How to stretch your headwear

How to stretch a hat?

The hat stretcher

It serves to protect your headwear and keep it in good condition. Besides its primary function of stretching hats, it allows you to store your headwear while maintaining its size and preventing moisture absorption, which preserves the leather band or grosgrain fabric.

It is perfect for straw hats or felt hats.

Using your Hat Stretcher

1. Place the hat stretcher in your headwear with the flat parts facing outward and the conical parts inside.
   The two wooden parts of the stretcher should be positioned one at the front and one at the back, with the screw in the middle.
2. Place the two wooden parts inside the hat at the label level. They should be parallel to the crease in the crown of the hat.
3. Expand the stretcher to obtain the desired size of your hat.
4. Tighten the handle to adjust the stretcher to the size of the headwear. The hat is ready for storage. It should always be placed on the crown to keep the brim in good condition.

To increase the size of your hat:

1. Repeat the previous steps.
2. Use a teapot or a pot with the lid slightly open, and bring clean water to a boil. Then reduce the heat to produce a steady stream of steam.
3. Holding the hat stretcher by the handle, apply steam directly and evenly to the outside of the band area.
4. Then, turn the screw to obtain the desired size while applying steam. Don't stretch the hat too much at once: 1/4 of the maximum size, for example: 7 to 7 1/4.
5. Let the hat cool and dry for 20 to 30 minutes before removing the stretcher from the hat.
6. Repeat until the hat reaches the desired size.