Friday, November 14, 2008

Good Grooming For Your Felt Cowboy Hat

By Ned Dagostino

A good quality felt cowboy hat is quite expensive. Apart from the money value there will also be a pride of ownership associated with the hat. Naturally, you won't want to see the hat become unwearable in a year or two. To prevent that from happening you must take good, proper care of the hat. Good and proper care will see the hat last for a good many seasons, its looks gaining character, so to speak.

Proper care begins with prevention. If the hat doesn't require cleaning or repair, that much remedial care is also avoided. The cardinal rule is: Don't let the hat get dirty! One very simple way to keep the hat from getting dirty is: wash your hands before handling the hat. Cleaning a felt hat is very difficult, and leads to material damage.

Another simple way to prevent soilage is to handle the hat by the brim, never by the crown! Apart from preventing soilage, this will help to keep the hat in good shape. The more you handle the crown, the more it will get out of shape. There's nothing worse than a bedraggled hat sitting on top of your head, I'll say!

Keep the felt cowboy hat in its own box. If you don't have the box for the hat, then hang the hat on a hat stand. The hat should be stored upside down to help it keep its shape.

Don't ever expose the hat to strong heat. That means you have to keep it away from radiators and heating appliances. Don't leave it out in the car on a hot summer afternoon. Heat will cause the sweat band to shrink. This will pull the hat out of shape. Apart from spoiling the shape, the shrinkage will spoil the hat's fit. At best, wearing the hat will be very uncomfortable; at worst, you won't be able to get your head into the hat again!

Don't let the hat get wet. If by chance it does get wet, then dry it out very carefully! You may have to reshape the brim. Let it dry naturally. Turn the sweat band inside out. Then rest the hat on the sweat band. When the hat dries out, reshape the sweat band and the rest of the hat into its original form.

If you get caught in a chance drizzle and the hat gets wet, it won't matter much, but don't let that happen too often. If you expect to be out in the rain often, then you'll be wise to buy a hat cover. Use the hat cover whenever you're going out and there is a sign of rain. It will add another year to your hat's life.

I hope you understood the tips in this article. They'll help in keeping your felt cowboy hat in perfect condition for a long time to come. - 16651

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