Reshaping straw hats?

Morrigoon

Morrigoon

Member
I mentioned in my "Getting ready for Gally" thread that I was having trouble finding a black bowler hat for my daughter's KissOGram Amy Pond costume.

As a backup (failing finding anything better), I picked up a black straw trilby (those small fedora-like hats that are freaking EVERYWHERE these days) from the dollar store, thinking I can reshape/unshape the crown back to a more bowler/derby like crown. I've checked the braid, and it doesn't seem to be sewn any different than a rounded crown would be, so I believe it was shaped post-stitching.

What's the best way to reshape it? Steam? Dry heat?

(Bearing in mind that this is a dollar-store straw hat and very likely contains man-made materials as well as straw)
 
Well, I tried light dry heat to no avail, then I found a thing online about repairing straw hats using steam, so that's next. Sharing that info here in case anyone else is wondering the same thing.
 
Steam is how it's done in western stores with cowboy hats.

You have to be mindful to keep the hat moving and not to let it stay in one place too long or the coating on the straw starts to break down. Work it gently from the hat-band towards the brim, pulling slightly while twisting/kneeding it into the shape you want.

The shop I used to play around in when I was a kid had a small table fan set up next to the steamer to rapidly cool/dry the hat once it was in the proper shape. Also, once it's where you want it, put it on something elevated to allow it to dry for half an hour or so.

The same trick works for felt hats as well.
 
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