Le 28 mars 2015
Hat Care

Your hat has shrunk, why?

the hat size can shrinkImage credit: Pixabay

Have you noticed a change in the size of your hat when it fit you perfectly at the time of purchase? Here are some explanations to understand where it comes from and how to remedy it.  


Understanding hat shrinkage

The size change can come from different factors:
  • Exposure to heat that is too rapid and prolonged (example: placing the headwear on a radiator or behind a car's rear window)
  • Perspiration during hot periods, such as summer, but also during winter when cold periods are significant. The head releases heat which can cause shrinkage of the inner grosgrain.
These two factors often cause a deformation of the headwear and can make it lose a size. If this happens to you, don't worry, enlarging your headwear is entirely possible. To do this, boil a pot of hot water to produce steam. Steam your headwear, then equip yourself with a hat stretcher, this accessory is essential to enlarge your hat to restore its original size and adapt it to your head. 

hat-stretcher
Hat stretcher, available on the Traclet website.
 

Using a stretcher effectively

To use your stretcher correctly, you must enlarge the hat quickly after steaming it. This helps soften the felt and the grosgrain. 
 
1. Place the hat stretcher against the inner area of the headwear (inner grosgrain) to encourage expansion. 
2. Once you have positioned it correctly, use the screw and gently stretch it to avoid risking cracking the seams.
3. To prevent your headwear's size from changing, leave it with the stretcher for a full night.
4. You can repeat this process until you reach the desired size, knowing thatwith a stretcher you can gain 1 to 1.5 cm.

For a more significant size increase, it's best to completely remove the grosgrain to avoid cutting the seams.


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