Stiffening too-floppy suede cowboy hat

[dadorfman]

My first leather-working project was in the mid-1970's:  reupholstering a leather seat and seat-back on an antique, oak, office chair for an upholstery class project.  More recently, I bought an unlined, suede cowboy hat off Amazon to keep me dry on a trip to Peru.  The rain at Machu Picchu was the perfect weather for experiencing the truth of the site, but my hat was soaked, took a full day to dry out and now looks funkier than I would prefer.  Fifteen months later, what, if anything, can I do to stiffen it up?  I have been storing it with a supermarket plastic bag of balled up newspaper filling the crown.but the floppiness comes back when I remove the bag.

Thanks in advance.

[fredk]

When you find out tell me cos nowt I do will stiffen up my hat again

 

[casemaker]

I use a "leather stiffener" for stiffening veg tan products.  It looks and smells like shellac used on wood but I buy it from a chemical company that makes finishes for leather.  You  could try it on some leather to see if it works for you

Edited April 25, 2021 by casemaker

[JohnnyLongpants]

Spray starch--the same stuff dry cleaners use on shirts to make them crisp.

 

There are other specialty products but this is as easy and easily-available as anything else.