Club Obi Wan

Hello everyone!
I recently finished a hat that I wore on a trip to Florida, which is my newest addition to my collection of obsessions. It is 5.5” tall, with a brim 2 3/4 front and 2 1/2 sides, and 1 1/2 inch ribbon. The felt is darker brown fur blend (don’t know what but probably has some rabbit). The ribbon is from todds and is fairly close to the movie, but on camera in certain lighting it looks purple. This hat is more of a prototype until I can get a pure rabbit body.
The fur felt is very soft though, especially when pounced with about 600 grit paper. Haven’t gotten 1,000 yet.
The bash I did was based off of the Hawaii / South America bash, since the hat I was using as a reference looks a little darker. When I get the lighter pure rabbit, that will be my SoC, while this will be more for going to somewhere in casual- fancy clothes, like a John Williams concert I went to in Charlotte (NC) a while ago.
But now, enough talk!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9mb0HHIFmapvhn5L2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Until I figure out posting with imgur this will do. Feel free to repost these on this thread if anyone of you want to make it easier.
Any critiques would be helpful. Thanks!
C.A.K.

You made that?

It's beautiful!

Awesome hat and awesome work. congrats man. Its beautiful.

Looks good!

Thanks for the kind words everyone!
More pics coming soon.

Canyon wrote:You made that?

It's beautiful!

Yep, even with a foam block I carved out of multiple layers haha
Not the most professional equipment, but the results speak for themselves.

Following, hat looks great!

Amazing work, man! Hats off to you!

Great skill.. lucky you.

Fine looking hat

Good start man!
a critique? need to exercize on bow-work imho! but good start anyway!

andrea1984 wrote:Good start man!
a critique? need to exercize on bow-work imho! but good start anyway!

Yeah bows are not my strong suit haha. My next hat will be a bit better with bow shape hopefully. I think I figured out how to fix it.

Nice work! At first, I was thinking, "But the bow's on the wrong side..." Then I realized you shot yourself in the mirror -- silly me

The hat color looks good. As you noted, the movie hats look different colors in different shots/lighting all the time, anyway.
Yeah, the Todd's ribbon does have a purplish hue. I know, since I have some, too. Compared side-by-side to more accurate ribbon, you can really see the difference.

In the past, David Garrison at Garrison Hats has been willing to part with some of his ribbon at a fair price.
Or try contacting Michelle at Herbert Johnson -- maybe she'd be willing to sell you a few yards.

Where did you get your hat body for this project?

I got it from HatSupply.com
Very affordable and pretty high quality fur. The Todd's ribbon was more of a placeholder for now, thank you for the suggestions!
And thanks to everybody else's compliments as well!

Finishing up a video that I will post up on the YouTubes Hope you enjoy!

Is this your fist attempt? If so, ....you did a good job! Thought here, if you decide to make more for yourself, always hold on to this one, at it is your 'first' child, if you will! Nice job and keep striving, you show promise in hat making. W>

C.A.K. Comedy Props wrote:Finishing up a video that I will post up on the YouTubes Hope you enjoy!

Looking forward to seeing the step-by-step video!

WConly wrote:Is this your fist attempt? If so, ....you did a good job! Thought here, if you decide to make more for yourself, always hold on to this one, at it is your 'first' child, if you will! Nice job and keep striving, you show promise in hat making. W>

Not my first, but my third raiders I’ve made. It’s the first one that looks good though. This one is definitely my favorite so far!

Very nice, C.A.K.!

It looks like you've incorporated some critical details in that one that most people miss.

I'm anxious to follow your progress and then perhaps place an order one of these days!

-CJ

Thanks a lot guys! You’re compliments and useful information is what inspires me to improve my work! I still have a little bit to do before I can start selling any, but when I do, it will be all I would ever want to do. Fedoras and other hats are something I wish would make a comeback to our society. I love working on hats and making the looks of the hats perfect. I am a perfectionist and always like to tinker with things that I feel aren’t exact.
So anyway here are some other updates:
The video will hopefully be out around 3:30-5:00 tomorrow, and it is pretty long, so be prepared. (Around 20 minutes)
My next Raiders hat will be an adventure style SoC in a lighter color pure rabbit. This will be for my costume and traveling to places like on vacation.
Alongside that will probably be a lighter color fur blend CS.
I will still be using this Raiders as a more formal dress hat or if I just feel like using it somewhere more like a jungle than a desert.
After that, I have no idea.

The video is now up!
https://youtu.be/2KNcAfQzvvE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

C.A.K. Comedy Props wrote:The video is now up!
https://youtu.be/2KNcAfQzvvE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ohno...your video has been blocked.
I hope you can get that issue straightened out so we can see your work process!

Howard Weinstein wrote:

C.A.K. Comedy Props wrote:The video is now up!
https://youtu.be/2KNcAfQzvvE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ohno...your video has been blocked.
I hope you can get that issue straightened out so we can see your work process!

^this

That’s weird, it works when I sign in...
I’ll try to fix it soon so bear with me!
Edit: I will have it reuploded in like an hour or so.
Fixed it now: https://youtu.be/CUF22EKJOKg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks for letting me know

Great video and a terrific hat with loads of character. I did a similar thing with a hat body I got from AdVintage a couple of years back (I used an industrial roll of kitchen paper covered in a plastic bag). I found that I was able to smooth out any brim kinks I didn't want by wetting the brim and applying some spray starch as I tweaked it while it dried. Very impressed by the results you've achieved. Incidentally, AdVintage's online shop will sell you terrific Indy ribbon by the metre (https://www.replix.de/huete/hutzutaten/ ... ante?c=164)
I've bought some and it's very good.

