It is undoubtedly cool to have a cowboy hat that would seem to have withstood a hundred cattle drives, a few barroom brawls, and a decade of desert sun. A hat that is too clean and new is a bit too stiff and costume-like. Making your own cowboy hat at home is a great method of adding character, rugged appeal and a unique vintage look to your wardrobe. You want a gritty western style, the boho-chic style, or the rock-and-roll style, here are the step-by-step instructions on how to turn a stiff new hat into a road-worn masterpiece.
Resources You Will Have
Prepare your tools before you begin. You would not require to spend a lot of money to buy equipment, only a couple of household items to replicate the years of wear and tear. You will require a hat of felt, wool, or straw, a cowboy hat, and, I suppose, the first thing you have is to get a cheap hat. Medium to coarse grit sandpaper, a spray bottle of water, a lighter or small torch to singe felt or wool hats only, coffee grounds or tea bags to add natural stains, brown or black shoe polish to add grime and depth, and a stiff bristle brush to mix and texture will also be required.
Step 1. Soften and Reshape
New hats are usually hard and symmetrical and a real worn hat follows the shape of the head of the person wearing it and the things it has been subjected to. Saturate your spray bottle with water and overspray the top and the brim and as soon as the material is damp, squeeze the crown a little and pinch the front and roll the rim or fold the brim in an uneven way. In case your hat is really stubborn, then you can make the fibers soft with the steam of the boiling kettle and then reshape it, but allow it to dry in its new, somewhat distorted form.
Step 2: Sand the Heavy Traffic Areas
The natural wear occurs when the hat is caught, rubbed or exposed to the elements and sandpaper is your best partner in recreating this kind of wear. Put a piece of medium-grit sandpaper on the edges of the brim, the pinch at the front of the crown and on the top of the hat to flatten the material and make it look like a fuzzy, frayed surface. When you are working with a straw hat, you can sand lightly, till some of the threads woven in it start to snap and fray.
Step 3: Add the Grime
A tortoise hat must not appear to be immaculate, because you wish to imitate the rings of sweat, trail dust and general dirt. Make a very strong cup of coffee or dark tea, wet a sponge or rag in it, and dab around the part of the hatband where the sweat is apt to bleed through, and the lines of the crown, where it would otherwise be. To make it look greasy or sooty, put a small spot of dark shoe polish on a rag, rub it into the deepest of the roots of the crown, and under the brim so that it fades away with your stiff brush and does not appear to have been done intentionally.
Step 4: Singe Felt and Wool Edges
Carefully done, and done outside or in a well-ventilated place with a damp towel at hand, fire adds an unbelievable amount of authenticity to a battered hat, simulating campfires and weathering to the extreme. Use any common lighter, and just pass the flame along the extreme edge of the rim, not to burn the hat, but to scald the loose, sanded fibers. Wipe it at once with your gloved hand or a wet cloth, to leave a wonderful scalded hardened edge.
Step 5: The Physical Beat-Down
In some cases, beating a hat is the surest way to make it look beat up. Roll it on the driveway and walk on it several times to make it soften up like the factory or roll it into a ball and leave it under a heavy book overnight. The more you handle the fabric the less artificial rigidity it will have and the softer and worn-in drape it will have.
Step 6: Final Touches
When the hat is dry of the water and coffee stains take a step back and inspect your work and with your stiff bristle brush blend the coarse lines left by the shoe polish. Should you desire to add a little more personality, replace the factory hatband with a piece of worn leather, a scrap of old fabric or even an old bandana. Fling it on, push up the brim, and wear it as a person who has a few stories to share.
