Club Obi Wan

Is it possible to fill a moth bite in a vintage hat?

Hi Schwammy. I just went through this drill yesterday with exactly the same question. The overall answer is 'no'. Regards. Michaelson

Holes in vintage hats?? how do you get holes in your hat??? I better start reviewing hat care tutorials...

Holes in vintage hats?? how do you get holes in your hat???

As he said in his post: moths. :junior: -IJ

What is a moth??

Sorry, Michaelson, I didn't see your previous post on this. I still don't see it.

Actually, I don't believe that it can't be done, because I had a hatter repair a hole in a hat once, and I was trying to remember how he did it.

I seem to recall him mixing Elmer's glue with shavings or crumbs of the felt scraped with a razor blade.

Here's the only tutorial I could find that mentions that method, though it's not specifically addressing fedoras here:

http://www.reiss.dk/hats/categories/Res ... ontent.asp

I also have had moth holes in clothes re-woven by folks who do nothing but re-weave clothes for a living, so I am a firm believer that it can be done one way or another.

What is a moth??

Think a butterfly with grayish-brown wings, is only active at night, and eats holes in clothing (especially wool). :junior: -IJ

Oh ok i know what it is now, thx and schwammy hope u can fix that man

The problem with SOME moth holes is, that they leave some sort of "ink" in the hole that - when you start to pounce it - shows up even worse. So be carefull. You can use the trick with the glue, however the spot will still be visible after the "operation" and also quite stiff compared to the rest of the felt. If it's only a small spot I recommend leaving it as is.

Regards,

Marc

Yep, moth slobber I call it. It is actually the excretement from the larvae as he feasts and grows on the fiber. Perhaps, it is worse than slobber, now that I think of it. Anyways, when you go go pounce that spot smooth, the stain appears. It surrounds the bite, sometimes the size of a penny. I have had no success in getting it out. Fedora

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal...

Thanks for the advice. I shall proceed cautiously.

The aforementioned site also suggests storing a moth-damaged hat in a plastic bag with some moth balls for three weeks. Is the idea of this to kill any larvae that may be imbeddded?

Yes. The odor of the mothballs will permeate the hat, and is a repellent to the larvae. Cedar also works well....you can get the cedar balls at Wal-Mart, and there is a website on the package where you can get cedar spray(probably oil based), that you can use to reactivate the cedar after it has lost its scent......

Well, those moths better keep of my hat, this is all new to me, am I likely to get hat moths.?

And what is a Moth.? ( Only joking, AJ you cracked me up with that one)

You know, I have never seen any of my wool clothes damaged by moths. Back when I was a kid, most folks used moth balls. Nowadays, either the houses are so tight that they don't get in, or we have less of them. I have wool sweaters in a bottom drawer, and since I got too fat for them, they have been there for years. No moth damage, and no moth balls either. I was so afraid that my vintage hats would attract them, that my upstairs hat room smells like a box of moth balls. I think if I had to do it over, I would have just bought cedar and the cedar oil. Smells better. Oh, the moths that lay their eggs on felt hats and wool, are not the sort of moth you see flying around at night. Wool moths look more like little flies. Fedora

schwammy wrote: The aforementioned site also suggests storing a moth-damaged hat in a plastic bag with some moth balls for three weeks. Is the idea of this to kill any larvae that may be imbeddded?

Seems that might be a good preventative measure when getting a hat (if you can stand the smell of moth balls).

I have a couple of fedora's that are in a very thin plastic ( in the box they where shipped in ) with a piece of cedar. does anyone know if this is a good idea or not?

Or more importantly do they do that to beaver felt?

So moth "attack" wool and there is no way to fix it until schwammy discovers one , but in the mean time whats the best way to take care of your hat?

Does anyone have a moth damaged POS that she/he would be willing to part with for little to nothing? - I'd like to try out some theories. The more moth holes with and without slobber, the better.

Thanks,

Marc

Just to stick my head in here one more time, schwammy, you didn't miss it here. I posted it at another forum, and discussed this very topic with Fedora day before yesterday offline, so you didn't miss a thing. The timing of your question was just ironic, as I've never seen a hat with these infamous moth holes either until I found a vintage hat in a local antique store this past weekend, and wondered if it was worth attempting to save. I do not plan on picking it up after my research.

Anyway, you didn't miss my discussions here.

Regards! Michaelson

Oh, right now, I know what they look like Steve, all try and keep the little sods away from my AB.

From what I've been told, Ceder oil might actually be more effective and it's more natural.

Anyone have any idea what chemicals go into moth-balls?

According to the box that I have: 99.9% Naphthalene and .1% inert ingredients, whatever that is.
The box also says for use ONLY on cloth containing wool or wool blends.

Moths will eat any animal matter such as hair, bone, ivory, wool, leather, feathers. Cedar oil will work just as well as moth balls. Also watch out for carpet beetles. These little brown oblong beetles have a light brown stripe across their back and can do as much damage to a great hat as a moth.
I just attended a curatorial class on insect damage and there are alot of little "buggers" waiting to get a hold of your fedoras
Curator Rick
P.S. Naptha can cause kidney and nerve damage if inhailed too long. Please be careful with the moth balls. I have a personal experience with the stuff.