Going western and hat making....

[The Folk Prophet]

For some reason I got into the idea of western wear lately. Got myself some overly long jeans to wear with my boots (I already had a few pair of cowboy boots...but it was more for...I dunno... well, not full on western...), a few western shirts, and a couple of cowboy hats.

But here's the thing. Cowboy hats are expensive! Real ones, at least. The "cheap" one I got was on sale for $120 (normally $150), and the nicer one I got I dropped $250 on (also on sale, normally $350). And they're both lower quality hats, in the relative scheme of things. A high-end hat can run up to $3000!! Yowsa!

But then, as I tend to do, I went even crazier on the thought, and decided I'd learn to make my own hat!!

You see... a 100% beaver felt (which is the high end hat side of things), one can pick up for $200 or so. That's not really why I wanted to make hats. But... it's nice to know that if I get good at it, I could theoretically create a hat that would cost $1000+ for under $250. Shrug.

Anyhow... so I got myself a hat block off Etsy ($125), and a hat "blank" or "capeline" in wool (the cheapest material) for about $35, and.... here's what I have so far:

Here's the block:

The blocking of the felt:

Post blocking:

And completed hatband (which I tooled myself):

 

I sanded the hat too (a process that's meant to be a part of the process per my learning efforts), but that's made it all splotchy. Don't know if I've ruined it or not. Gotta try a few things to see.

Next I have to sew in a sweatband, then shape the thing into a cowboy hat shape of some sort.

Lest one thinks I'm only into the cowboy hat thing, I can use the same block to make Indiana Jones style fedoras! So... you know.

Edited November 18, 2024 by The Folk Prophet

[The Folk Prophet]

Here's the splotchy result of the sanding. I'm not sure if it's because the sanding process isn't meant for wool, or if I did something wrong, or if the fact that it was cheap means the dye isn't as consistent, and sanding brought that out. I dunno. I don't know if it can be fixed. If not, I'll go with a "distressed" hat look for this one.

Edited November 20, 2024 by The Folk Prophet

[zil2]

46 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

decided I'd learn to make my own hat!!

So when are you changing your screen name to "The Mad Hatter" or maybe "The Mad Cowboy Hatter"?

[The Folk Prophet]

2 minutes ago, zil2 said:

So when are you changing your screen name to "The Mad Hatter" or maybe "The Mad Cowboy Hatter"?

We'll have to see if my hat making mania lasts or if it's just a passing phase first.  

Edited November 18, 2024 by The Folk Prophet

[zil2]

None of your images shows for me - they're all grey blocks with a grey circle-bar sign in the middle.  In another browser, they're black and the icon is white.

[The Folk Prophet]

2 minutes ago, zil2 said:

None of your images shows for me - they're all grey blocks with a grey circle-bar sign in the middle.  In another browser, they're black and the icon is white.

Argh. I was afraid of that. I thought for sure I could share them. Darn.

Okay...thinking on solutions....

[zil2]

1 minute ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Okay...thinking on solutions....

You can upload them here, look at the bottom-left of the editor window when typing a response.

[The Folk Prophet]

@zil2 try again.

[The Folk Prophet]

6 minutes ago, zil2 said:

You can upload them here, look at the bottom-left of the editor window when typing a response.

Right. But I already have them all online, so creating the links seemed the obvious.

Thanks.

Edit: Maybe that'll be better though...so links don't have to be clicked. It's just.... then I have to download them and re-upload them and....argh.  

Edited November 18, 2024 by The Folk Prophet

[zil2]

37 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

@zil2 try again.

Hooray!  That works.

 

37 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Edit: Maybe that'll be better though...so links don't have to be clicked. It's just.... then I have to download them and re-upload them and....argh.  

Edit your OP.  Cut the first URL (leaving the cursor where the text was).  Click the "Other Media" button in the lower right corner of the editor window.  Choose "Insert Image from URL".  Paste your URL.    At least, that would work for an actual image URL, but not for the google, I think...  Test... Yeah, nope, gives an error because it's not really an image but a webpage.  Ah, but after you load the image page, click the image to get it alone, you can then right click and get the image URL and use that:

[zil2]

Meanwhile, that's a nice hat-band.

The splotchy just makes it look like it's been out on the range a while.

Enjoy your hobby, however long it lasts.

[The Folk Prophet]

15 minutes ago, zil2 said:

Ah, but after you load the image page, click the image to get it alone, you can then right click and get the image URL and use that:

Actually I can just paste that link and it converts it for me into the post. So even easier....... after jumping through 6 hoops.

Thanks. OP edited.

[The Folk Prophet]

23 minutes ago, zil2 said:

Meanwhile, that's a nice hat-band.

Yeah, I've been tooling leather long enough to know what I'm doing! It sure turned out darker than intended. That's because I know what I'm doing tooling....but not dying leather. I used a leather dye called "light brown". And, silly me, expected it to turn out light brown. (Apparently you have to cut the dye with a thinner to get it lighter and the "light brown" is just the color tone, not the darkness.)

