Shrinking the crown of a hat is the best thing to do when you have a hat that is bigger than your face. The reason is that, it is not a funny thing if your hat is not fitted or you are wearing a baseball cap that pushes your ear out because of how oversize or tight it is, it can be very embarrassing.
It is embarrassing when the hat is dropping and covering your face, or your cowboy hat is always upside down. You will look like a child and it doesn’t look well on you. You might also have an old cowboy hat that was handed down to you by your grandpa and you are thinking of resizing the crown because it’s bigger. Don’t be afraid, you actually can resize it.
The best way to shrink the crown of a hat is by washing it. A hat shrinks anytime it is washed. Once the hat drys, you will get your desired size. But you must follow the washing procedure very well when washing the hat depending on the type of hat you have.
To resize your hat or shrink the size of your hat, you don’t need to take the hat to a workshop to make it fit, we have different ways to shrink different hats. This is because hats are not made with the same materials. There are leather, polyester, or cotton hat. Whatever hat you have, just know that there are several ways to shrink the crown of your hat and that’s what this article will be covering.
Table of Contents
How to Shrink the Crown of a Hat
Below are how to shrink the crown of a hat:
1. Clean Your Hat
Since it’s an oversized hat. I’m sure you wouldn’t have worn it for a very long time. So, you have to clean it. To clean your cowboy hat, don’t use a sponge and water because it will damage the material of the hat. Use tape. Roll the tape around your fingers and then use it to take off the dirt and dust. The dirt will glue to the tape. By doing this, you won’t damage the hat.
2. Remove the Wrinkles
If the cowboy hat is an old one, there are sure to be wrinkles on the hat. Use a steam iron and the hat stiffener to do this. Spray the hat on all its sides. Don’t spray too much on it. Then you steam the hat. Run it over the crown of the hat and then put the ball inside the crown. Let the ball fit into the hat. Press it down till the wrinkles are released. As you steam it, it becomes smaller and smaller
3. Use Your Hands to Form the Crease
After the wrinkles have been released, use your hands to form the crease you want on the top of the crown. As you are doing this, you must steam it and spray the hat. You can also shape the brim also to the style of your choice. If you want to go Texan, you are free to.
Also, you can just get a foam strip and put it under the sweatband of the hat. You can put the strap around the sweatband or you can just cut it and fix it at the front and back or the sides. Cover the strip with the headband and you are good to go. Try the cowboy hat to know if it truly fits.
Things You Need to Shrink the Crown of a Hat
If you want to shrink the crown of a cowboy hat, all you need is your
- Steaming iron
- Tape
- A small ball that can fit into the crown of the hat
- A hat stiffener, and
- Your hands
How to Shrink the Crown of Baseball Caps, Berets, etc
To shrink the crown of hats like baseball caps, berets, and others, here are the different ways to do it:
Step One: Wash the Hat
Use warm water and detergent for this. Pour the detergent into the warm water. Put your hat in it and let it soak for 30 minutes. When you remove it, rinse it and wear it on your head. You are thinking it’s wet? Yes, it is. You can remove the excess water by using a towel to pat the hat so as to soak in the water. Don’t squeeze water out of the hat. Wear the hat till it dries. You can wear it and go about your daily activities. And if you don’t have that time, you can use a hairdryer.
Step Two: Use the Shower
Instead of using your shower cap, you can just wear that big-sized hat. Bathe with it. You can scrub it if you like but be careful not to damage the hat. When you are done, leave the cap on to dry or you can use the hairdryer since it has shrunk to your size.
Step Three: Use the Washing Machine
Yes, the washing machine. There are some materials that you shouldn’t wash in the washing machine so you put that kind of hat in polythene bags and put it in your washing machine. Use warm water to wash it. The hat will shrink and you can remove it and try it on. If you don’t get the desired size, try it again.
Step Four: Dampen the Hat
You can soak the hat with water to make it damp but not too wet. Then you use the steam iron to dry it. The hat will shrink.
Advantages of Shrinking the Crown of a Hat
- You’ll Get Your Size: The main advantage of shrinking the crown of your hat is that you will get the desired size you want and your hats would fit you.
- It Saves You from Embarrassment: You can decide to wear a headband under your hat to keep it in shape. But, the day your hat will fall off and your secret is revealed, it would be embarrassing. Also, if your hair is not properly arranged and your hat falls off one day, you won’t like the outcome.
- You Won’t Look Weird: Wearing an oversized hat can make you look weird unless you are trying to make a fashion statement. People wear big things these days all for fashion. But if you are not interested in that kind of fashion, then you have to resize your hat.
- It Saves Your Money: When you resize your hat, you won’t have to go to the market to get a new one. Since you can follow the steps at home, so why the need of buying a new one? And again, the hat will last longer than you expected because it’s your size
Disadvantages of Shrinking the Crown of a Hat
Just as you will be happy about your resized hat, there are still disadvantages of shrinking your hat.
- The Hat Won’t Last Longer: A shrunk hat may not last long unless you don’t have the mind of washing it forever. When you wash a hat, it shrinks naturally. So, if you shrink your hat, bear in mind that your hat will get smaller and smaller till you won’t be able to wear it again. Then you’ll just give it out.
- You Won’t Care About Getting a New One: When you shrink all the big-sized hats you were given, you won’t think about getting new ones. You will be used to the shortcut that you won’t spend on yourself again.
Conclusion
I remember whenever I wash my berets and it shrinks, I’ll always put a flat plate in it to stretch the crown and to give it the style I want. Shrinking a hat has been made easy so don’t worry yourself about that large hat, it can still be your size.