Caring for Felt Hats

• Felt hats, like all other hats, should be handled by their brim rather than their crowns. 
• Avoid touching or handling them with dirty or oily hands. This will stain the felt over time. 
• Avoid resting felt hats on flat surfaces.
• If necessary, rest your hat on its crown (i.e. upside down) to avoid warping its brim. 

• Short-term Storage
• It is best to place your felt hat on a hat stand or hat block/form.
• This method most resembles what a hat is intended for - to be placed atop your head. 
• The next best option is to hang your felt hat on a hat tree or peg.
• Avoid direct sunlight, heat, or high-humidity areas. 
• Long-term Storage
• It is best to store felt hats in a hat box in order to protect from light and dust. 
• Hat boxes with a dedicated hat cradle or block/form are the gold standard. 
• If your box does not include a dedicated hat cradle or block/form, a regular box with lid will work great - with one extra step. Simply make a cradle for your hat out of tissue paper and place the hat into it crown first (upside down). 
• Avoid storing your hat box in direct sunlight or near heat or humidity. 

• Use a dedicated, soft-bristled hat brush to regularly brush your felt hat.
• Use a dark-bristled brush for dark felts and a light-bristled brush for light felts.
• Brush with long strokes in a counter-clockwise motion. See video below:
• For stubborn dust and/or surface stains, steam the area to help loosen the stain. Brush away using a hat brush or hat sponge.
• For set-in stains, gently rub with fine sandpaper to remove the stain.
• Alternatively, apply steam to soften, then use tweezers to gently pry the stain out.

• Steam may be used to refresh your hat's felt, to smooth out any creases or dents, or to gently coax your hat back to its original shape.
• Felt-safe hat stiffening products may be applied to help re-stiffen and hold the shape of your hat. Follow manufacturer's instructions. 

• Stretching Using a Hat Stretcher
• Steam your hat using a dedicated steamer or kitchen kettle to soften the hat.
• Follow manufacturer instructions.
• We recommend using a hat stretcher for best results.
• Stretching Without a Hat Stretcher
• Stretching a hat without a dedicated hat stretcher is possible, but the size increase will most likely be less (usually no more than 1 hat size, e.g. size 7 to size 7 1/8).
• Simply steam to soften the hat, place the hat over your bent knee, and rotate while tugging gently to stretch.
• This may need to be repeated until the desired result is achieved. 

By G. Realpe
Copywriter, Village Hat Shop