REPAIRING YOUR HAT

Take good care of them in the first place!  Keep them out of direct sunlight; they'll fade.  Do everything you can to keep them from being squashed or crumpled.

Dented hat: Boil a kettle over a gas or electric ring; do not use an electric kettle, since you need a constant supply of steam and must insure the kettle does not boil dry.  Once the kettle is steaming freely, turn down the heat just enough to keep steam coming out of the spout with a little force. 

Positive the affected area over the jet of steam and allow it to penetrate the straw or felt.  Keep moving the hat around in order for the heat and steam to spread evenly in and around the material.  Remove the hat from the steam after 20-30 seconds.

Quickly push out the dent or rework the shape with the fingers.  Blow on the repaired patch to cool it, and the material will stiffen.  Do not overdo the steaming as you can distort the hat, especially if you are working on a sharp edge or fine detail. Try not to "overwork" any area and work in small stages.  It is also possible to stiffen your hat by steaming the felt or straw thoroughly and allowing the hat to cool.  The stiffener will soften when hot but re-bonds and hardens when cooled*

Silk flowers tHAT have been mashed: Fluff, then apply hair spray to hold the shape

Straw hat (where texture isn't too stiff or too flimsy): Stuff crown with wet towels and let it set for a few hours, head down.  Then flip hat over and fill brim with rolled up wet towels.  Once again, let it sit for a few hours.  Wrinkles are gone; brim is straightened; hat is like new.

Straw hats can also be ironed out successfully using an iron set to #3 (a high setting will burn the straw). Do not allow the iron to stay in one area for too long; keep it moving over the damaged area.  If it's a flat brim, lay the hat on an ironing board.  If the area is curved, hold a thick wad of material on one side of the straw and iron from the reverse side.  More difficult repairs will require you to use the iron to apply heat and steam, then use the fingers to quickly manipulate the straw into shape while the material is still hot.*

Felt Hats: Do not iron felt hats.  Use steam only to effect a repair on felt hats. 

*www.hatsuk.com