Blocking an Irish Walking hat

raronstein

I own an Irish walking hat, from 'Hats of Ireland, Castlebar", 100% pure Donegal Tweed, for over 25 years. I knew at one time that in order to block it, which it needs badly now, I should either soak it in hot water, or perhaps steam it, and then put in the freezer for 24 hours.

So, is it soaking, or perhaps spraying it with hot water, or perhaps steaming it?

Your input will be appreciated.

raronstein

dudara

I found two videos on youtube about blocking hats - maybe this will help. In one video, they appear to be steaming the hat.

Video 1


Video 2

OldGoat

Without having an actual block to shape the hat on the next best thing is to use towels.
Soak the hat in lukewarm water. You can use a mild detergent and clean it at this stage just remember to rinse it thouroughly after. Squeeze as much water out of the hat as you can without wringing the hat.
Shape the hat again on the your head to get a size. Now stuff the hat with towels to keep the shape roughly the same size as your head. Put enough packing in the hat to lift it off the table (so the brim can flop to it's right height). Don't panic if it looks out of shape. Wearing the hat after is the best of all shapers. Allow the hat to dry out compleatly. Change the towels if necessary to speed up the drying but I found that a few hours in the sunshine is more then enough to dry a hat.