Is there any way i can stretch a hat ever so slightly without buying anything? its only about 1.3243684 CM too small… any help would be greatly appreciated.
Jason
It would be best to take it to a specialist in cleaning and blocking men’s hats.
You should find at least one in a citiy of any size. Usually in an Afro-American neighborhood. Note: 1 1/3 cm is no small stretch. You could ruin you hat.
PS How did you arrive at such a precise figure of 1.3243684 ?
just an approximation, of course.
I guess i will just end up letting my head stretch it. its not That tight… i just thought that 1.3243684 cm would be more than ample extra space.
Here is what I do to elarge the size of knitted and felted objects (felted objects would resemble a man’s hat…washed and shrunken wool):
Wet the item with COLD water. You can either soak it completely or use a spray bottle and “spritz” it all over.
Next, stretch it and pin it. For a man’s hat, I suppose you could use a bowling ball or any round object that would maintain the general shape of the hat, but be a bit large. It should be a bit more flexible when wet, but you may have to put some muscle into it.
Otherwise, you can simply pin it to something like a towel or curtain and stretch it between the pins. I mean, as opposed to stretching it over something round.
Let it dry at least overnight.
I guess i should mention that the hat in question is a fitted baseball cap
If you are worried about harming the hat by excessive stretching, then only stretch it a moderate amount and take care of the rest by shrinking cinching wet cotton webbing (you can get that from a sewing/fabric supply store) around your forehead, and letting it dry overnight (during which time it will shrink). Repeat this for a week or so until your hat is able to fit.
Then again, maybe that’s not such a hot idea. If the hat blocking does not work, try cutting out the existing clasp and sewing in a longer one.
Oh yeah, honey. Just give it a yank and pin it to something firmly after you wet it. IT will stretch in a few hours. For some reason, I was thinking more of a Casablanca type of fedora. Wet the cap under the tap…COLD water only (hot will make it shrink) then grabe it and PIN it TIGHTLY as large as you can. The next day it will be 1/2 inch or more larger.
A friend of mine bought a hat stretcher in Stetson store somewhere in Texas. It’s a pair of curved wooden pieces with a double-threaded turnbuckle thing in between. However, it you’re talking about a New Era 5950®, I’d just get it very wet and put it on. Wear it until it is dry. It’s made of wool, which is stretchy when wet. If you’re worried about the shape, stuff the crown with wadded newspaper. You’ll smell like a wet sweater on damp newspaper for a while, but it will be worth it. Life is good inside a New Era 5950.
Oh, yes.
No guess’s make for a explicit OP and far better answers.
PS. A baseball cap is NOT a hat.
What does the temperature of the water matter? I always thought clothes shrink during the DRYING process, not the rinse.