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After and Before
After and Before
I've upcycled over 350 hats in the past couple of years, so there are way too many to show..but I added a few in the slide show to the right, so you can get an idea of what I do with distressing, dyes and embellishments.
For my bands, I use hand distressed canvas, hides, snake, goat, cow, and exotics. I lean towards textiles, mostly vintage kilim textiles in the spring/summer, but there are always exceptions because I get tired of doing the same process too many times.
I bounce around the studio, which is also my bedroom...leaving a mess of leather, string and feathers in my wake. I can usually remember the process that led me to a certain hat, but I don't write anything down, so don't expect any hat to be repeated...exactly. Also, I never take commissions. I hate the pressure and stress of trying to make another person's vision. I prefer to just make my hats, and if someone likes it, great! Life's too short for stress!
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 I usually buy US, Mexican, or European made.
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. The furs are coney, mink and beaver. 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.
Fur Blend Hats
Quality Straw
100% Fur Felt
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