While a straw hat may look good on you, it’s prone to getting scuffed and ripped. When storing or transporting the hat, you may inadvertently crush it.
Since straw can tear that finally results in a hat hole, you’ll want to learn how to fix a straw cowboy hat for longer use.
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How to Fix a Bent/Squashed Straw Cowboy Hat?
The process of repairing a straw cowboy hat is simple.
Sometimes, all you need is some steam to bring back your old hat to its former glory. You can iron the hat if it’s really saggy.
– Steaming and Wetting the Hat –
Step 1. Put some steam in the cap.
Steaming the hat is a good starting step. Using a steamer is the most frequent method of steaming a straw hat.
First, steam the hat’s entire brim with a hairdryer. Fibers are loosened by the steam.
When the hat is warmed by steam, it will return to its original shape. Instead of a steamer, you might use the steam from a boiling pot of water.
But you should exercise extreme caution when working with hot water.
Stop the operation for a few minutes if the steam seems to be saturating the hat too much.
Also Read: How to Put a Feather on a Cowboy Hat?
Step 2. Raise the brim and steam the entire circumference.
Straw hats can be damaged or injured by steam, so keep the steam at least 6 to 8 inches away from them. Reattach the brim to the hat.
Put steam inside the hat’s crown and direct around the brim. The hat’s dents should begin to pop back out as the steam builds up.
Steamers and irons should not contact the straw, though. Keep heating the hat until it is moist to the touch.
Make no fuss about the fact that the hat is getting overly wet because that is exactly what is going to straighten it out.
Step 3. Dampen the hat with water.
If boiling the hat doesn’t work, you may want to try wetting the hat as a second option.
A crushed straw hat brim lends itself well to this method. Water can be sprayed on the hat.
The straw will return to its original shape as it dries because the moisture makes it more malleable.
Spray a little mist of water on the hat. The crown of the hat can be dipped in warm water if that doesn’t work.
To avoid the straw from cracking, keep the hat from drying out too much.
Turn it around in the bowl a few times to make sure it’s soaked all the way through.
Once the hat has been soaked, you will want to use your fingers or another object to mold it back to its original form.
Don’t worry about getting a straw cowboy hat wet, even if it’s a little scary. One of the most prevalent methods of reshaping a hat is this technique.
Also Read: How to Shrink a Cowboy Hat for the Best Fit?
Step 4. Allow the hat to air-dry before putting it away.
Once you’ve finished steaming or soaking it, let the straw hat air dry for a few hours.
Even if the hat doesn’t return to its original shape after steaming or wetting, try again.
It all depends on the hat and the damage. There are some hats that only need one-time steaming or wetting, but there are others that need extra.
If you can, try to get away with only one steaming or wetting because you don’t want to keep reshaping a hat.
Also Read: How to Shape a Leather Cowboy Hat?
– Reshaping the Hat –
Step 1. To shape the hat, roll up a towel.
Try shaping it back to its original shape rather than soaking or heating the hat.
There is nothing wrong with adding a little bit of water to the towel if necessary. The straw will be able to relax even more due to the added wetness.
To put it another way, the towel is going to serve as your head. On top of your towel roll, place your straw hat.
Wait for it to dry up a bit before removing the straw hat. Make sure you roll the towel out as wide as possible before inserting the cap.
If you’re on vacation and don’t have access to any other hat-sized objects, the towel approach is a nice option.
Another option is to use tissue paper or newspaper fragments to fill the hat.
Also Read: How to Dye a Felt Hat for Stylish?
Step 2. Inside the hat, place a circular object.
A bowl or any other circular object that fits snugly within the hat could be used in place of the towel. To help it regain its head-like appearance, try this method:
It is also possible to employ weights, clips, or strings to hold the hat in place so that it can return to its normal shape.
Make sure the object you choose is the right size for the hat’s crown, or it won’t be of any use at all.
You may end up damaging the hat if the brim is too big. The crown of the hat should be able to fit any object that is of the correct size and form.
Step 3. Straighten the hat.
The hat’s brim should be ironed backward on the edge of a cutting board.
Apply some dampness to the brim of the hat. Set the iron to a medium-high setting so that the steam will rise from the iron.
Over a damp towel, iron over the brim of the hat. Avoid letting the iron rest on the brim and press gently yet quickly.
