A new way to measure a hat

[jonbuilder]

I messure my hats with the use of a hat strecher, the type that are soild when completly closed with no gaps. Place the hat on the strecher so the bottom of the strecher is flush with the brim, open the strecher untill as snug as your like a hat to fit on your head. Remove the hat and messure around the strecher at the base with a cloth tape.

[Justdog]

Reading the recent thread by Dumbjaw, who is the latest victim of a measurement-challenged ebay seller got me thinking. I was thinking that the easiest way for a clueless yokel to measure the size of a hat is to measure the circumference around the OUTSIDE of the hat, where the ribbon meets the brim. So I tried that with all of my hats (7 at the time) to see what would happen. The answer, I found to be pretty amazing. Without exception, the circumference measurement around the outside of the hat was exactly 1 inch bigger than the innner circumference - this is with no allowance for ribbons, bows, felt thickness, etc. So to find the hat size, I just subtracted 1" from the outer circumference and divided by PI. For the metric hat size, just measure in centimeters and subtract 2.5 cm - it's that simple.

In fact, the method revealed that three of my hats are 7-3/4 exactly, one is about a third of a size bigger, two are 7-5/8, and one has shrunk over time to 7-1/2. I'm still amazed this works, especially considering that I'm measuring felt, straw, corduroy, etc. This could be a very easy question to ask a seller - to wrap a string around the outside of the crown and measure it, rather than trying to do a very difficult inner circumference measurement.

Clearly, my data is only good for my own hats. So I put it out to fellow loungers: will those people out there who have a fabric tape reproduce my method and see if the results are consistent - does the outer tape measurement minus 1 inch give the correct hat size for your inventory?

Cheers, Carl

PS: I forgot to mention how I measured the inner circumference for comparison - I put each hat gently on a hat stretcher, cranked it out until the hat fit normally (like on my head) then measured the circumference around the hat stretcher where the bottom of the hat was - at the base of the stretcher.

Just measured my OR using your method. Results = 22 5/8 there abouts.
Measuring hats should be a sticky.

[carldelo]

Just measured my OR using your method. Results = 22 5/8 there abouts.
Measuring hats should be a sticky.

How does that compare with the actual size of the hat?

[D.W. Suratt]

Man all these numbers are making me dizzy . I try to keep it simple, I never buy hats that don't have the size tag in them

[carldelo]

Man all these numbers are making me dizzy . I try to keep it simple, I never buy hats that don't have the size tag in them

Now, now, numbers are your friends - I tell my students that all the time. Besides, I have a hat with a size tag in it that I got 22 yrs ago - it's shrunk two full sizes since then, so a size tag doesn't necessarily guarantee a good fit.

[Justdog]

How does that compare with the actual size of the hat?

Was pretty surprised it is very accurate 7 1/4

[Justdog]

Now, now, numbers are your friends - I tell my students that all the time. Besides, I have a hat with a size tag in it that I got 22 yrs ago - it's shrunk two full sizes since then, so a size tag doesn't necessarily guarantee a good fit.

Precisely but it is a good start

[4spurs]

I wouldn't rely on either measurement.

The front to back, and side to side measuring has four possible points of screw up. Seriously, look at your hat, are you measuring from the inside of the front of the band to the inside of the back or from the felt front and back? You have no idea how they are measuring. Just lay a ruler across your hat and consider how many starting positions there are, try it.

As for measuring the circumference internally, forget it, you have no idea what tool they are using, a cloth tape or metal slide ruler, consequently their ability to get an accurate read is limited.

The outside circumference method sounds plausable, but if you are "buying w/o trying" be prepared to either stretch it, pad it, hold it, give it to a friend or resell it [including at a loss, that's the game].

[Mr E Train]

I wouldn't rely on either measurement.

The front to back, and side to side measuring has four possible points of screw up. Seriously, look at your hat, are you measuring from the inside of the front of the band to the inside of the back or from the felt front and back? You have no idea how they are measuring. Just lay a ruler across your hat and consider how many starting positions there are, try it.

As for measuring the circumference internally, forget it, you have no idea what tool they are using, a cloth tape or metal slide ruler, consequently their ability to get an accurate read is limited.

The outside circumference method sounds plausable, but if you are "buying w/o trying" be prepared to either stretch it, pad it, hold it, give it to a friend or resell it [including at a loss, that's the game].

4spurs, thanks for the reply. I moved my question out of this thread and created a separate thread, here, hoping to get more bites that way.