23 minutes ago, zil2 said:

The splotchy just makes it look like it's been out on the range a while.

I actually prefer that look, and have no consternation over the fact that it's splotchy relative to the final look of a hat to wear. But... I do have consternation over the fact that it wasn't intentional, because I'm learning, and want to know WHY! I want to be able to control that. And ruining a $30 felt is fine. But if I get a $200 felt I don't want to do something I don't mean to do! So... ??? Yeah.

Edited November 18, 2024 by The Folk Prophet

[Traveler]

There is a story about a cowboy that after weeks riding the range and herding cattle – took a vacation to the big city and walked into a bar.  The locals began to laugh at his funny looking pants.

The cowboy looked at his audience and smiled – “These are not pants but what we call chaps.  They protect our pants from being ripped by brush and our legs from being scratched while we are out riding the range herding cattle.

The locals then asked about his funny hat that was unlike their baseball caps worn backwards.

Again, the cowboy smiled – “This is a cowboy hat that keeps the sun out of our eyes and off our faces and nick, so we don’t get sunburned while we are out all day riding the range herding cattle.

Then one local noticed his tennis shoes and asked why would a cowboy wear tennis shoes?

The cowboy looked at the local sternly and said – “We wear tennis shoes so you can tell that we are not truck drivers.

 

The Traveler

[mordorbund]

Clickbait thread. Advertises hats but it’s all about tech support.

[The Folk Prophet]

43 minutes ago, mordorbund said:

Clickbait thread. Advertises hats but it’s all about tech support.

Yeah...but now that we've got the tech issues resolved......  

[The Folk Prophet]

Just finished sewing in the sweatband.

A few interesting (maybe) notes:

1. I wear a size 7 1/8 (57cm), but it's tight. I prefer to get a 7 1/4 (58cm) hat and put some sizers in the sides. Then it fits slightly looser, but still fits. It wouldn't be as good in the wind...but...

Anyhow, apparently you're supposed to buy a size up in your block to allow for the space of the sweatband. I assumed the block would accommodate for that. Maybe some do. Mine doesn't. I got a block in 58cm. After the sweatband, it's clearly a 57cm sized hat now. It fits. But it's snug. Apparently I should have gotten a 59cm.

2. I'm bad at hand sewing things. I think I only pricked my finger like 6 times... And only made myself bleed once. And the stitch-line is not very straight. That won't matter because it'll be under the hat band. But... Yeah.

Alternatively, since the guy who made the block custom makes them in his shop... maybe he could make a 57.5cm block. Shrug.

Edited November 19, 2024 by The Folk Prophet

[The Folk Prophet]

My wife sewed a liner too out of some satin I got. But... the satin is too thin so it doesn't stay well. And... when I measured it out, apparently I went a bit too small, so it doesn't quite fit.

I ordered some heaver satin material and we'll try again:

[The Folk Prophet]

Just for fun I tried my hand at a Fedora style hat ribbon. I just taped it in place, so it isn't lying flat. But not bad. The middle needs to be tighter so it gets scrunched just a bit in the center too.

[The Folk Prophet]

I tacked the ribbon to itself:

I didn't get the center tight enough still, and didn't get the actual ribbon tight enough for the hat. I'd have to be more careful actually doing this for realsies, obvious. This one isn't going to be a fedora... so the western band goes back on!

[Carborendum]

Does anyone know if there is a name for the type of hat that the Man from Snowy River was wearing?

[The Folk Prophet]

47 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

Does anyone know if there is a name for the type of hat that the Man from Snowy River was wearing?

Akubra makes a "Snowy River" hat:

https://www.davidmorgan.com/shop/product/83/snowy-river-hat/

It's described as a "classic Australian outback hat", so that's probably the name of it if any.

Edited November 21, 2024 by The Folk Prophet

[The Folk Prophet]

Here's a vid of me "firing" it. I did it way more than I should have. But... you know... it was so fun! I don't know if it evened out the color. I mean, obviously if I kept going, eventually it would, indeed, even out the color. You know...all black. It did seem to make the hat smoother

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOLt9Ts09YF7vzrJtuJTwNin9CON23g28x-1Gg1sNoYXt6-EeMUaEx8PofBk1oCag/photo/AF1QipPESH-EJfR07QysTqEswbXXUh8tvTly3EiyZUrT?key=TnRxUTF1cUY5X0lXYlRNNkNpbm13NlhPRFZaQkRB

Edited November 22, 2024 by The Folk Prophet

[The Folk Prophet]

Shaped! So shaping it was harder than anticipated...but also, not so hard... except the symmetry thing. But, you know...the hand-shaped imperfections adds character...right? Right?! RIGHT!?!

Edited November 22, 2024 by The Folk Prophet

[The Folk Prophet]

So I'm actually pretty impressed by the effect the "firing" had. It made a big difference in texture and color.