Recent content by RickP

Waiting for the next thunderstorm to blow in here today. Figured it might be a good day for an old beater Stetson Sovereign

Ive been looking for a decent adjustable commercial hat stretcher for a while, and a friend over in North Carolina sent me a link to a local Craigslist add over there. Got ahold of the guy and had a nice chat. Short version of the story, is that its a working J&L heated stretcher in nice shape...

Ive got a couple old stitching awls and they basically get saved for canvas repair... Ive never been able to get neat lines and quality looking stitching. I actually enjoy doing a double needle saddle stitching taking care that both needles pass through the same hole. Gives a nice consistant...

Theres quite a few adjustable edge guides out there for machines. Im pretty sure there was one that came with my little singer in the kit. for softer materials like felt, Im thinking the smooth edge that glides is better than the roller guides (spreads the pressure over a larger space.. rollers...

The thread is a bonded polyester thread ( not waxed). On this test piece there wasnt actually double sided tape used.. just clips to hold things in place. Im thinking I also need to reduce some thread tension. Not the right ribbon, Big needle, big thread and just a bit too much tension was prob...

its extremely thin and clear...would just stay in place after sewing. Have used it for super thin leathers and have never had any issues with staining, bunching up or anything even after being exposed to oils, dry cleaning, alcohol, stain removers, water, etc. Ive pulled apart leather bags for...

Thanks for the feedback. I definately need to check my sources to find some nice thin ribbed grosgrain... This was the only 3/8" that I had on hand. I too collect all my brim trimmings so I have plenty of practice material....I do have an adjustable edge guide on the machine... this test was a...

I agree that a smaller thread would probably have a neater appearance. I did swirl the ribbon to match the edge, so Im thinking the needle size and thin ribbon caused the little scallops. It looked nice and neat before the bigger needle went through ( I looked through my boxes and the smallest...

Ran across a pair of almost new Stetson Sovereign Temples (Caribou and Sage) on ebay from the same seller today. Ive been looking to address a serious lack of light to medium grey hats on the wall, and had serious trouble trying to pick between the two. Ended up buying the Sage.... and then the...

Did my first test run of a ribbon edge binding today but I love the stitched brims. Ive got a little Akubra Metropolitan that has a triple stitching that I love. Ive got a couple of raw edge fleabay hats that I may try it on myself

I need an opinion regarding a ribbon binding test... My first test at sewing on a brim binding with my cylinder arm machine.... obviously the color of the ribbon is not whay Id use, and the type of ribbon isnt right, but its what I had on hand to test...... Im thinking the thread size would be...

After several dark rainy days we finally got the sun back.. Thought I do a little more "flash" than normal with a reworked Stetson

Hadnt had the Stetson Temple out in a while

Maybe the last time I can wear it here in East Texas until late october, but heres a little pre loved jacket I picked up cheap due to a broken zipper. Fortunately I work with leather so I partially disassembeled, and sewed in a new brass zipper. Now I can zip it up! I just had to wear it out...

Back in the late 70s, I picked up a new Rolex submariner on a dive trip down in the Carribbean. I had it for a couple years before books, tuition, food, and beer took priority and had to sell it. Ive always been a mechanical watch fan and have had a stream of older Elgins, Hamiltons, a couple...