Making a New Hat

[The Duke]

more nice photos! I like that top hat on the customer too.

 

[GOK]

Thank you for your reply Mark. I'm completely with Jim on the random naming of things! lol

Your r?©portage continues to have me enthralled; of particular interest to me is the stitching work. Is the lining going to be next?

Looking forward to the next instalment.....

 

[tomatesa]

Very Nice!

Beautiful job

 

[Sefton]

Looking at these photos reminds me of pictures from the golden era of U.S. automobile manufacturing showing the vast assembly lines. So much effort and attention to detail and much like fine hat making it's sadly a rare thing now. Bravo to your hatter (and Hattress?) for letting you show us how they work. Bravo to you too Mark for the fine posts. :eusa_clap

 

[Christopher]

Wow, thank you for all the work in this thread. I too had no idea what was involved or understood the work of a milliner until now. A profession that is worth the money and hopefully will never die out.

Oh and I never thought this would be my first post but I am most impressed by the work and this documentary.

Thank you.

 

[mark alan]

Making A New Hat, Part 4

Last week my hat was ready to have the ribbon sewn to the crown. This is done by hand. And, in reality it is only “tacked” to the hat body. Joan will make a few small stitches low on the ribbon through the bow and then on the other side opposite the bow. Then she’ll do the same thing at the front and the back. This is why curving the ribbon is so important. The ribbon is simply pulled tight against the crown and held in place in four small sites at the bottom of the ribbon. At the same time Joan tacks the bow, she tacks the feather in place.

Next Joan attaches the liner. Traditionally, these were sewn in by hand. However, this is very difficult because each stitch has to catch the hat body but can’t go all the way through the body. I asked Jim about this and he said, “They just haven’t learned how to do that.” So, the liner is glued in place. This is the only time glue is used on the hat. It does have one advantage. Since only a small amount of glue is used to tack it in place, the liner can be easily removed and replaced.

First, Joan cuts the liner to fit.

Then she tacks it in place.

And, with a final brushing, it’s almost finished.

The last step is to have Jim personalize my hat. He sets the type with “Custom made for” and then sets the type for my name. The type is heated and pressed onto gold foil placed on the sweat band.

Here’s the press Jim uses.

He sets the type…

…presses it down…

And it’s finished!!!

Well, that's most of the story. I have a few more photos to post regarding steps in hat making and tweaking them that I'll post here next week.

Thanks for all the positive comments. This has been great fun.

If anyone would like to contact Jim he can be reached at:

http://www.jwhats.com/

And his phone number in Salt Lake City is 801-977-0676.

Mark
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"Well, art is art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce, they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now, uh... Now you tell me what you know.

G. Marx

 

[EvilDmitri]

An amazing hat and a great thread! Looks great on you! :cheers1:

 

[PeeWee]

I really enjoyed the trip down at J.W.'s. I was especially interested in the photos of the installation of the hatband. Hopefully it's enough illustation for me to replace a crossgrain ribbon on a Resistol I just picked up...or if there are instructions for doing to job elsewhere maybe someone can point them out. Thanks for the great thread.

 

[Kilroy]

Here you go, Pee Wee.

RibbonReplacement
http://dalexs.whitvani.net/hat/hatpage.html

 

[PeeWee]

Thanks very much Kilroy. The link has great detail and should be a tremendous help.

 

[Sefton]

I love a post with a happy ending! A beautiful hat for you and much appreciated illustration of the hat making process. I'm curious about Jim's own taste in hats. What does the hat maker put on his own head?[huh]

 

[PeeWee]

Here you go, Pee Wee.

RibbonReplacement
http://dalexs.whitvani.net/hat/hatpage.html

Thanks again. My five dollar Resistol now has a new 75 cents ribbon It was simple as pie too.

 

[Jack of Clubs]

New to the forum

Wow this is such an education for somebody like me that has just branched out from his Tilleys' and moving on to the dress hats as shown here. I also make hand split bamboo fly rods as a hobby so it is really easy for me to appreciate the art of hat making

Thanks
Gary
The Jack of Clubs

 

[kiltedjeeper]

fascinating thread, I didn't realize there was so much involved in the manufacture of a hat.

I wear one of several Australian bush hats day to day- mostly as I have no hair. I've been considering something else just for variety's sake. I'm not one to dress up- much more the cargo pants and pilot's shirt sort- so I'm not sure a fedora would fit in...

 

[K.D. Lightner]

A lot of the folks here wear a fedora with casual or safari-type clothes. We have lots of Indiana Jones fans here and they like to wear the Indy fedora. We even have a hatmaker (Fedora) who can make you one that looks just like the real deal.

Then, you just need the leather jacket and the whip and you are set to go. Or not.

A fedora would look great with the kinds of clothes you wear.

karol

 

[Prairie Shade]

The End I guess!!

Well, like all journeys, I'm sorry it had to end. BUT, it was worth the trip and the cost was reasonable!! Looks like a good source for a custom made hat but I noticed on his web site that the place is up for sale. Better hurry up or face the new owner!! He may have a steep learning curve to pick up all that savvy. Thanks VERY much for the show and congrats on your new lid. VERY nice.

 

[kiltedjeeper]

well I already catch enough guff as it is-- what with the Drizabone and Barmah Bronco hat I wear. I've taken on several nicknames (Adventure Phil, Crocodile Dundee, and the like)- not that I care.

I've actually got the rest of a passable Indy costume. I've thought of a fedora for quite some time, but luckily <?!> I wear a size 8 hat, so they're rather rare to find that fit properly.

It's truly a shame the modern world doesn't dress as well as it used to. The author of this thread is the perfect example of what I refer to, when contrasted to me. He's a very sharp sort, and though I don't know him, comes across as a dashing man-about-town who's done well for himself.

Then there's me- who, if I'm honest, comes across as far too casual- perhaps a bit of a rogue. I'm not convinced this is a bad thing, nor completely accurate- but there's that first impression nonetheless.

- and all this from a person who absolutely HATES wearing dress clothes! I've turned down jobs due to the requirement to wear a tie before, let alone a suit coat and etc....

A lot of the folks here wear a fedora with casual or safari-type clothes. We have lots of Indiana Jones fans here and they like to wear the Indy fedora. We even have a hatmaker (Fedora) who can make you one that looks just like the real deal.

Then, you just need the leather jacket and the whip and you are set to go. Or not.

A fedora would look great with the kinds of clothes you wear.

karol

 

[44forrest]

What a great series of photo's. Worth several thousand words. And the man is smiling. May we all be so lucky as we apply our various crafts.

 

[atomicfabulous]

wow! sharp hat, and very informative. i have always been intrigued by millinery/hat making, and this gives me a few ideas to try at home...I have been really inspired to try making a felt hat lately...we'll see how it goes!

 

[Scary Mc]

Fantasic thread! I have a custom Kevin O'Farrel western hat with a high crown that I no longer wear. I just spoke with JW and will send it tommorow for a brim trim, reblock and ribbon.