How To Shape A Shantung Straw Hat

It was also very durable light weight and cost effective.

How to shape a shantung straw hat. Starting out it is essential to check if your straw hat needs steaming. Shantung straw hats are made from a flat machine woven sheet and blocked into their respective hat shapes. Steam the upper and under sides of the brim. Hold the brim of the hat carefully over the steam.

Allow the hat to dry. Fill the hat with a bowl then place it right side up on a hard surface. Take the hat out of the steam and quickly begin to shape the brim with your hands. The off white color helps reflect the sunlight but the weave isn t usually as tight on shantung hats as it is on other types of straw hats.

Place your hat on a platform such as a mannequin head form or on a covered the can. Stuff tissue in the crown. This section of the brim is now ready to be shaped. Today cowboy hat manufacturers mainly use shantung to make hats.

Step 2 using a steamer or the steam setting on your iron run along the misshapen part of the hat as close as you can get it without allowing the steamer or iron to touch the straw. You can use your hands to gently press out any folds or dents on the surface use copious amounts of tissue paper to line the crown for a few hours to ensure the straw strands adjust to the new shape. Note that the brim will start to cool off quickly. Work with one section at a time to keep the felt soft.

Choose a section of the felt brim to shape first and hold this part over the steam from the boiling water until the felt softens. Steam the straw until it is damp. To do so just dunk them in the horse tank dry to the brim and bend to your liking. Keep your straw hat in shape by storing it in a covered hat box upside down on its crown or by wrapping it in plastic.

These palm leaf hats are made of higher grade of hand woven materials and are not usually lacquered. Restoring a straw hat s shape. You can shape them yourself with water. This must be done while the brim is still soft and hot.

Keep moving the hat steadily through the steam until the entire brim is soft and hot.