What To Do With A Small Hat

[WarmWaves]

So I did a few searches for this and wasn't really able to find anything. A Few years ago, Michelle at HJ worked on a custom Idol Grab hat for me. At the time, I had longer hair that I was planning on cutting down the line so I requested she account for that and she made the hat a little more snug so it wouldn't be too big once the hair was gone. The hat is absolutely beautiful but, as expected, when trying it on it was a little too tight. I put it out on the shelf in my room as a show piece and it's been sitting there for the last couple of years.

Fast forward two years and the locks are gone, I'm back to short hair, and ready to rock my Idol Grab hat...only to find out that it's still too snug. It's just not comfortable to wear and given that the size of the haead plays a huge role in the shaping of the hat (especially the brim) I just don't think it's ever going to look right with the sizing being off.

I must mention here, Michelle did an amazing job and this is no way her fault, I just screwed up my measurements. That said, has anyone run into this problem before? I'm curious as to what my options are. I know there are hat stretchers and I'm wondering if I should pick one up. Do I just sell this one and go through the measurement and order process again? Love to hear your thoughts!

[Illinois_Jones]

Well sitting any felt hat on the shelf will shrink it some over time. Just the way it is. And why they make jacks that used to be standard equipment for every hat wearer.

That's really the only solution other than reblocking it. Or selling it and getting a new one. Get a jack and crank it up a size or two. Won't hurt it, and may actually help even more if you have a long oval head and you're looking for an SoC look. Plus it's an Indy hat; it's not supposed to be perfect.

[WarmWaves]

Yea, that’s been part of the problem. When the hat arrived, and even sitting on the stand it has a ton of character, but on my head it just looks kind of sterile. Looks like I’ll be investing in a hat stretcher to stretch this thing out a bit. I’ll also hit it with some steam to try and reshape a little bit. If that doesn’t work, I guess it’s back to the drawing board and I’ll have to sell it and order a beer one.

[Nosirrah]

If that doesn’t work, I guess it’s back to the drawing board and I’ll have to sell it and order a beer one.

An excellent idea.

[WarmWaves]

Hahaha, whoops! Freudian slip I guess...it has been a really long week!

[Illinois_Jones]

Yeah a felt hat is going to shrink some no matter what. That's what a jack is for; in the old days when men weren't wearing felt in summer and the hat sat in a box or shelf for three months they'd have to stretch it some come September or even just a wet or sweaty experience that can tighten the sweatband. Not to mention it's good for getting a handle on the hat to brush and clean it. A jack/stretcher is just a good tool to have if you're a hat person, whether fedoras or Westerns or flat caps or baseball, etc.

My rule of thumb is two sizes max, tho. Any more stretching and you're risking serious damage. It's always best if you're just trying to return it to its original size. One size extra is fine, two is usually okay depending on the hat, but three is just asking to tear the sweatband and ribbon.

[WarmWaves]

Awesome, thanks so much for these pointers. It's funny, I actually did some measuring last night and figured out that my original measurement was small by about one inch so we should be in the ballpark of this working by stretching up a size or two. I'll be looking into some hat stretchers to give it a try.

[Dr. Jones, Jr.]

I'd recommend a reblock personally; you get to keep a great quality hat for cheaper than you'd get a new one most likely. Of course, if there's a massive discrepancy in size, you might not have that choice. Just my $.02

[WarmWaves]

That may be an option if the stretching doesn't work. After measuring my head last night, I realized that I gave Michelle a measurement an inch smaller than what it should have been. My mistake when converting to CM. In the grand scheme of things, I'm not sure how large a discrepancy that is (I'm fairly new to hats and their sizes), but I can't imagine it being a huge skew.