The Conversion Corral

[hatophile]

Now that I like, B-man. The pipe is a nice addition.

 

[thespoiler]

Hatband Dilemma

This has been one great thread but it has sort of fizzled out of late.....Anyway, maybe some of you guys can help me. I can do most hat things except to sew on a hatband. I am no seamstress for sure but I have real difficulty pushing the needle back and forth through the felt and the hatband to tac the band to the hat.......Is this the way everybody else does it or is there a trick I don't know about?.....Maybe and inexpensive sewing machine ?. If I have to do it all by hand I'll be forever.......

Thanks in advance

Spoiler

 

[bowlerman]

Someone has suggested a certain kind of stitching awl before, but I don't remember the details. I definitely put a few holes in my thumb replacing a ribbon with my shirt- button-grade mini-sewing kit before...

 

[cybergentleman]

that's some style you got there- keep it up!

The Megahat converts once again. thought I'd go Gus and seeif it sticks. I'll need to spend a little more time smoothing the brim...

 

[bowlerman]

ha! Thanks. That grey one definitely gets some disapproving glances around town...

I just took two hats that had almost the same crease, and pulled them apart, so to say.
First my Beaver Brand silverbelly--
from

to

and my Stetson twenty five OR.
from

to

wanted to go with a modified cattleman with that one, but the teardrop really wanted to hang around, so it's kind of a rakish cattleman/teardrop, or perhaps "the cattledrop." lol.

 

[randooch]

Good work, B-man, especially that unique crease. Your pooch looks awesome, too!

 

[scooter]

I really like the unique bash on the Beaver Brand, but with the "25" I much prefer the original crease. Having said that, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if it makes you happy, that's all that matters. By the way, I have a Husky that could pass as your dog's sister, right down to the blue eyes.

 

[warmentrout]

Ten bucks for the hat plus about 50 in ribbon. I got 5 yards of Black, Burgundy Grey and Olive all 1.5 inches of the real Milliner's Grosgrain Ribbon for more projects!

Where did you get the ribbon ? Is it the kind that has a bound edge ? I have only been able to find the kind with the scalloped edge

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Nice to see some different bashes. Adds variety to the same old same old. Nice work.

 

[LoveMyHats2]

I can see you really know your stuff, and I am going to be doing this to one of my older hats that need to be worked on. Thanks for putting this information here for everyone to use!

 

[pjt113]

Hi,

I know this posting is 4 years old but I want to try converting a hat, is there anyway to get a copy of the posting with the pix? It looks like the thumbnails have been removed

Thx!

 

[pjt113]

Hi Fellow Loungers,

I am doing my fist conversion, I'm using a brown Resistol Stagecoach I have left over from my Waylon Jennings days. With the help from postings in this subject, I have cut down the brim to 3", I'm a big guy so I'm starting wide, I have also put in a teardrop bash in the crown. I'm ready to start shaping the brim, any tips on how to do this? I'm most concerned about getting a nice curl on the back of the brim, but i have also considered just having it slope down also.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[scottyrocks]

I've had good luck, in the absence of tools, with wetting and shaping by hand. Depending on the hat, I've had to over shape a section so that when it dries, it comes back to what I originally envisioned. If you work carefully, you can get a smooth arch.

 

[thespoiler]

I thought I would try my hand at a conversion so here is my first attempt....started life as a Dobbs West 3X...cut the brim down to 2 3/4 and added a 2" hatband..Unfortunately it is a 7 1/2 1nd I wear a 1/8 so I'll be giving it away......I did tear the sweatband in the process but a little tape behind the tear fixed that. ...otherwise things went OK....sewing on the hatband seemed to take forever and the whole thing was definitely a learning process....

 

[bowlerman]

Nice work, thespoiler! I have given up trying ribbons anymore. I had reasonable success with the one I tried awhile back, but it's certainly a bit crude. I have limited my conversions to crown and brim shaping now!

Incidentally, my Beaver Brand silver belly just can't seem to hold a crease that sticks for me. Maybe I shouldn't have messed with it in the first place, but I experimented with something new last night, and so far it feels much more comfortable on my head and I think I kinda like the direction it's going. I went with an equilateral diamond crown, with front pinches, and the brim is trying to be a little swoopy with an up-flange all the way around. The sides are high-ish, and the front and back are dip-ish.

Not the greatest pics, and taken while wet:

 

[MikePotts]

Dried up cowboy Resistol conversion.

I bought this old mouse eaten, stiff as a board 3X beaver Resistol from the local Salvation Army resale shop for $5:

sprayed the brim with denatured alcohol and flattened it under two heavy boards:

sprayed the crown and pushed it out:

"That's a BIG hat!" I thought, and shelved my plan to have a 2 1/2" brim so I cut it down with scissors to a 2 3/4 and sanded the edge a smooth as I could:

I had wanted a diamond bash but it wouldn't co-operate so I went with this:

I put some shape into the brim:

and added a ribbon. This was the most difficult part, the ribbon was from a local 'craft store' and synthetic, all my fingers are thumbs so making the 'bow' was a real pain.........however:

It was a 7 1/2 LO when I started but now it fits me well so it must have morphed with all the messing around and massaging to a standard 7 3/8.

It was an interesting little project and one whick I may try again if another donor hat shows up. Thanks for watching.

MP

 

[randooch]

Dang! Job well done, Mike!

 

[randooch]

B-Man, I really dig that brim shape. You are a born hat-wearer. :eusa_clap

 

[thespoiler]

Nice Job Mike..........I like the crown work.....As I said above, I had real struggle with with the bow and band as well..I used 50% cotton grosgrain...On my second conversion I experimented and sewed the hatband to the hat but (and this may be a sacrilege to some ) I glued the bow together with fabric glue and then glued the bow to the band, (making sure I didn't glue anything to the hat itself so the band could be changed later)....sure saved a lot of time and came out looking quite well, .......but on the next one I will probably go ahead and sew the whole thing...I'll just feel better about it..

 

[Mario]

Now that's sweet! You gave that hat a really nice 30's touch (how tall is that crown, btw?)! And just about my kind of color combo, no less. But, alas, it's way too large for my tiny noggin...

Great job anyway! :eusa_clap :eusa_clap