Stiffening a hat brim

[wyckdblyss]

Hey everyone! I have a question...What is the best way to stiffen a hat brim?

I bought a cheapy felt hat a couple years ago, thinking I would make a Renaissance Festival hat out of it, and now that I am finally trying to work on it...the brim is too flimsy/floppy. I am hoping to be able to fix it to wear Sunday for Pirate weekend...

Any suggestions???

[Zaubon]

(Buster) Keaton designed and fabricated many of his own porkpie hats during his career. In 1964, he told an interviewer that in making the porkpie he started with a good Stetson hat and cut it down, stiffening the brim with concentrated sugar water

[wyckdblyss]

AWESOME idea! I would have never thought to use sugar water! Question is though...TRF = bees and yellowjackets....hmmmm

Thanks for the idea Zaubon...missed seeing you opening weekend...will you be there this Sunday?

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

I have a couple of straw hats with large brims that have become floppy over the years.  I spread out either tissue paper or plain white butcher paper (newspaper smudges), then place the hat on top  of it.  I do it on my washing machine, of course when I'm not planning to wash any clothes for a few days. 

Then I spray the hat with liquid spray starch until the brim is really wet.  Like soaking wet, not the whole hat, just the brim.  Then I let it dry completely, and repeat this 2 or 3 times.  After the last time, the brim is very stiff.  And the spray starch is very cheap.  And after wearing, if it does start to flop (not right away, after several wearings), I just do the whole thing again.

[wyckdblyss]

Lady Renee, how long does it usually take to dry? I am trying to do this and be able to wear it Sunday...if not then I can do something else, but had really hoped to have it then...do you think it can be done???

[Taffy Saltwater]

Are you trying to make it a tricorn?  If so, you can just stitch it to the crown.

[wyckdblyss]

I had thought about a tricorn, but when I tried it to see...the brim is not quiet right for it...the front does not look just right...so I am probably going to go with more the Cavalier style...

[fairydollmaker]

is the fabric one layer or two? if its two layers you can add backram to the inside to make a nice stiff brim. or even a fusible backing would stiffen it up, I use this in corsets to make them flat and firm. I wonder if you wired the edge of the brim to make it pose too? hmmmm, I do like a good hat

[wyckdblyss]

That is a good idea...I will have to check when I get home if it has one or two layers...I know I have some wire laying around...hmmmm

Thanks for all the great ideas!!

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Lady Renee, how long does it usually take to dry? I am trying to do this and be able to wear it Sunday...if not then I can do something else, but had really hoped to have it then...do you think it can be done???

My hats are straw, so there are holes between it so they may dry quicker.  Like, I might spray it in the morning, wait till late afternoon to see if it's dry, if not, wait till I go to bed, spray it again.  Then the next morning when I wake up, spray it again. 

It also depends on the weather and where you live.  If it's warm, stuff dries quicker than if it's cold and rainy.   You can also spray it and lay it on top of a running clothes dryer if you are doing laundry, that way the top of the dryer gets warm and helps to dry it.

[Lady L]

You might be able to sew bias tape to the underside and then run a wire through it. Or, you might be able to zig zag the wire right to the fabric. I don't like working with felt, though, as it tends to fall apart too easily.

[wyckdblyss]

Thank you all for you suggestions...after looking at hats yesterday + everyone's ideas here...I think I have a good starting point...I should have a hat to wear for the next faire!! (Certainly don't want to have to pay over $100 for one at faire...YIKES)