Changing It From a Form Into a Fedora

A hat starts its life as a hat body, a piece of felt with a rounded crown and unfinished brim. It is softened and shaped over a steam-emitting hat block, a table lamp-sized contraption worked with foot pedals. The steam comes through pipes and out the “head,” which is covered with cotton cloth to dissipate the steam.

After that, the crown is stretched over a wooden hat block to begin to give it shape; cowboy hats, fedoras, derbies and top hats all demand different blocks. A cord is pulled tightly around the crown to hold it in place.

The brim is then placed in a brim block, where it is stretched. The felt is nailed to the block and sizing is applied with a brush to give the hat some stiffness. It stays like this overnight.

The nails come out and the brim is trimmed. Next, the crown block is removed and the crown is further manipulated into its final shape, once again using steam. The brim is blocked into its final shape, after which the seamstress will add final touches such as the sweatband, stitching and ribbon trims.