Why Your Hat Goes Shaky with Time.
Any hat enthusiast in the United States will be frustrated to have his or her favorite western headwear being crushed. Your hat is a direct expression of yourself whether you are doing hard ranch work in Texas or country music festivals in Nashville. Knowing how to re-shape a cowboy hat is a vital life skill which will not only save you a lot of money but will also ensure that you look very sharp. A misshapen hat is caused by various environmental factors and habits used in everyday life which cause a lot of damage over time. The moisture is the greatest foe of a neat and dry cowboy hat. The presence of heavy rainstorms and high ambient humidity levels make the natural materials soft which results in the drooping of the rigid brim and the sagging of the tall crown unpredictably. Even the front dip of your hat can easily bend out of shape in the blisteringly hot summer afternoon due to sweat on your forehead. The other high culprit that destroys good western wear is physical damage. The casual way that you tossed your hat on the sunny dashboard of your pickup truck exposes it to heat that is too high and it bakes the material and sets the awful creases. The delicate stiffening agents of the fabric will be mashed to death sitting on the hat, or being packed haphazardly in a tight travel suitcase. So much as to keep your hat flat on its crown instead of lying on its crown upside down, will flatten out the beautiful natural curve of the sides. Knowledge of these root causes will assist you avoid future destruction when you come to know the correct methods of re-shaping. Quality hat is a big financial investment and it takes a small portion of knowledge and proper maintenance to maintain the investment. You do not have to go to a professional shaper every time your favorite headwear is a little crooked since you can do it at the comfort of your own kitchen.
The Hat Reshaping Tools You Must Have.
All it takes is a few easily available tools and you can begin to shape your hat at home in a perfect way. The most important necessity to this whole project is a reliable source of hot steam. Any household tea kettle is ideal since it directs the boiling steam through a very small opening in a fine stream through the small spout. A handheld garment steamer is also an option in case you need to have a greater control over the flow of the intense heat. A clean and perfectly flat surface is required to work on during the physical adjustments. Other more serious collectors use a special wooden hat block to preserve the precise size of the head on the inside but this is not a strict requirement of simple repairs of the brim and crown. It is always best to have a new can of hat stiffening spray at hand and put the new shape in place the moment you are done with your work. Both felt hats and straw hats will be much impressed by special stiffening sprays available specifically to each of their natural materials. Regular hairspray must never be applied on your hats as hairspray has sticky residues that readily attract dirt and other unwanted insects. You should keep a pair of clean white cotton gloves in case you do not wish to transfer the natural skin oils on your hands to a lighter colored hat. Preparation of all your tools before you start makes sure that you do not end up leaving your hat when the material is hot and soft.
How to Remake a Felt Cowboy hat.
Felt hats are the most traditional items of the western American wardrobe and it takes very specific and careful approach. Always you should apply the hot steam to soften the felt and then you may do any significant physical alterations to the structure. Add new water in your kitchen tea kettle and place the stove burner on until it starts boiling. You should have the misshapen part of the felt hat some six or eight inches off the active steam spout. You do not want the hat saturated with heavy drops of water entirely, but do want the hot steam to penetrate the thick felt to the very depths. Move the hat to and fro in a slow and steady movement in order to have the intense heat evenly shared all through the damaged area. The hard substance will be very clearly felt to change into a very soft and highly pliable substance within a minute or two of unremitting steaming. Take off the hat of the steam as soon as it is pliable to bend without breaking. With bare fingers or gloved hands, mould the warm felt in the shape that you want into your desired shape. When you are adjusting a flattened brim you must move your thumb and index finger on the outer edge in a sweeping motion to gradually bring the traditional upward curve back. Hold the warm felt in its brand new position very firmly for several minutes while it slowly cools down in the ambient air. The microscopic fibers are precisely the ones which are locked back into their hard and tough state by the process of natural cooling. It may require that you repeat this very process of steaming and cooling a number of times to get particularly obstinate old creases. The cooling process should not be hurried since it is easy to crack the costly material permanently by violently bending the dry and cold felt. What is also noteworthy is that pure beaver fur felt takes a lot more steam to soften than the normal wool felt because of its higher natural resistance to water.
The Process of Reforming a Straw Cowboy Hat.
The Straw cowboy hats are very famous and used in the hot summer seasons in the American South and in the Midwest. They weigh a lot less and are a million times more breathable but then again they have to be handled a little bit more carefully when being shaped. A large number of contemporary straw hats have an inbuilt flexible wire that is sewed directly into the outer edge of the sweeping brim. This particular form of brim is readily manipulated by just bending the inner wire with the hands and not a single drop of hot steam is needed. Place your fingers on the bound end and rub it up and down until you have eliminated any undesirable kinks or bends in the wire framework. There will surely be a demand of steam in case the natural straw itself is ruthlessly beaten into powder or the high crown has lost its natural form altogether. The portions of the straw thus broken should be held over a weak stream of steam but must be held very far away compared to the case of a heavy felt hat. Normal straw may permanently bend and lose its integrity in case it becomes completely wet due to the vapor. Use the hot steam at once not more than ten or fifteen seconds to prevent excessive saturation. The softened straw is pressed, inside of the crown, to force out all deep dents or ugly collapses. support the delicate stuff with both hands, the hands being placed in a proper manner to prevent the accident of poking a finger right through the wet softened straw. The damp hat should be allowed to air dry in a safe flat place in a well-ventilated room before wearing it out in the sun as palm leaf hats are the only exception to this rule since you can literally place a real palm leaf hat in a bucket of warm water to soften before using your hands to shape it.
