At this point, you should apply some sizing to the crown to help it keep its shape. Originally I was going to use Kahls hat stiffener, but quickly learned that it is for stiffening hats that already have sizing, not pieces of raw felt.
why is sizing important? Well, simply put, sizing is what allows the hat to retain its hat shape and not return to a flat piece of fabric. As 100 hatters what is a good sizing and you will get 100 answers (as long as they aren't using some "secret formula") but most of them use watered down white glue in some form or other, so that is what I decided to go with at about a 5:1 ratio of water to glue. Apply evenly and allow to
completely dry before adding more.
once the crown has some sizing in it, take a steam iron and press the wrinkles out of the brim, making it as flat and smooth as possible. Now you can measure out the desired brim width and mark with chalk. Cut to the correct width with a razor knife.
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Put some more sizing around the base of the crown and allow to dry completely. Replace the ring and iron out the remaining wrinkles in the brim.
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At this point I also wet the top of the crown with more sizing and added the 4 dents. Once dry I removed the ring, and applied sizing to the vrim, and made the bends one at a time, letting them dry completely before doing the next.
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Next the hat band. MacReady's hat had a wide leather band with 4 braided leather cords, called stampede strips, aroud the center, on top of the leather band.
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Finished hat. All that is then left is to add a 1inch thin leather tie strap on each side. These tie around the hat band itself and slip through slits in the brim at the base of the crown.