Tutorial to reshape your Fedora!!!

My hat turned out great except it left the indentations of the clothspin

I'll just quote Bvance tips:

If the clothes pins make marks...

Last night I reshaped my crushable wool Indy fedora, letting it dry over night for about 8 hours. When I took the clothes pins off, I noticed the plastic I used wasn't thick enough and the clothes pins left fairly large and noticeable indentions on my hat. It looked pretty bad, but don't worry...I fixed it and I'll explain what I did in-case someone has a similar problem.

First I got a spray bottle and put it on very thin spray so I could target the exact spot of the indents.

Second I got a new toothbrush that I had never used and it had fairly soft bristles.

Next, I sprayed the indents and holding my fingers firmly in the underside of the hats where the indents were, I rubbed the toothbrush over the wet area in a circular motion.

Almost immediately the indentations began to disappear. I let it dray for a few hours and then repeated the process.

Now I am happy to say that the indents are gone and the hat amazingly enough has retained its altered shape.

One other thing, when first reshaping my hat, I sprayed water on the front brim and put a clothes pin hanging off of it to give it that lower brimmed Raiders look and it turned out wonderfully!

Hope these tips are helpful. Of course I'm not sure how this would work on a non-crushable hat, but good luck and thanks for the tutorial my hat NOW looks awesome!
 

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
Doctor Jones'89 said:
I'll just quote Bvance tips:

HAHAHHA It worked!!! Thank you so much!





My last question is on your heighting the crown turorial first off does that work on a crushable and second it mentions a block where do you get that?
 
Sorry the late answer, I've been out these last days, but now I'm back!

HAHAHHA It worked!!! Thank you so much!

You're welcome!

N°. 1:

My last question is on your heighting the crown turorial first off does that work on a crushable

I think you should find no problem though I've tried this tutorial only on my fur felt fedora. I think that the Crushable should be quite more difficoult to reshape but don't give up at the first try because the better result will come just at the end of a long way. But now I'm getting "philosophical" so I'd better stop talking!:D

N°. 2:

and second it mentions a block where do you get that?

Which block? Could you please explain me that in clearer way? You know since I've been away from the Raven for a long while my English is quite rusty!:p
 

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
I reshaped it and it looks great!



The only issue is the eyeshade will not stay bent down but thats ok it's the material it's made of. Let me know what you think.

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I love the crown and front pinch but the eyeshade bugs me it will not stay bent!
 
Nice job you've done! (y)

About the eyeshade, try to wet it with a spray and then bend it softly until the shape will look better.

PS: is there a Rocky poster behind the hat? :)
 

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
Thank you very much!


Yes I soaked the eyeshade and keep bending it down. It's not perfect but it looks a little better each time.


And yes that is a Rocky poster hahahahah (y)
 
Updated tutorial with pictures!

I?m very pleased to post below my updated tutorial to reshape your Fedora. It has been almost ten years since the time I first posted this guide, and since my first attempt to reshape my Dorfman Pacific hat (http://www.dorfman-pacific.com/brand/Indiana Jones®) and it still looks absolutely smashing. The reason why I wrote this tutorial originally is that I was SO VERY disappointed when I unwrapped the envelope and realised that the Dorfman Pacific hat, despite the nice Indiana Jones pin on the ribbon, didn?t look nearly as nice as Indy?s hat.

Honestly, I can say in hindsight that the final result does not resemble exactly Indy?s hat from Raiders of the Lost Ark, but rather his glorious hat from Last Crusade or perhaps from Temple of Doom. :) You be the judge, but I really love my hat as it looks now, it kept its shape perfectly and I'm still wearing it after such a long time. And I?m sure you?re going to love your hat too once you reshape it! Now I?ll cut the chatter and provide you, as promised, with the new tutorial with pictures (these are stored in dropbox so you won't see the image below unfortunately, so you'll have to open the link, but at least they are safely stored there).

Use this tutorial at your own risk! I take no responsibility for any issues you may encounter.

NB: in case the pegs leave some undesired marks/scratches, I WARMLY suggest that you use BVance?s method (check the posts above).


Preliminary info: to modify your hat you need no special skills or experience, you just have to be very careful and follow the instructions step by step since, once you've reshaped it, it is NOT possible to restore its former aspect.


WHAT DO YOU NEED: a Fedora, a pair of clothespins, water (ideally it?s best to spray it over your hat rather than doing what I did in the pictures below), a plastic bag or a cloth to protect your hat once you apply the clothespins.


PART 1: Heightening the crown

The first thing you should do is to put your hand inside the hat and push all out, as shown in the picture below.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1d4wu0yybgmbqwm/IMG_2849.JPG?dl=0

PART 2: Reshaping the hat

Now you should gently squeeze the front side of your hat with your hands in the centre, in order to make it tighter and give it a more Indy-style look. Try to find the centre precisely and be as accurate as you can. Repeat this operation several times until it starts to look tighter.


PART 3: Fixing the new shape

As you may have sadly noticed, despite your efforts the hat doesn't seem to be keep its new form very, but worry not! It?s now time to fix it for good. So?

- Wet the central side of your hat (or rather spray it with water, I didn?t think about it when I first try but that?s definitely the best way to proceed). If you spill some water around don?t worry: this is not going to affect the final result.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/w9g7rmansjxx238/picture-2.jpg?dl=0

- Once that side is wet, before you use your pins, cover it with plastic bag to cover or a cloth. This will prevent your hat from being damaged by the pins? pressure. Place then the clothespins right in the centre and at the top of your hat (as shown in the pictures below).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n86wizfalc7l4xt/picture-3.2.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qxhe98urpcppeid/picture-3.jpg?dl=0

- What you need to do now is to simply wait until your hat gets dry (let it dry naturally for 6/7 hours; do not place it close to the heating, just give it some time to get dry). If the result does not look perfect yet, repeat the aforementioned operations until you get the perfect Indy shape for your Fedora!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ugn5bex90gj7tkr/IMG_2778.JPG?dl=0

That?s it folks! I hope you find this new tutorial useful. Feel free to post your comments and pics of your results below :hat:
 
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