Selling Cowboy Hat Creases and Styles.
The selection of the ideal right crease is a highly subjective issue to any person who wears genuine western hats. Cattleman crease is the best-known and most popular of the entire United States. It has one profound straight cut running straight down the middle of the crown with two smaller cuts pinched high on either side of the crown. This worn-out look was initially intended to assist working ranchers draw their hats down very snugly on their heads during overly vile prairie winds. Knowing the way to remodel a cowboy hat will enable you to wear this traditional work appearance at all times. Another historical favorite of fans is the Gus crease that has a very high crown that slopes sharply down towards the front of the visor with three deep structural dimples. This old fashion design gives it a great internal airflow and an outstanding old western rough design. The front crease is pinched and it is extremely popular in the modern casual wear and the country concerts as it perfectly fits almost every face shape. The external curves of the brim are frequently rolled up in a dramatic fashion to develop a sharp and very aggressive visual look. The Open Crown style exposes the top and makes it totally uncreased such that it appears as a smooth round dome that leaves the wearer with a clean canvas to create his own distinctive appearance. You may have your own hat full made to suit with any of these unusual designs, that is, by simply applying steam to it, and working the warm stuff patiently with your own fingers.
How to keep your hat in the shape you want.
The best possible treatment is undoubtedly preventative daily treatment, which spares one the inconvenience of undergoing endless and tedious reshaping procedures. When using your cowboy hat you should never pick it by the crown, but by the heavy brim. The forceful repeated pinching of the top of the crown, causes the internal hardening matter to be torn apart and leaves the front dip permanently ugly and weak. Always remember you should always take off your hat by placing it fully and firmly in the opposite side at the top of the hat or crown when you are taking off your hat at the end of a long day. Placing it flatly on a table subjects it to enormous and unbalanced pressure directly upon the curved edges of the brim and in so doing drives them to totally flatten out as time progresses. The purchase of a high quality protective hat box or a hard plastic travel hat would be a guaranteed brilliant protection in a long road trip or airline travel. These rigid containers ensure that the dainty hat is suspended in a safe manner free of any crushing external forces. It is also important to ensure that you never leave your costly hat in a hot stuffy car on the hot summer months. The excessive high temperatures will literally bake the chemical stiffening agents into a closed car, and completely deform the shape within just a few hours. To keep the natural fibers in good shape and maintain your western wear in a crisp clean and highly professional look, you should use very light preventative coating of high-quality hat stiffening spray after every few months or so.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I supposed to have a regular clothes iron that I can use to mend my cowboy hat? The hot metal plate of an iron should by no means ever be put on the natural material of any cowboy hat. The intense dry heat is extreme direct heat which will burn the delicate straw and permanently scald the costly felt materials. The only way that you can safely use the steam generating ability of a clothing iron is to make sure that you are several inches away with the device when softening the material with the vapor alone.
What is the approximate time it will take to have a refinished hat to dry? A typical reinvented cowboy hat typically requires approximately twenty to thirty full minutes to fully cool down, as well as, structurally settle down following a rigorous steaming session. Having the wet hat lying all by itself upside down in a well heated room at this very important waiting period, is of the essence. It is quite easy to bend the warm hat on your head before it is completely cool and therefore make it accidentally assume the wrong shape.
Is it possible to permanently make a hat that had been flattened flat? Majority of badly trampled hats can be saved successfully by use of extreme patience and large amounts of hot steam. The original structural integrity of the crushed fibers may require a number of committed multiple sessions of heating and shaping to completely regain its normal structural integrity. It is highly probable that you will have to apply high grade stiffening spray to the general form once more to ensure that the highly weakened parts are stiffened.
Is there a high degree of safety in the heavy reshaping of a hat on several occasions? It is safe to reform a high quality premium hat several times over the long life that it will have without any structural damage that cannot be repaired. The hot steam just temporarily reactivates the internal chemical stiffeners enabling the movement to be made safe. But however cheap novelty party hats may be will surely lose all their bottom rigidity on being steamed too many times, or too violently.
What is the principal distinction between the beating of wool and the beating of beaver? Beaver felt fur is naturally very waterproof and very thick in weight that is it takes much more steam before it can be pliable than the normal sheep wool. Wool softens much quicker in a regular steam but it is also greatly apt to an irreversible accidental shrinkage in case you put too much heat upon it.
Final Thought
The art of re-shaping a cowboy hat is a very worthy pursuit as it makes one achieve the best possible look of the traditional western headwear. There is no need of any very expensive professional gear or years of special training to bring out really good aesthetic results with just a product that will fit in the home. The only minor details that are separating you and a well-fitting custom hat are a plain kitchen tea kettle and a lot of concentrated patience. It is important to always remember that one should work gradually and in a well-thought-out manner when letting the hot steam do all the heavy work instead of pushing the dry stubborn material into submission, which is rather brutal. By putting the correct preventative maintenance on your hat, such as merely storing your hat upside down and only touching the hat on the top, will immensely save you in terms of the overall required frequent major repairs. It is a full-fledged learning experience and a great deal of fun to personalize your hat to exactly fit your personal unique style be it hitting the local rodeo arena or just simply spending a beautiful sunny afternoon out around town.
