Club Obi Wan

Hey everybody,

Don't post much, but I'm always thinking about props & costumes, and how I can improve on them. I've had my Rabbit Raiders fedora from Penman for just over a year now. I know one issue always concerning us fedora people is water. The risk of shrinkage, and misshaping of a bash is always present when rain is around. I'm a follower of TED Talks (stands for technology, entertainment, and design) it is an annual event where the best and brightest minds come together to give speeches and present new ideas. There was one I saw recently showing some new technology on waterproofing with nano technology. The video is amazing. I won't go into details, just watch it. Anyway, in the video it is mentioned about using this technology on textiles. I immediately think about using this on my fedora. I know it would take some test runs with felt samples to see how they react to the process, but I think it could be done. Imagine being able to swim in your fedora, jump out of the water, shake your head, and BOOM bone dry hat. Any thoughts from more knowledgeable people on this?
Video link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5L_vPkorBU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've seen similar demonstrations, could be for the same product, and wondered my self about hat or jacket implications.

The demonstration I saw applied the product to shoes and how they would stay clean even when stepping in mud. My thought was, "If the water is rejected by the outside surface of the material, wouldn't the same be true of the inside surface?" Meaning, what about sweaty feet? My feet sweat and instead of the sweat moving through the shoe material and evaporating, it hits the nano-barrier and is 'pushed' back into the shoe. The sweat has no way of escaping.

I have the same concern about the inside surface of the hat. Sure, it'll keep the rain off, but as I'm sweating on a hot day and the hat is keeping the sun off my skin, any sweat on my head will try to evaporate through the felt but become trapped and would condense on the inner surface of the hat.

I suppose reblocks would be out of the question. How to soak or steam a felt and stretch it over a block of the steam/water won't ever actually touch the felt?


Regards,

Indiana Jeff