Meant to add: that page defaults to the black colour but the drop down menu has an Indy Brown option.

Welcome C.A.K! Happy hatting to you!


In regards to getting the original Indy ribbon in small lengths without having to order large quantities from T.W.Brachers there is another way...

Happy to let you all know that Guy Morse Brown Blockmakers in the UK buy bulk ribbon from Brachers and sell off in lengths of 5 meters. Here is the link for the shop.
Scroll down to Galloon ribbon and choose the dark brown in 38mm.

https://www.hatblocks.co.uk/online-shop/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Happy hatting to you all!

Michelle and Team HJ

Great tip, Michelle - thanks. I had no idea this site existed. Will use it.

NoBadDates wrote:Welcome C.A.K! Happy hatting to you!


In regards to getting the original Indy ribbon in small lengths without having to order large quantities from T.W.Brachers there is another way...

Happy to let you all know that Guy Morse Brown Blockmakers in the UK buy bulk ribbon from Brachers and sell off in lengths of 5 meters. Here is the link for the shop.
Scroll down to Galloon ribbon and choose the dark brown in 38mm.

https://www.hatblocks.co.uk/online-shop/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Happy hatting to you all!

Michelle and Team HJ

Thanks a lot! This really helps out my ribbon searching!

C.A.K. Comedy Props wrote:That’s weird, it works when I sign in...
I’ll try to fix it soon so bear with me!
Edit: I will have it reuploded in like an hour or so.
Fixed it now: https://youtu.be/CUF22EKJOKg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Thanks for letting me know

Wow! You are way more ambitious than most of us who aren't actual mat-makers.
Some of us have wood blocks and do our own tweaking, but you really started from scratch with the unshaped hat bodies. Impressive!

You're right that your Raiders hat #2 looks very different (and really good!) on your head. As many have observed, Harrison Ford's movie hats varied not only from film to film but even frame to frame. You nailed the well-worn, beat-up look of the Raiders hat. All you really need is correct-colored ribbon from either of the sources above -- a finishing touch for an already well-done hat. You'll be glad you got the better ribbon.

Thanks for sharing your process. Not only does it look like you had lots of fun working on the hats, but when you're done you've essentially created wearable art.

Ordered the new ribbon today! Watch for a new update.
Thank you all for your amazing help and complements!

Okay everyone!
It’s been a really long time since I posted anything but I put the new ribbon on the hat, lowered the pinch by maybe 1/2 inch or so, and tested out how to achieve a more SoC look. Let me know what you think! (Also since I can’t sew very good, the top corner of the front of the bow came apart, but whatever)

Testing out this image thing so I hope it works.
More pics soon after my animation camp thing.
https://imgur.com/gallery/Z216Ox3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (Link in case the other thing doesn’t work.)

I think you did a great job on your hat - but I think it would look much better with a wider brim. Sonething to consider for the next one?

Another update! (Yay)
So I determined from measuring and just from the ribbon to felt ratio that my hat was about 1/4 in. Too tall. So to fix this, I sanded my block down to almost 5.5 inches tall exactly, and re blocked my hat. This allowed me to gain 3 new features.
1) my hat was shorter
2) the brim is a little wider
3) I re-did the bash to match the Idol Grab fedora, which is basically a SoC but with less dirt or variation between shots.
Let me know what you think or what I should change to make it more accurate before I sew it.
https://imgur.com/gallery/Xa2OZhG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

C.A.K. Comedy Props wrote:Another update! (Yay)
So I determined from measuring and just from the ribbon to felt ratio that my hat was about 1/4 in. Too tall. So to fix this, I sanded my block down to almost 5.5 inches tall exactly, and re blocked my hat. This allowed me to gain 3 new features.
1) my hat was shorter
2) the brim is a little wider
3) I re-did the bash to match the Idol Grab fedora, which is basically a SoC but with less dirt or variation between shots.
Let me know what you think or what I should change to make it more accurate before I sew it.
https://imgur.com/gallery/Xa2OZhG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The improvements look good!
I admire your nerve in tackling this project and learning as you go.

Be careful with those pins, though -- unless you're pinning it to your head to keep the wind from blowing it off!

Not bad!

Howard Weinstein wrote: Be careful with those pins, though -- unless you're pinning it to your head to keep the wind from blowing it off!

I’ll be fine...
Besides, you know what a cautious fellow I am.

Hey everyone!
So I finished up a hat for a commission I got through my Etsy shop. Just thought I’d share this because I’m really happy with how this hat came out and I made it for another person, which is really exciting!
Pics are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/tzUaQdRHavJv4v9b8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
However this doesn’t mean I am making hats to sell as a regular business yet, but I may make a few one-off hats from time to time in the future.
So yeah, enjoy,
CAK

You make some good looking hats! I'm very impressed. Maybe one day get your etsy store posted on the vendor list? I know I'm intrigued!

Just one thing to say : HATS OFF

Great job on the hat! My first time blocking a hat was a nightmare, but it got a little easier each time. Do you have a flange for the brim? If not I would suggest trolling ebay or etsy, unless you have the funds for a good one (they can be upwards of $175!). I recently found a vintage 3" brim flange on etsy for around $75, and I got some vintage block & flange sets on ebay a while back for less than $100.

The snap brim certainly helps achieve the look, especially when paired with the turn.

Happy hatting!