moehawk
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 5,671
- Location
- Northern California
Hey everyone!
About a year or so ago I found a Lagomarsino crushable fur felt fedora cheap at a yard sale, so I picked it up. It has really nice felt. I don't know what kind of South American critters they use, but they sure are soft. It has a medium height crown and a 2 5/8 inch brim with what my Stetson calls a "mode edge". It is the less expensive finishing option, wirh no liner and an elastic cloth sweatband.The only real drawback...the color. A light camel-y tan with a mustard yellow tinge that makes it not look good with anything. I tried cleaning it, thinking it was old nicotine staining, but it seemed to be the color of the felt. I seldom wore it, and after a while, it fell into the role of yard-work and fishing hat. Until a few days ago, when I decided to try dyeing it.
Before: (this photo was taken in bad light, makes felt look more gray than its actual color. Sorry.)
I had some iDye brand dye for natural fiber in kelly green and brown left over from an old project. I have lots of brown hats but no green ones, so green it was. Well, 2 parts kelly green to one part brown so I could wear it other days than March 17. There were no instructions for fur or wool, so I used the stovetop method listed on the package for silk since it is also a protein fiber, mixing the dye in a 12 qt stockpot. I said a quick apology to the folks who crafted the hat, stuffed it in the pot and turned on the gas. I left the sweatband in, since it wasn't leather. I stirred it well, lifting and repositioning it in the pot so as not to get wrinkles that might give it a tie-dye look. The directions called for bringing it to a simmer and holding it at a simmer for 30 minutes, but I thought that might be a bit harsh on the felt so I brought it up to about 150 degrees (F) before adding acid to fix the dye. The directions called for adding at the beginning, but I forgot, so I added it, stirred a lot more and shut off the gas and covered the pot to hold in te heat for 30 minutes. I rinsed it in clear water 3 times getting out nearly all the excess color in the first rinse, rolled it in a towel to dry it a bit and reblocked it. It did not seem to have shrunk a bit, not even the brim looked any smaller. It took the dye very evenly, and it is just as soft as before. Now, it even seems to have a velvety texture and a shimmer in the sunlight. I dyed a piece of medium brown ribbon in some of the kelly green, and gave it a C crown.
So, without further ado, I present to you:
The Lean Mean Green Argentine!!
Kinda has an Irish Indiana Jones thing going on. Now I might wear it a bit more often.
About a year or so ago I found a Lagomarsino crushable fur felt fedora cheap at a yard sale, so I picked it up. It has really nice felt. I don't know what kind of South American critters they use, but they sure are soft. It has a medium height crown and a 2 5/8 inch brim with what my Stetson calls a "mode edge". It is the less expensive finishing option, wirh no liner and an elastic cloth sweatband.The only real drawback...the color. A light camel-y tan with a mustard yellow tinge that makes it not look good with anything. I tried cleaning it, thinking it was old nicotine staining, but it seemed to be the color of the felt. I seldom wore it, and after a while, it fell into the role of yard-work and fishing hat. Until a few days ago, when I decided to try dyeing it.
Before: (this photo was taken in bad light, makes felt look more gray than its actual color. Sorry.)
I had some iDye brand dye for natural fiber in kelly green and brown left over from an old project. I have lots of brown hats but no green ones, so green it was. Well, 2 parts kelly green to one part brown so I could wear it other days than March 17. There were no instructions for fur or wool, so I used the stovetop method listed on the package for silk since it is also a protein fiber, mixing the dye in a 12 qt stockpot. I said a quick apology to the folks who crafted the hat, stuffed it in the pot and turned on the gas. I left the sweatband in, since it wasn't leather. I stirred it well, lifting and repositioning it in the pot so as not to get wrinkles that might give it a tie-dye look. The directions called for bringing it to a simmer and holding it at a simmer for 30 minutes, but I thought that might be a bit harsh on the felt so I brought it up to about 150 degrees (F) before adding acid to fix the dye. The directions called for adding at the beginning, but I forgot, so I added it, stirred a lot more and shut off the gas and covered the pot to hold in te heat for 30 minutes. I rinsed it in clear water 3 times getting out nearly all the excess color in the first rinse, rolled it in a towel to dry it a bit and reblocked it. It did not seem to have shrunk a bit, not even the brim looked any smaller. It took the dye very evenly, and it is just as soft as before. Now, it even seems to have a velvety texture and a shimmer in the sunlight. I dyed a piece of medium brown ribbon in some of the kelly green, and gave it a C crown.
So, without further ado, I present to you:
The Lean Mean Green Argentine!!
Kinda has an Irish Indiana Jones thing going on. Now I might wear it a bit more often.
