Reshaping my Akubra Federation Delux

[Paladin3]

Hello all,

I searched but I wanted some fresh input. My issue is that I have a Federation Delux that has a teardrop top on it and I want to correct it for a couple of reasons. How do I do this without damaging the hat?

[Ridgerunner58]

You could use light steam (emphasis on the light to avoid shrinking the felt). Pop the existing creases out and lightly steam the crown to try to get it back to an open crown, then put new creases in.

Or my preference is to use a spray bottle and cold water and do the same thing.

Pop the creases out. Mist the crown to get it slightly damp, but don't soak it. Work it a little to smooth out the felt and try to erase the existing crease.

You can either let it dry than way overnight, then recrease it the way you want it, or you can recrease it while still damp and let it dry to its new shape. You may have to keep "reminding" it of its new shape, but eventually it will take.

[Dalexs]

Did you buy the hat new with that bash, or did you do it yourself and how long has it been like that?
You may have a bit of trouble gettng the original shape completely out without reblocking the dome first.
But try some cold water first as mentioned.

[Paladin3]

Dalexs, I bought it without any shaping at all back in '02 and it has been like this since then...

Thank you for the help ridge runner, I think I will try it with a spray bottle and let it sit first.

[jlee562]

Pop it open and hit it with some steam. It's an Akubra, it's not going to be damaged by you changing the crease unless for some reason you're Edward Scissorhands.

[Paladin3]

I wound up using some steam. It turned out pretty good, but has a faint line where it used to be bashed. I love that hat and now I am wondering if I should try getting another one. It has been everywhere and I hate to retire it but it is developing inperfections that are from foul ups on my part when I moved or what have you.

Thanks all, the steam really worked pretty well.

[Bigfoot]

You shouldn't think of them as imperfections, hats develop character over time.

[Paladin3]

Oh I know but they are burrs, for lack of a better word, in the felt. That with the line that will not come out (maybe it will with time?) makes me think about a new hat.

[Kim Hoffman]

What is the nature of the line, a former crease? A hatmaker in Bisbee, Az., told me that when steaming a hat the steam should rise from a boiling "bubbling" water; a lesser steam source might cause "hairline cracks" in the felt. Perhaps an actual hatmaker here might comment or expand upon what I was told. As for a crease (bash) I wonder how permanent they might be? And what do you mean by "burr"?

[Paladin3]

Yes it is the former crease. The burrs are little places where the felt was caught on something and it... Well just formed a very small burr. I will post pictures sometime this week if I get the chance to put camera, hat, computer together. Maybe someone would know how to fix it. I dearly love that hat though! If I get another it might be the same thing or perhaps a different brand, but I usually stick with what I know once I find something that works.

[BendingOak]

I would have to see to see it to be sure but it might just need a little pouncing.


Hairline crack in a hat made up of just matted hair. There's a joke in there somewhere.


Most felt hats if the do "crack" is because of being very stiff ( from stiffener).

[Paladin3]

Well I steamed it and it still around the new folds of the fabric tries to go back to the original shape... Any suggestions?

[Kim Hoffman]

A stiffening agent causing cracks seems to make more sense. I say seems because my ignorance of hatmaking proceeds me. I know the rudimentaries but not the science. Pouncing, though, would likely solve the creasing issues. Good luck!

[BendingOak]

Re-blocking and ironing would correct the crease problem.

[Paladin3]

Pouncing? Ironing? With an iron as in on clothes?

[BendingOak]

Pouncing is like sanding but that's not going to really help that much without re-blocking the hat and ironing. Yes with an iron like for clothing but it isn't that simple either.

[Paladin3]

Ha! Of course not. Could not be that easy.

[darthjones]

Swales once told me that, when ironing the brim flat, I should spray the brim first and then put a thin layer of t-shirt on top of it before ironing. Works so VERY well that I have even done it on AB hats in the past.

Be very very careful though and test on something first if you can.

[BendingOak]

Why would you want to iron your brim flat?

[baddates1]

I suggest spraying it with a spray bottle filled with distilled water, and shaping it the way you want it. This for me(I also have an federation deluxe), I have to do it every night to shape it a little.

[afterthedog]

A few years ago my well intentioned mother-in law bought me an official, licensed, fur felt fedora that came with a tear drop crown . I took it to a local hatter to have him remove the tear drop and put in a center crease. Twenty bucks later I had what I asked for.

[DR Ulloa]

Cold water has always worked for me. A spray bottle, as mentioned above helped. Just wet the area that needs shaping and voila! Make sure to to soak all the way through. Once the felt begins to darken, stop wetting or it will sink into the core of the hat and that's not good.

Also, I'm with John. Don't iron the brim flat. You know how ridiculous kids look with the bill of their ball caps flat instead of with a a nice gentle curve? Yeah, same thing. Unless you are going for the Dudley Do-Right look, I'd stay away from ironing the brim flat.

Dave

[baddates1]

Something funny is that I once ironed my hat being told to use distilled water to dampen a cloth to iron it. Well... I got the iron out and ironed away and I was thinking, "this is too easy! gosh the brim looks nice!" I forgot about the dampened cloth! I didn't even do the dampened cloth! I thought I ruined the felt! This is what I was like:



]

And then I found out that the felt wasn't ruined so after a while of others trying to convince me, I was convinced it wasn't ruined.