Reblocking a Christy’s

[imagine671]

I rediscovered this Christy’s fedora I picked up in the late 2000s, which got little to no use. As you can see from the photo, it was very tapered. It reminds me of the HJ I used to own from the same period. They feel like identical hats. Anyway, I had such success reblocking my Fed IV a while back, I decided to have a go with the Christy’s and I’m pretty pleased with the result. Here are some before, during and after shots. The colour differences are probably just due to lighting.

[Western New York Indy]

Looks great You really got a nice straight sided result, which isn't an easy feat, considering what you were working with! Did you wet block, dry block, or steam block it? I'm just interested in which version of the blocking process you used, because that is an awesome result!

-WNY Indy

[Indiana Jeff]

Total transformation. Looks great.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

[imagine671]

Thanks for the kind words!

Did you wet block, dry block, or steam block it? I'm just interested in which version of the blocking process you used, because that is an awesome result!

Thanks for this. I steamed the crown before stretching it onto the block, and while it was on the block, I steamed it further to help tease out any ripples, etc. After pulling and teasing the felt to the desired amount, I let everything dry for 24+ hours so the felt could fix its shape. During that time, I also stretched the hat band separately to mitigate any shrinkage due to exposure to steam (and it had shrunk over time anyway). After that, I then went through the process of sewing in the band, lining and ribbon before applying the final bash with a bit of steam. I don’t have a flange, so I just ironed the brim sandwiched between two cotton cloths on a flat surface (large tile) before steaming and shaping. Finished the job with a brushing and pretty pleased with the result given the materials, as you say.