How to Shape a Stetson
"Necessity is the mother of invention" couldn't be more true in the case of Stetson cowboys hats. Their creator, John Batterson Stetson, needed a waterproof hat that would keep his head warm while panning for gold during the gold rush in the 19th century. He came from a family whose trade was quality hat production and so he knew something about hat design. His Stetson became an icon of the American West and endures today as the gold standard of cowboy hats. But, Stetsons don't come preshaped; that's up to the customer to do according to his own preference. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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1
Put your tea kettle on the burner, filled with water. The purpose is to create steam to soften the brim of your Stetson so that you can bend it and set the crease.
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2
Listen for the kettle to start its whistle. Once steam is pouring out of the mouth of the kettle, hold the Stetson hat on its side, up close to the steam. Make sure steam is contacting the part of the hat where the crown and brim meet. Run this part of the hat through the steam for several seconds.
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3
Fold up the brim of the hat on the side you just steamed. Do this slowly and gently. How much of a fold you give the hat is your preference. For a deeper fold, you may have to steam it again. Once the hat completely dries (from being exposed to the steam) the fold will be set in the hat.
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4
Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the opposite side of your Stetson.
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Tips & Warnings
If you're not happy with your hat shaping, you can apply steam again and flatten out the brim. Once it's flat, use steam to reshape.
