How to curl the brim of a hat im making without a flange?

[CaptainFach]

Hey guys, im new here, and thought this would be an ok place to ask about making my first indy hat. So i think i have most of the procedure down, but one thing i cant find is how people curl the brim without any sort of mold. I know its been done because ive watched a guy make a hat with nothing more than a foam block and a Caroline. No special tools or strings or pins or anything. But one thing he never showed was how he curled the brim. I never got to talk to him since he hadnt uploaded in a year or so.

So what, you guys got any tips? Thanks in advance!

[Chewbacca Jones]

How curled are we talking?
My first attempt was a Last Crusade curl that involved flattening a snap brim, then curling by hand. I would only use my method on a hat that I trust the dye on, though... I use a lot of water.

[jlee562]

I am morbidly curious as to what a hat made on a foam block with no special tools ends up looking like. That seems like a lot of shortcuts.

You can certainly add a bit of shaping to the brim after its been trimmed. One of my least favorite things about the Fed IV is its lack of flange, so I definitely rolled over the edges a bit by just working with my fingers. Maybe that might work for an SOC type hat, but I suspect it wouldn't look as good compared to the other hats which have a definite flange.



I bet "the turn" wouldn't work out quite the same on an unflanged brim as well.

[backstagejack]

Just spray it down, steam it and use a curling iron!!!!

Just kidding. Don't do that at all.

[Screencapped]

This helped me before I had my own brim blocks: https://youtu.be/6jvpVpbnZE0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk

[C.A.K. Comedy Props]

I curved my hat’s brim by putting it on my head after I wet the brim and put the shaping into it by rolling the brim upward. I only did it on the sides and back and left the front a bit droopy as it is in Raiders. The raiders turn already helps the shape, it just needs a bit of curl.

I’m the foam hat block guy if you didn’t already know btw.