Can a wool hat be reshaped?

[brimorse]

Greetings Gents!

I was recently given a black wool hat made by Dirty Billy. It's in good shape despite having lost some of same.

Is there a way to reshape it? Not being a hatter, I'm a little lost...

Attached is an image. Thank you in advance!

[Michael Comer]

Re: Can a wool hat be reshaped?

You can wet it down, mold it the way you want and let it dry. A hat stretcher would be a good thing to have if you do that to keep it from tightening up on you.

[brimorse]

Re: Can a wool hat be reshaped?

Thank you for the information Michael, I really appreiate it!

Brian

You can wet it down, mold it the way you want and let it dry. A hat stretcher would be a good thing to have if you do that to keep it from tightening up on you.

[DocReynolds]

Re: Can a wool hat be reshaped?

Boil water in a kettle and steam the hat, re-shape it then put it in ther freezer. It will then retain the shape that you give to it

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Can a wool hat be reshaped?

Hallo!

In brief and to over generalize...

Much depends upon the actual material of the hat such as high fur content such as beaver or hare, versus wool. "Cheaper " hats tend to be a mix of "wool and cardboard" heavily stiffened with more than its share of shellac.

IMHO, IF a hat is of a basic quality and if the stiffening has not aged/washed out of it, it can be "reshaped" and given a new shape yes. If the hat is not, and is essentially what was once referred to as a "Hill Billy Hood," one would have to readd a measure of shellac stiffener to give it a shape it will hold for more than a few seconds.

Curt