How to Adjust a CHP Campaign Cover

The fit of CHP campaign covers can be adjusted using a hat stretcher.

Wearing a new California Highway Patrol (CHP) campaign cover can be very uncomfortable until it is broken in. The brim often cuts into the front and back of the wearer's head the brim of the hat is often too rounded. There is an alternative to enduring weeks of discomfort while breaking in your campaign cover. You can change the shape of your campaign cover, rather than paying a professional hat maker or hat retailer, by using a "hat jack" to adjust the fit.

Things You'll Need

• California Highway Patrol campaign cover
• Hat Jack hat stretcher
• Steam iron
• Pressing cloth

Instructions

1. Insert the Hat Jack hat stretcher into the brim of the hat. Turn the center bar of the hat stretcher until it is held firmly in place by the brim.

2. Heat the water in a tea kettle until it is boiling. Steam the outside brim of your campaign cover using the steam from a boiling tea kettle. Move the hat while steaming it so you do not get the hat wet.

3. Use a steam iron to press the brim of your hat flat if the brim-stretching process caused the brim of your hat to curve. Insert the hat jack inside the brim and place your campaign cover on a flat surface. Place a pressing cloth over the brim of your hat to prevent the iron from touching the brim of the hat directly. If you do not own a pressing cloth, a clean, woven cotton dish towel or a piece of an old sheet will work

4. Place your hat on a flat surface, with the hat jack inside the brim. Allow the brim to dry overnight, or for approximately eight hours.

Tips & Warnings

• The next time you purchase a new campaign cover, ask to try on the long oval, or extra-long oval size. This may eliminate the need for you to stretch the brim of new campaign covers in the future.

• The process described to stretch the brim of your campaign cover works with straw or cloth versions.

• If you place a steam iron directly on the surface of your campaign cover, without a pressing cloth, you may discolor or leave a permanent mark on your campaign cover.

References

• David Morgan Co.; Putting a long oval in a fur felt hat; 2010
• Officer.com; Campaign Cover; February 2008