Keith Taylor
New in Town
- Messages
- 2
- Location
- UK
Hi guys. Long time listener, first time caller. I hope one of you behatted wonders can help me out 
Last year I bought a cheap, poor quality Indy replica wool felt fedora for a road trip across Asia. Despite its obvious crapness I grew rather attached to the hat, and when I finally killed it in Tajikistan I ordered a second, slightly better quality fur felt fedora with satin lining and a leather sweatband for the remainder of the trip.
Unfortunately I couldn't remember my size and didn't have a tape measure handy. I guessed incorrectly, and when it finally reached me in Mongolia it turned out I'd ordered a little too large (7 3/8 UK, 7 1/2 US, 60cm). The hat rested on my ears.
On returning home I played around with some of the tips on this forum, successfully shrinking the sweatband down to a more comfortable size. Since I don't have the right kind of confidence required to wear a fedora in my home town I didn't worry about it any more, figuring that it would come in handy whenever I found an excuse to attend a party dressed as Indiana Jones.
Last week I was offered a job back in Mongolia, and my first thought was that I'd get the chance to wear my beloved fedora again. When I tried it on, though, the silhouette of the crown looked all wrong. It took a moment before it hit me that the reason was the shrunken sweatband. As it shrank it pulled in the base of the crown - not much, but noticeably - so now the line between the pinch and the band is pretty much vertical (where it originally sloped slightly back) and the back of the crown bulges slightly out from the band. Also, the whole crown seems a little too high.
So, I was hoping it might be possible to shrink the entire crown in some way. I'm guessing steam might help, but I don't want to go to town on the crown before checking in here. While the hat has enormous sentimental value I don't mind trying something risky.
Thanks guys
Last year I bought a cheap, poor quality Indy replica wool felt fedora for a road trip across Asia. Despite its obvious crapness I grew rather attached to the hat, and when I finally killed it in Tajikistan I ordered a second, slightly better quality fur felt fedora with satin lining and a leather sweatband for the remainder of the trip.
Unfortunately I couldn't remember my size and didn't have a tape measure handy. I guessed incorrectly, and when it finally reached me in Mongolia it turned out I'd ordered a little too large (7 3/8 UK, 7 1/2 US, 60cm). The hat rested on my ears.
On returning home I played around with some of the tips on this forum, successfully shrinking the sweatband down to a more comfortable size. Since I don't have the right kind of confidence required to wear a fedora in my home town I didn't worry about it any more, figuring that it would come in handy whenever I found an excuse to attend a party dressed as Indiana Jones.
Last week I was offered a job back in Mongolia, and my first thought was that I'd get the chance to wear my beloved fedora again. When I tried it on, though, the silhouette of the crown looked all wrong. It took a moment before it hit me that the reason was the shrunken sweatband. As it shrank it pulled in the base of the crown - not much, but noticeably - so now the line between the pinch and the band is pretty much vertical (where it originally sloped slightly back) and the back of the crown bulges slightly out from the band. Also, the whole crown seems a little too high.
So, I was hoping it might be possible to shrink the entire crown in some way. I'm guessing steam might help, but I don't want to go to town on the crown before checking in here. While the hat has enormous sentimental value I don't mind trying something risky.
Thanks guys
