keep the straw in the new position of approximately a minute as it cools down. When the hat gets back to the room temperature the stiffener becomes solid and gives your new shape. Turn around the edge of the hat in a slow manner, until the whole brim appears to be similar.
How to Have a Crushed Crown Repaired.
It is not so easy as a brim to put back into shape a crushed crown. The hat has a structural base that is known as the crown and it determines the way in which the hat fits on your head. In case you want to push the top in then you will start at the inside. Steam the part of the crush both internally and externally. After making the material soft, then proceed to push the dent out of the inside with the help of the back of your knuckles. Do not think of using your sharp fingertips you will sure punch a hole right through the wet straw. When the big dent has been popped out the creases can be redefined. The sharp traditional lines can be made again by pinching the front indents when the hat is still warm. It should be dried completely on a flat surface and then you can wear it.
Errors to Keep in Writing Straw.
Hat can be ruined by several mistakes that are very crucial. Do not put a dry iron on your hat. The intense direct heat would burn the straw and fuse the hardening agents leaving any scar that can never be removed. You must not use a hairdryer as your major tool either. Hairdryers blow away hot air that is already dry enough and this makes the straw brittle resulting in it cracking. The use of steam is necessary since the moisture is used to cover the fibers and the heat does the job. It is best not to strain the straw until it is heated. When you hear the cracking sound you must put on more steam at the moment. Lastly do not leave your hat in your hot car. The heat of a surrounding environment such as a closed car parked in the summer sun is sufficient to melt the stiffener and you find your hat bent in every direction once again.
When Your Hat is to be a Professional hat.
Home shaping can be done with ease in case of minor dents, and the custom curves are also easy though there are instances where professional assistance is required. In case of the hat being flattened completely due to an object of weight there is a possibility of a breakdown of the inside of the structure of the hat. The hatters are professional, and have wooden hat blocks, and industrial steamers, which can rebuild a badly destroyed crown upon them. Also a professional should be consulted in case the straw is torn or unravelling. Steam is not able to repair broken fibers. When you have a very high priced custom hat and are afraid of making a mistake then you will always pay the little money to have it shaped at a local store in the west. They make hats all day, and will put a crease on you in a few minutes, and make it out to the point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to reshape a hat with the help of a hairdryer? No no it is not recommended. A hairdryer gives an opportunity to have dry heat that may break the straw. The steam is required to soften the fibers and the stiffener safely with the help of the moisture.
Is it possible to pull my straw hat in water to make it take shape? Never unless it is a palm leaf hat that is genuine. Palm leaf has to be shaped using direct water. In case your hat is composed of Shantung or old-fashioned woven straw that you immerse in water, it will be ruined to the latter.
And what am I to do to preserve the shape of my cowboy hat? Proper storage is the best technique of preserving the shape. Always put your hat down inside out upon the top. When you put it on flat on the rim the sides will ultimately be flattened out by the pressure. Store it where it will not be hot such as in the dashboard of your truck.
What is the time taken of setting the shape? After steaming it and bending the hat, it does not take much more than one or two minutes holding the hat in place before the straw cools down. One should then allow it to rest at least half an hour later so that it can be completely cured.
Final Thought
It is a satisfying skill to learn how to keep your western wear and would save you more money in the long run. The reshaping of a straw cowboy hat to the yes resounding question is a resounding yes provided that the right amount of heat and moisture is used. With the knowledge of the palm leaf and standard straw and the application of steam over dry heat you may maintain your favorite headwear in a fresh appearance with every season. It is very easy to either roll the brim to fit a particular rodeo style or simply pop an unexpected dent the process is simple and easily achievable at home. Carefully store your hat and keep it well maintained and you will have many years of staying under the shade and looking cool.
