How to stretch a leather hat?

[midwestyankee]

I recently received a leather hat as a gift but it's a bit too small. Since the hat was a gift and I don't have the receipt from the Australia-based manufacturer, I'm pretty much stuck with it.

So here's my question: is there a reasonably reliable way to stretch the hat a bit so that it fits me better? I only need to stretch it about a half size (say, the difference between a small and a medium) but I want to be sure that whatever method I use will not permanently damage the hat.

Now, my googling on this subject has led me to numerous posts in various forums about stretching leather boots. This just isn't the same and I certainly don't want to soak it in water and then wear it around all day. Think of the damage to my keyboard alone!

Thanks in advance.

 

[fgarvb1]

Give this alook over.


http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=leather+cowboy+hat+resizing&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

 

[SimpleEmotion]

Take it to a hatter or a cobbler.

 

[Weird Harold]

Take it to a hatter or a cobbler.

Good advice. A professional has the tools and knowledge to block the hat properly.

However, since it's an australian leather hat, I found this:

What to do if your hat doesn't fit...

If your hat feels a bit tight, simply apply a little warm water with a sponge to the inside stitching in the crown and put the hat over your knee, by pulling with both hands from the inside of the hat (not the brim) you will be amazed just how big you will be able to stretch the hat.

... at http://www.walkabout.com/customerService/care_hat.asp

You don't need to wear the hat wet to stretch it out, you can stretch it out but wetting it down and stuffing it with a rolled towel and or newspaper.

 

[midwestyankee]

Thanks. I'll try the warm water on the inside stitching trick and if that doesn't work then I'll seek out a hat specialist. Surely there's one somewhere in Chicago.

 

[Weird Harold]

Thanks. I'll try the warm water on the inside stitching trick and if that doesn't work then I'll seek out a hat specialist. Surely there's one somewhere in Chicago.

It took a few tries, but I did manage to google up something that my uncle used to have among his collection of old junk he passed off to tourists as "antiques" -- a hat-stretcher:

http://www.villagehatshop.com/jack_stretcher.html

The two-way example shown is less complicated than the four-way stretcher I remember from my uncle's shop, but it should do the job if you soften the leather with saddlesoap or neetsfoot(tm) oil.

 

[sarah_rsl]

You know when I saw this thread, I thought "hat stretching I bet that's code for something really nasty"

dissapointed