Excellent info! My wife bought me a Stetson that I love but it's just a bit too small. I ordered the hat stretcher and will return to this video when it comes in. Thanks for posting this.
@@benjaminmurillo3328 Worked like a charm. I've worn the Stetson quite a bit since stretching it and it's much more comfortable. I did have to stretch it a couple of more times before it would stay the same size, but now it's great.
All your videos are great, thanks for all I’ve learned about working my western hats! Even reshaped hats for my friends. Question: I got a 10X Beaver Felt Vintage, it’s 7 1/4. I wear a 7 1/2, with a stretcher, steam and adjusting the stretcher for more tension a bit everyday with more steam, do you think it will stretch 1/4”?
Yes you can, however given the nature of the material you can’t stretch it very far. You may check out some of our other videos about finding other ways to make the hat fit better, such as cutting out parts of the band. We will be making another video here soon talking about using water to stretch a hat out in extreme circumstances, so be looking for that as well. Thanks for the question!
Thanks for the question! I think you could try with a little risk but might continue to go back down. If you really want to try, I would make sure the hat band is off so it’s not constricting the stretch. But you do run the risk of disfiguring it trying to stretch it that far.
FTB, I have this exact same issue. I always by a 7 1/4 and customize the fit by packing the inside of the band so that it fits just right. I have a video explaining this on the channel if you want to check it out! S^C
Marty, This definitely works on palm leaf hats if you get it plenty wet first. Straw hats are harder for this method but I have had some success doing it. S^C
Good question! I’ve found that stretching a hat this way can tolerate about 1/4” max. After that, it starts to distort the crown. I wish I had better news for you!
@@StartupCowboy ah that’s what I figured. That’s alright it was just some hat I found in my closet I had when I was younger and tried to see if I could make it work. Looks like I’m giving it to someone else lol
Brundan, Usually I like to keep a stretcher in a hat for a minimum of an hour. Sometimes I will let it sit in there for 24 hours. If the hat continues to shrink back maybe consider leaving the stretcher in the hat when your not wearing it. Hope this helps!
How long will it stay stretched? I have some nice hats that are 7-1/8 and I need to stretch them to 7-1/4. I have a hat stretcher like you have and used my wife's clothes steamer (maybe that's not enough?), and it doesn't seem to do the trick.
The Texas Beekeeper, Thanks for the question. My bet is that you are not getting enough heat on your hat. Another possibility is that the quality of your hat might be high enough that it may take pretty extreme heat and over stretching to achieve your desired size. You may also consider leaving the stretcher in the hat when you are not using it. This usually keeps the hat from snapping back to the smaller size. Let us know if this works and if not we might try to solve this issue and make a video with our findings.
@@StartupCowboy Hey Appreciate the quick reply. Ahh. I didn't even consider the quality playing a role. One is the Resistol 20X Black Gold and the other is a Resistol 100X, so very well could be. Both really nice hats which is why I'm trying to get some more use out of them. I may have to get one of those Hat steamers. I have left a hat jack in and that did seem to keep it to where I could at least put it on, but seems like it doesn't take long and the hat is soon crawling up my forehead because it's shrinking. But again, the steam like you said, probably wasn't hot enough it was just a cheap clothes steamer my wife had. I'll give it another try with some better steam and see what I can get. If not, I'll have to see what I can get for 'em and get me some new ones. Thanks again for the reply.
@@TexasBeekeeper hope I can help , but I usually install the stretcher and boil some water in a good size pot , let it come to a really hot steam/boil and set the hat on top for a couple seconds and see if you can turn it , if not leave it on the pot a little longer then try to stretch it once again you’ll be able to give it maybe a turn or two and keep going till you find the right size . It’s been 4 months so hopefully you found a a way
@@StartupCowboy Also beware of to much steam. My Resistol needed a little stretching and to my horror I had a steam burn! I have taken great care to clean it up lightly over a long period of time which has slowly helped in making it go away. Just wanted to add this as it is definitely can happen. best to youall and best of luck.... great video by the way. it also tells my age but there wasn't a you tube back then so i was self taught and hit and miss. see ya!
@Startup Cowboy thank you sir. I wore mine in the rain and did not properly care for it after. It's my first and only, this video hopefully will restore it to its glory.
Because I can’t see the hat I can’t tell you either way. But what I do know is whether the leather is real or not matters and I would recommend not doing it given that leather can only stretch so far before it fails you/deforms.