Making a leather hat

Making a leather hat

Everything you've always wanted to know about your favorite hat...

The leather hat is one of those timeless accessories that will always find its place in both women's and men's wardrobes, because it is simply timeless. And the first lovers of this hat are obviously those who still make it today, those who have managed, over different generations, to make it travel through time and eras by allowing it to evolve by playing with shapes, colors, materials... Unisex and authentic, the leather hat is eternal.

The raw material of a leather hat, the first element for successful craftsmanship

The choice of materials greatly influences the final result, as there are indeed several qualities of leather, and not all are equal. Whether it's in the suppleness of the material, its hold, its appearance, its thickness... The selection criteria are numerous to identify if we want to guarantee a finished product of quality and durable over time. Leather is a material that has always occupied an important place in human life, and this, for more than 5,000 years, the period of the first clothing creations.

The different types of leather used

• The calfskin, thick and robust, is appreciated for its durability and ability to develop a patina over time.
• The sheepskin, finer, lighter, and more flexible, is used in the manufacture of more refined leather hats.
• The goat leather is between calfskin and sheepskin in terms of fineness and it does not fold.
• The pigskin, thick and resistant, is much more affordable than those mentioned previously.
• The calf leather, a noble leather, highly appreciated by leather enthusiasts, is both smooth and supple and comes in very different forms depending on the treatment it has received (grained, sueded, more or less thick). It is used by a large number of tanneries.

Leather varieties

• The Crust leather undergoes very little chemical treatment, which facilitates its coloring, it absorbs any type of treatment or color.
• The vegetable-tanned leather is tanned using natural materials, ground oak bark has been particularly used in France for a long time.
• The full-grain leather, this is the most noble part of the hide.
• The split grain leather, to improve the quality of the leather, the dermis is treated and a layer is removed.
• The Nubuck, the leather is buffed to obtain this soft and velvety appearance.
• The suede, also called buckskin, the flesh side of the leather is brushed to make it usable.
• The leather split, the less noble part of the skin located in the lower layer.

The equipment used for making a leather hat, the industrial sewing machine

Once the leather is selected, it's time for cutting, a delicate step that requires great concentration from the seamstresses, as leather is an expensive raw material. For this, a pattern is used, generally available in several sizes to meet all demands.

Depending on the hat, more or less resistant and fine threads will be used on the industrial sewing machine used for its manufacture. With a large needle and slow speed, the industrial sewing machine can handle the most resistant leathers to assemble the different parts of the hat.

Elegant or rustic, classic or modern, the traditional leather hat appeals due to its capacity for transformation that has delighted men and women for many generations. Which leather hat model will you fall for...