Moth Bite Repair (send out)

[jamespowers]

I would like to see the vintage felt repair work that Art and RLK mentioned.

This is the back of two repairs on an old Stratoliner. I don't have pictures of the front of the hat but believe me, it is completely disguised. It looks as though they used some type of fabric backing to support whatever they did on the front side. If this hat had a liner, I would have never known what was done.

 

[tonyb]

Another reason why refurbishing is a riskier proposition than making a new hat from scratch ...

Everybody screws up occasionally. Conversations among hatters frequently turn to how we ruined a hat body or yards of especially nice NOS vintage ribbon trying to master this or that technique or piece of equipment. And sometimes you mess up doing the things you've done right the previous hundred times. It ... just ... happens.

With a new hat, you just toss it aside and grab a fresh body and start over. You chalk it up as the cost of continuing education. And the only person to suffer any damage is the hatter him- or herself.

With a refurb you just can't do that. A hatter has to be mindful that what is to him just another old hat might be something considerably more precious to that old hat's owner. So you have to get the owner's informed consent. You gotta let him know that there are risks involved here. I've advised would-be customers that it might be best to do nothing with a particular hat, seeing how the odds of doing something to ruin what makes that old hat special (the sweatband with its period embossing, the liner with the old trademarks, etc.) are just too high.

 

[mayserwegener]

This is the back of two repairs on an old Stratoliner. I don't have pictures of the front of the hat but believe me, it is completely disguised. It looks as though they used some type of fabric backing to support whatever they did on the front side. If this hat had a liner, I would have never known what was done.

Thanks! I wonder if they could do such a fix with a fine velour finish?

 

[GoneSolo]

What about having the hat turned inside out? Obviously this is for hats where moth bites do not go all the way through. I have read about this procedure here but I cannot find any threads that specifically talk about it.

Is this a feasible/cost effective solution? Isn't a hat taken apart for reblock/cleaning anyway? Aside from having your overwelt become an underwelt (or similar), I really don't see any other issues. I'd love to know what a hatmaker has to say.

 

[Art Fawcett]

I've done it many times Gonesolo. It's a very viable option if the bites don't go all the way through.

 

[tonyb]

Yup, you certainly can turn 'em inside out. Sometimes you can, anyway. And you can flip 'em around as well -- turn the front into the back, and vice versa, so as to put the part of the crown worn thin by handling to a spot where it will get less of that sort of treatment. (But if that hat has a bound edge, you gotta either lose the binding or replace it, seeing how you wouldn't want the seam at the front edge of the brim.)

Some hats have indelible markings on the inside of the crown that go up so high that a wide ribbon wouldn't cover them. Bummer. And most will be in need of finishing (pouncing, etc.), so that adds a bit of work. Still, though, I've turned a bunch of hats inside out.

So yeah, it's definitely feasible. Cost effective? Well, maybe so, maybe no. Most hats I've turned inside out, etc., I got for nothing, or next to it. Many were misshapen, stained old cowboy hats. I suppose they're worth what little bit of money I have into replacement ribbon and leather and whatever my shop time is worth. Would it be worth, say, a hundred bucks to do the same thing to such a hat of yours? Or would your hundred bucks be better spent on another vintage hat?[huh]

EDIT: Art beat me to it. Slacking down there, eh, Art? Ain't you got hats to work on around there?

 

[GoneSolo]

Since I don't buy hats to resell them, the investment will not be in vain. I would rather have that procedure done and be able to use a hat than just have it sit around and not use it, or worse, grimace every time I look at it. Also, the rarity/sentimental value of a hat can also be considered. ~$100 for outstanding work? I'm game.

One more thing. When a hat is turned inside out, what determines whether the old sweatband can still be used? Lets say it is in pristine condition.

 

[tonyb]

One more thing. When a hat is turned inside out, what determines whether the old sweatband can still be used? Lets say it is in pristine condition.

If that original sweatband is of the reeded variety, I'd think that most hat shops would be willing to reinstall it. I would, anyway. If it's of the unreeded type, well, that's dicier. One of the young women who took over Paul's in San Francisco recently wrote in a post here that she had hand-stitched a partially detached unreeded sweatband in a fellow Lounger's old hat. Me, I wouldn't even attempt that. My sewing skills just aren't up to it. And the machinery for installing unreeded sweatbands can still be found, but I hear it's a real bear to master it.

 

[ScottF]

If that original sweatband is of the reeded variety, I'd think that most hat shops would be willing to reinstall it. I would, anyway.

Boy, am I glad to read the above, as I just removed a perfect 1920's sweatband to re-block a hat, and need it back in the hat, along with a wider ribbon to cover the mothing - as I removed the band (which was glued in ), I was definitely crossing my fingers that you would have your needle ready. This particular hat requires a very thin ribbon, so don't know that I'm game for sewing well enough to hide the stitching.

 

[65 Classic]

This hat shop offers moth hole repair for $10 among the rest of the essential services. Paul's Hat Works in San Francisco, CA. I can't find any other shop that advertises this service. http://www.hatworksbypaul.com/repairs-refurbishments/