Leather Bowler

[shtoink]

At one pair of molds for every hat size and crown shape you wanted to make, that would be an awful lot of molds to invest in.

Ooops, I completely forgot about that...

[Feraud]

I can't help but think that having a positive and a negative mold to clamp the leather between would be even better. It works pretty well for other wet forming, why not a hat? It'd just be the time invested in making the molds and then you can make them very consistently.

I don' think it is necessary to use a positive and negative mold to clamp the leather between. Hat-makers have for many decades been doing what you want to do with just the block method. Either a plastic, wood, or DIY'd block should work.

I agree with footrat, finishing the underside of the brim will raise the look of the hat considerably. Also, in the photo you posted there is stitching showing at the base of the crown. I'm not sure if that is a design element in itself or the maker stitched a sweatband on the inside. You may want to craft a type of hatband to cover any stitching that is done.

[Fatolbaldguy]

I am not a commercial leather worker. I'm just a duffer hobbiest. The stuff I make, besides the accasional gift, is for my own use or to see if I can do it. You should see my drawer of spectacular failures. If I build a bowler chances are it will be one or two tops. So I think a big investment in stuff will have to wait. Maybe I will try the block of wood belt sander idea.

[JPThomas]

I have spoken with the folks at http://www.hatshapers.com/ and their plastic forms hold up to the steaming used to make felt hats; another of their clients uses one to make leather baseball caps. I haven't had the funds to make an order with them but at $28 I do not personally see a downside to such an investment. If I were to use the traditional block method I think that I would make one such as a shoe or dress form and figure out a way to include a size change gear that way all I would have to do is cut wooden shims to slide in the gaps as I increased the size.

The hat in your picture has been made in basically two parts (if we ignore the patch at the top) the crown has been stitched to the brim after the brim area was darted and folded up into the crown for gluing and stitching. You can tell this by the way the crown undulates back and forth below the stitching; using this manner requires a sweatband to be added to the hat to keep the glue and the darts from abrading the forehead and scalp. A hatband would hide this, if deemed necessary.

If you are using a wooden form that would include a full a full brim for proper "turn up" I would suggest making a 2 part brim ring for proper shaping. This may also reduce leather wrinkling by properly stretching the leather over the crown and then locking in place inside the lower brim form where it would stay until dry.