Types of Hats

All of the hats I work with are 100% wool, fur, fur blend, or straw. 

I never work with synthetic hats, and while some of my hats are made in China, they are 100% wool and therefore dyeable. I never know how the dyed finish will look, but I enjoy working with the mottled, uneven finishes. They lend themselves to distressing. These tend to be easier to source, and although my favorites, Olive & Pique and Wyeth are a bit more pricey, they are good quality and have adjustable bands so I stick with those brands.

Vintage fur blend hats are my favorites. They're surface is smooth, soft, matte, and feels like velvet. They often go by the brand names Resistol and Dynafelt. They're fairly expensive to source, and I'm constantly shopping for them. These vintage hats are a dream to work with and take dye in softer tones than wool. I charge more for these because of the difficulty in finding them, and the restoration I have to do to make them viable as most have crumbling hat bands that need replacing.

Straw/Shantung

I upcycle a few straw cowboy hats per year...and I'm very picky about them. I like a fairly tight weave and I like the older, tall crown, cattleman's creased hats with no metal air holes. I'll show one in the before and after pictures below.

Pure fur felt is the cream of the crop, although they look and feel a lot like the wool/fur blend hats. The felt is an absolute joy to work with...pliable and smooth. Colors are often very even, but soft. The burn rubs off easily, leaving a great looking golden tone. If I want the actual burn to stay in places, I seal parts of it. These are very expensive to source, and it's rare that I have them to sell. I'm wearing a beaver felt hat in the photo grouping above.