Care Instructions & Hints for Hats

LEATHER HATS

1. Please ensure your leather hat is not exposed to extreme heat (for example, inside an enclosed car behind the glass).

2. Suede: Dry your hat slowly, rain drops marks will simply brush out.

3. Suede: some marks can be removed by rubbing gently with fine sandpaper.

4. Oiled Leather: water will bead and roll off (or shake off), When leather appears lighter over time reapply a leather dressing.

5. Leather dressing will darken Kangaroo Leather.

COOLIBAH FELT HATS

1. Lightly brush off any dust.

2. Immerse the entire hat in warm, soapy (mild) water, rinse well.

3. It is not recommended that you machine wash your Coolibah Felt hat.

4. Dry on a flat surface, in a warm but shady area.

5. If the mesh becomes creased, use steam or hot air (eg. from a hair dryer) to remove creases.

CANVAS HATS

1. Lightly brush off any dust.

2. For minor marks, sponge with warm water and a mild detergent.

3. If necessary, your canvas hat can be cleaned in a 1:3 solution of bleach and gently hand-washed.
Ensure the hat is rinsed thoroughly in clean water immediately to remove bleach.

4. It is not recommended that you machine-wash your canvas hat.

5. If the mesh becomes creased, use steam or hot air (eg. from a hair dryer) to remove creases.

SUNAWAY HATS

1. Hand wash hat – machine washing is not recommended.

2. A ‘Shot of Steam’ will smooth any creases in brim or gusset.

HILLBILLY HATS

Shrinking a Hillbilly Hat - Felt is made from wool. When animal hair is exposed to hot water or a heated dryer, it shrinks.

(Also if the brim is too big - trim neatly with scissors.)

Step 1

Place the hat into a pillowcase or lingerie bag. Tie or zip the bag shut.

Step 2

Set your washing machine for the smallest load and the hottest water possible. Add the normal amount of preferably wool wash laundry detergent recommended for the load size.

Step 3

Add a few old towels and the bag containing your felt hat. Allow the machine to agitate until the load is halfway finished, then pull your hat out and check to see if it has shrunk enough. If it has, rinse the suds out by hand. If not, put it back in and allow the load to finish.

Step 4

Try on the damp hat to see if it fits your head. If it's still too big, you can either wash it again or put it in the dryer for several minutes. Pull it out frequently to make sure it hasn't shrunk too much.

Step 5

Wear the hat until it shapes to your head, then lay it flat or put it on a hat form the same size as your head and allow it to air dry.

Tip

Whenever possible, use a top-loading washing machine that you can interrupt in the middle of a cycle. Using an industrial or locking washing machine that forces you to wait for the load to finish can result in your hat shrinking too much.