Just pulled a real good one off and...well, I wanted to share.
About a year ago I got one of the Tilley hemp hats, I do really like it for summer and tropical wear, it's flat-crowned with about a 2 1/2 inch brim, but the weight of the hemp is sufficient for it to droop nicely fore & aft, giving a nice casual semi-fedora air to it.
Only problem has always been that it's, well , nearly white.
Which can be OK if you're out on a desert trek or jungle hike, but around town, going in and out, it's just too...white.
(I see this year they're selling it in a Mocha as well, but last year only the white was available)
I have, in the past, gone full out and dyed various items that were "perfect" except for color, but it's always tricky, nerve wracking, and frequently yields unsatifactory results like uneven color, synthetic thread not taking the color, etc. (and washing machines here don't have hot water intake, so one's restricted to the cold water measures, normally).
But, while looking at it and thinking, "Boy, if this were only a nice light khaki color, it'd be-"
And suddenly remembered, at least my old man's version of, the origin of khaki (he pronounced it "karki", ex-Royal Canadian Infantry etc.), how the Brits in India found their white duck unis to be too visible so, regiment by regiment, started soaking them in tea (I've also heard they just used dust, but somehow the tea version is cooler...more...British, I guess).
So I did!
Having decided off the top that I wasn't going to spend any dough, I started by nicking a row of (old stale) teabags from my office canteen (not that I advocate pilferage, naturally).
I loaded about 4 liters of boiling water into a bucket, and then lowered the bags into it, all tied together.
I allowed the heady brew to steep for about 45 minutes, then squeezed all the water out of the bags, since I didn't want them in there while the hat was soaking, worrying about even-ness.
Then I added the same amount of lukewarm water, mixed it, and (after double-checking to ensure there weren't any forgotten goodies in the crown pocket) tossed in my lid.
Between the dense weave and the buoyant foam crown insert, it took about 20 minutes for the hat to be saturated.
Since there weren't any offensive chemicals involved, I was comfotable using one of the good stir fry spatulas for my manipulator.
Likewise, it was a much more relaxed process without constantly worrying about my hands contacting the liquid, or about splashes etc.
I stirred it around and turned it over several times that evening before retiring, and then did another few good stirs before leaving for work in the morning.
When I got home that night, I took it out and found it to have taken on a lovely reddy brown color, a little more like what is usually referred to a British Khaki than one's normal chino hue (go figure!).
Once through the washer, and I ended up with a perfect slightly lighter version of the brownish khaki.
A small bit of reshaping was required, and it's good to go.
I love it when a plan comes together.
And, most importantly, when I don't have to apologize to my wife for one of my harebrained schemes going south.
About a year ago I got one of the Tilley hemp hats, I do really like it for summer and tropical wear, it's flat-crowned with about a 2 1/2 inch brim, but the weight of the hemp is sufficient for it to droop nicely fore & aft, giving a nice casual semi-fedora air to it.
Only problem has always been that it's, well , nearly white.
Which can be OK if you're out on a desert trek or jungle hike, but around town, going in and out, it's just too...white.
(I see this year they're selling it in a Mocha as well, but last year only the white was available)
I have, in the past, gone full out and dyed various items that were "perfect" except for color, but it's always tricky, nerve wracking, and frequently yields unsatifactory results like uneven color, synthetic thread not taking the color, etc. (and washing machines here don't have hot water intake, so one's restricted to the cold water measures, normally).
But, while looking at it and thinking, "Boy, if this were only a nice light khaki color, it'd be-"
And suddenly remembered, at least my old man's version of, the origin of khaki (he pronounced it "karki", ex-Royal Canadian Infantry etc.), how the Brits in India found their white duck unis to be too visible so, regiment by regiment, started soaking them in tea (I've also heard they just used dust, but somehow the tea version is cooler...more...British, I guess).
So I did!
Having decided off the top that I wasn't going to spend any dough, I started by nicking a row of (old stale) teabags from my office canteen (not that I advocate pilferage, naturally).
I loaded about 4 liters of boiling water into a bucket, and then lowered the bags into it, all tied together.
I allowed the heady brew to steep for about 45 minutes, then squeezed all the water out of the bags, since I didn't want them in there while the hat was soaking, worrying about even-ness.
Then I added the same amount of lukewarm water, mixed it, and (after double-checking to ensure there weren't any forgotten goodies in the crown pocket) tossed in my lid.
Between the dense weave and the buoyant foam crown insert, it took about 20 minutes for the hat to be saturated.
Since there weren't any offensive chemicals involved, I was comfotable using one of the good stir fry spatulas for my manipulator.
Likewise, it was a much more relaxed process without constantly worrying about my hands contacting the liquid, or about splashes etc.
I stirred it around and turned it over several times that evening before retiring, and then did another few good stirs before leaving for work in the morning.
When I got home that night, I took it out and found it to have taken on a lovely reddy brown color, a little more like what is usually referred to a British Khaki than one's normal chino hue (go figure!).
Once through the washer, and I ended up with a perfect slightly lighter version of the brownish khaki.
A small bit of reshaping was required, and it's good to go.
I love it when a plan comes together.
And, most importantly, when I don't have to apologize to my wife for one of my harebrained schemes going south.