You don’t want to burn the straw if you don’t do this.
Rotate the brim to move the hat in all directions at once. Tops should be ironed. Depending on the style, the tops may want special attention.
Straw should be handled with extreme caution while using an iron.
In order to prevent the hat from burning, you must place a damp cloth between your iron and straw.
The straw in the hat is already compromised from the initial squash, so be careful not to squash it again.
Once the straws begin to shatter and loosen, the hat will no longer be able to withstand repeated wear and tear.
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How to Fix the Crack/Tear on Straw Cowboy Hat?
There are situations when precautionary measures aren’t enough. There’s no need to freak out if your priceless straw hat gets a rip.
Repairing a minor flaw is always preferable to leaving it unattended. A little tear is like a small windshield chip that hasn’t been repaired.
The hat will eventually become unwearable because of the growing crack.
Here’re the solutions for how to fix a straw cowboy hat with cracks.
1. Elmer’s glue can be used to mend your straw cowboy hat if you discover a small fracture.
However, repairing your hat with a crown repair strip is usually the best option.
The straw is held together by these strips, preventing additional cracking. Repair strips can also be used to keep the straw from breaking.
These mending strips are also included in certain straw hats to strengthen the crown and avoid tearing.
Here’s the video of how to use a crown strip to fix small cracks on straw cowboy hats.
2. Picking up your hat by the brim can help keep the straw from breaking around the crown.
While the crown is more rigid, the brim is much more forgiving. Stiffeners and blocking are commonly used to stiffen the crown of straw hats.
There is a noticeable difference in strength between the crown and brim straw because of this.
Also Read: How to Distress A Baseball Cap Properly?
How to Protect Your Straw Cowboy Hat to Avoid Bent & Cracking?
After learning how to fix a straw cowboy hat, you’d better check how to prevent bent and cracking from your hat for longer use.
1. Purchase a Hat Block
These are Styrofoam heads that you may put your straw cowboy hat on when you don’t want to wear.
It’s the only way to get the hat back to its original form because it’s a dummy.
You won’t have a hard time finding these. Many beauty supply businesses carry these since they are commonly used to store wigs.
A Styrofoam wig head is all you need to get started. Styrofoam head block should be placed on a wet or steaming hat.
Adjust the position of the block so that it’s firmly in place. When you’re not wearing your hat, you may simply place it on a head block to keep it safe.
Also Read: How to Clean A Hard Hat to Avoid Odors?
2. Cover the Hat with a Hefty Object
To prevent the brim from curling, place the object on top of the brim of the cowboy hat.
1. Putting something like an ice bucket on top of a wastepaper basket or a tiny wastepaper basket could work.
Hats have a large area on top of the crown where the item must fit.
2. The brim of the basket or bucket should be flattened by the weight of the container itself.
However, the container should be large enough so that your straw cowboy hat does not get squashed.
3. To flatten a squished-up straw brim, not to repair defects in the hat’s crown, is the purpose of this technique, not the reverse.
3. Protect the Headwear
Keep in mind that the first thing you should do is make sure that your hat doesn’t end up getting a little squashed.
There are techniques to preserve the shape of your hat.
1. If you’re going to be traveling, either keep your hat in a hatbox or wear it on your head while you’re there. Straw hats are a nightmare waiting to happen if they’re stuffed into a suitcase.
2. Make sure you don’t keep twisting and turning the hat over and over again since this could cause the straw to fracture. The crown and brim of the hat should not be overly weakened.
3. You can use 12 tsp. hydrogen peroxide and 12 tsp. warm water to clean light straw hats.
Mix 12 tsp. ammonia with 1/3 cup water to clean dark straw hats. Steaming some velvet and using it to rub on the hat is another option.
Also Read: How to Put a Hatband on a Cowboy Hat?
Conclusion
Many hat-lovers are concerned that their straw hats have become deformed and unbalanced after being stored for an extended period of time.
The forgiving nature of straw, in particular high-quality straw, means you should be able to use these ways to repair a straw hat.
Straw hats that don’t have any internal circuitry can be securely steamed. Steam the straws with an iron and then smooth the material with your hands.
If the brim of a malformed straw hat needs to be uncurled, place something heavy along the brim and steam it to assist straighten the edges.
