Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you accidentally sit on your hat, you step on it walking through your messy room or realize your hat ended up at the bottom of your suitcase? Yikes. If you said yes to any of those, this post is for you! We are talking all about how to reshape your hat if it's been crushed. Whether you are a Gigi Pip hat hoarder or you've just made your first purchase, we are letting you in on a little secret, a hat maker's secret, steam is KEY.
There are multiple ways you can steam out the scrunch, the crunch or anything in between including using an industrial steamer, a handheld steamer you can get from Target or Walmart, boiling a pot of water at home or even throwing it in the bathroom to steam while you shower. Here at Gigi Pip, we use an industrial steamer because we have a large volume of hats to handle every day. Don't worry, no matter what steaming device you have, we are walking you through each option!
Fixing your hat's shape crushed sections is the most straightforward with a steamer. Let the steam envelope the hat section by section and knead the areas into shape after the steam has made them softer and more pliable. Avoid letting the hat get too wet. If this starts to happen, let it dry out and take another pass at it.
What about fixing a hat strap or band? They can also be reshaped using a steamer. Try pulling the strap taunt while adjusting steamed sections and working your way up the strap.
If you don't have a steamer on hand, you can boil water in a tea kettle or a regular metal pot you would use for cooking. When the water boils, dump it out and hold your hat about a foot from the steam as you drain it or open the tea kettle and let the steam roll out and onto your hat.
Steam your hat by turning on the shower to the hottest setting and shut the door. Remember, you want the hat to get steamed but not wet. Hang the hat away from the water's steam on the back of the door or a hook for about 20 minutes or less and that should do the trick! This method works great for floppy hats that might have gotten wrinkles in them and is a good first step when restoring a hat after major smash damage.
To fix a bent hat brim, steam the area until the material is pliable. You can then use your hands to work the brim into the right shape. We recommend using a flat surface to guide you as you reshape the brim. Reshaping a floppy hat brim can be done the same way, just keep in mind the brim is designed to be floppy and hold less of a shape. The shower hat method tends to work well for floppy hats!
Straw hats or sun hats might get smashed going to or from your vacation destination. When it comes to Gigi Pip hats, you can decrunch both your straw and felt hats. When fixing straw hats, heat them evenly working continuously on the wire lining. Start with the brim of the hat and work your way around. Shape it up as you steam, but be sure to lay it flat using books or weight to dry.
Everything from a smashed brim to a dent in the crown can cause you to need to reshape your fedora. Using steam to get things moving is a great start, but be sure to use these tips to snap your hat back into shape:
So if you accidentally sit on your hat, don't panic! It can be fixed.
xx
Gigi Pip
