Birthday gift for Dad With outdoor pics

[Ohio Jones]

Well...this is the first hat I have made since my auto accident. It was a touch late for my dads birthday...but he got it. He wanted a gray fedora to wear to church and he supplied the ribbon for the hat.

It came out as nice as could be expected since I used a cheap hat body. It was very thin and I thought there was no way this could come out decent.

Much to my surprise it came out alright. He is going to love it.

It appears to taper slightly in the photos but I can assure you it is dead straight.

I guess it is time to try a nice beaver body...







I do have a little more steaming to smooth out some slight wrinkles that I noticed after the photos





I used like I said a cheap hat body from hatsupply as this color was not offered in the mens dress body. I had high hopes for it...but it seemed to taper slightly with the humidity in the air. I doubt it was only do to that..but she didnt hold her shape....but Dad loved it ...and even wore it to church today.

Enjoy the pics.....even though the hat has changed since the others were posted

[DR Ulloa]

Great hat Ohio! I really like the contrast between the color felt and the ribbon. Just beautiful. I don't think your dad could have received a better birthday present.

Dave

[WalkingEye]

Nice looking hat Ohio!

hrmmm cheap thin hat body, i'm gonna guess... judithm?

what is the ribbon color? i like it alot. on my monitor it looks a bit like chocolate brown ribbon i saw at a craft store.

if you find beaver bodies let me know! i really want to try a beaver body on my block.

[Hollowpond]

Nice nice! Very vintage looking IMO!

Regards

Travis

[Indiana G]

the hat colour looks yummy to say the least......beautiful colour combo. i see that your ribbon work has improved dramatically as well. very well done my friend. what's so bad about the felt though? soft is good for a dress hat......unless its sacrificing the density of the felt for it.......in that case....iron, iron, iron, iron.....oh and one last thing.....iron.

dude, i think that is a beautiful dress hat. i'm sure the old man is proud. just think, everytime he gets a compliment he'll say, "thank you, my son made it....he's a hatmaker"

cheers my friend.


g

[Ohio Jones]

Nice looking hat Ohio!

hrmmm cheap thin hat body, i'm gonna guess... judithm?

what is the ribbon color? i like it alot. on my monitor it looks a bit like chocolate brown ribbon i saw at a craft store.

if you find beaver bodies let me know! i really want to try a beaver body on my block.

Thanks guys,

It feels good to get back into the swing of things. The hat body was a real concern at first. I got it from Hatsupply and had to go with the cheaper hat body to get the color. She has nice mens dress bodies....nice and thick and soft...but only a few colors. My dad had been hinting around to a nice light gray...and in the thicker dress bodies all she had was a very dark gray.

I blocked it and when she was dry it was easily crushed. I put some stiffener on it and she tightened up. I was hesitant to put the sweat band in...but went for it and the rest was history. ( stitch job is incredible Indy G...20 minutes...lol)

The ribbon he got from hatsupply. It is called Flax. It actually looks a lot darker in the pics..but it is the color of coffee with a lot of cream in it...with a goldish shimmer to it in the light. He wanted an antique gold..but went for that.

I cant wait to make another few hats..but I have a super sweet hat block to finish up for a good friend of mine.

thanks again for all the kind words

[BendingOak]

I like the choice of ribbon color to the color of the felt. I'm sure dad will be happy with his gift.

20 minutes to sew in a sweatband. Boy am I slow.

[Indiana G]

I like the choice of ribbon color to the color of the felt. I'm sure dad will be happy with his gift.

20 minutes to sew in a sweatband. Boy am I slow.

20 minutes gets me to about 3 o'clock on the hat .......and that's in high gear!!!!

to me, the most time consuming activities is pouncing and sewing the sweat......time consuming because you have to sustain a good level of care for a reaaaaaallly long time......it's easy to get sloppy in these steps. i like the other steps.....these 2, i need to go to a happy place when doing it

[BendingOak]

It take me about 12 hours to make a hat that is spread over 2 weeks. I make a few hats at a time. It takes me 1 to 1 1/2 hours to sew in a sweat and after I have to ice my neck and back.

[Ohio Jones]

G and Oak,

I have to say that I DO NOT use any powered machine to help me sew in the sweats....its still by hand but with a little help (wink wink G)

It works so well that I could not think of doing it any other way! The first one I sewed in I thought it was pure misery. I used something else that we had in the shop for years...and now its my favorite little thing. I still mark it out ,in fact to make it not go so quick...I even marked the spacing exact all the way around with a taylors tape so the stitches were exactly the same. The hardest part is the first step...then its cake.

I can start stop anywhere in the run with no problems. I tried sewing it in like Marc did in a tutorial by pre sewing it in then flipping the sweat inside out...and it came out all puckered...flush here....sticking out there, and sticking in to far in the rest of the places.

I also use a product called Dyneem. It is a fastflight bow string material. Its thin...and slightly waxed and strong. I think one strand can hold around 100 pounds. It comes in many colors and works great.

But I do now enjoy the sweat process and it comes out spot on every time.

Cheers guys

[Capt.Herp]

Nice looking hat Ohio!

hrmmm cheap thin hat body, i'm gonna guess... judithm?

what is the ribbon color? i like it alot. on my monitor it looks a bit like chocolate brown ribbon i saw at a craft store.

if you find beaver bodies let me know! i really want to try a beaver body on my block.

Thanks guys,

It feels good to get back into the swing of things. The hat body was a real concern at first. I got it from Hatsupply and had to go with the cheaper hat body to get the color. She has nice mens dress bodies....nice and thick and soft...but only a few colors. My dad had been hinting around to a nice light gray...and in the thicker dress bodies all she had was a very dark gray.

I blocked it and when she was dry it was easily crushed. I put some stiffener on it and she tightened up. I was hesitant to put the sweat band in...but went for it and the rest was history. ( stitch job is incredible Indy G...20 minutes...lol)

The ribbon he got from hatsupply. It is called Flax. It actually looks a lot darker in the pics..but it is the color of coffee with a lot of cream in it...with a goldish shimmer to it in the light. He wanted an antique gold..but went for that.

I cant wait to make another few hats..but I have a super sweet hat block to finish up for a good friend of mine.

thanks again for all the kind words

Just curious what your dad's reaction was. I know if my kid did something like that for me, I'd be thrilled, and I'd probably try to figure out a way to wear it to bed, lol. Really cool present.

[DanielJones]

Looks great! I agree with John, I like the choice of ribbon against that grey. So, how does your Pop look in the hat?

Cheers!

Dan

[Ohio Jones]

Looks great! I agree with John, I like the choice of ribbon against that grey. So, how does your Pop look in the hat?

Cheers!

Dan

I will post some pics this weekend. He always looks good in hats.......I wish I did...lol....

[IndianaChris711]

Ohio Jones, your dad is going to love that hat. Maybe you have give it to him already. You made your dad's birthday a really special day. Great hat, soon enough we will be buying hats from Ohio Jones.

IndianaChris