How to Find a Custom Hat Maker
The custom hat maker, or hatter, fabricates pieces to your exact specifications. A skilled hat maker can produce almost anything you want--as long as it is for wearing on your head and is some form of cap or hat.
- Difficulty:
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Instructions
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Go online. This is the easiest way to find this particular clothing accessory producer. A selection of online custom hat makers is listed in the Resources section below, but you can also do your own searches to see what else is out there.
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Know what you want. A custom hat is a very personal object, and reflects the identities and tastes of the wearer. Besides size and general shape, you will also want to have an idea of what color and material you would like to use. Hats come in a number of standard designs. Men's hats, in particular, go by special names like fedora, bowler, cowboy and opera hat. Women's hats can run the gamut from formal and very large Easter bonnets, to more fitted designs like the cloche, or even those that resemble berets or caps. The basic style you choose is important because it will determine the overall look.
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Know the size of your head. To get the special measurement used by hat makers--remember the Mad Hatter and that fraction he had on the front of his hat--you need to measure the circumference of your head. This means taking a tape measure and placing it securely in the middle of your forehead and then pulling it all the way around your head until it meets in the front exactly where you started. Take this measurement in inches and divide by Pi, or 3.14. Convert any decimal in this result to a fraction and you will have the measurement you need. In other words, if you come up with 7.25, make it 7 1/4.
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Check to see if the hat maker you've found can do everything you want. You can opt for a ribbon band or a cloth band, or maybe have your name stitched on the outside. You might want have the brim rolled, cut or flanged. Women and men often like to have other objects attached as ornaments to their hats. Women's hats frequently feature flowers, while both men or women might opt for plumes. Hats can be made of a variety of materials. You might choose beaver, straw or felt. You can have designs woven or imprinted on your headgear. A hat can even be crushable. Crushable hats "take a licking" but return to their normal shape afterwards. Opera hats are even designed to be folded closed and re-opened with a quick flick of the wrist. A good hat maker can make almost anything you desire.
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