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Hand-Crafted Leather Cowboy Hat

by dakotajeby on October 24, 2015

Table of Contents

Hand-Crafted Leather Cowboy Hat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Hand-Crafted Leather Cowboy Hat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Tools and Supplies Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: Designing and Cutting Out the Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: Prepping Your Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 4: Stiching the Side And Top Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 5: Stitching the Top of the hat to the Brim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 6: The Sweat Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 7: Staining and Putting a Finish on the Hat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 8: The Hat Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 9: Finished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hand-Crafted-Leather-Cowboy-Hat/
Intro: Hand-Crafted Leather Cowboy Hat
Howdy, I have been doing some leather working for the past year and have enjoyed every minute of it. I have made several things out of leather but never a hat, so I
decided to make a cowboy hat and share it with you all. I took some measurements of some hats that were around the house and also some measurements of my head
to come up with a pattern that I wanted, This cowboy hat can easily be changed into a top hat, a bush craft hat, or any other type of hat, with just a few adjustments. So
whether you want a cowboy hat, a bush craft hat, or a top hat these simple steps will work for you.

Step 1: Tools and Supplies Needed

1. A large piece of paper
2. A yardstick and a ruler
3. An edger or some 220 grit sandpaper
4. A pen
5. A sharp knife to cut leather
6. A skiver
7. Waxed braided thread
8. A stich marking tool or a rake hole punch
9. An awl
10. Leather die
11. Leather sealer
12. 2-3 ounce leather ( 4sq.feet would be plenty)
13. Leather contact cement

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hand-Crafted-Leather-Cowboy-Hat/
Step 2: Designing and Cutting Out the Pieces
Making the pattern is not hard. The hat consists mainly of three pieces; the brim, side piece, and top. For the brim you are going to want to take a measurement of your
head and then add a 1/2 - 3/4", and that would be the size of the hole where your head goes in. When you are drawing out the pattern make sure that the hole is longer
from the front to the back then it is from side to side, because that is the shape of our head. If you were to make it a round hole it would make the hat very uncomfortable.
I made my brim 3-1/2" bigger than the hole all the way around. For the side piece make it as long as your hole is around and than add a 1/2 inch, because you will have
to overlap it a little to stitch it. If you are making a cowboy hat or bush craft hat you should slope it up to the top on each side making it 2 inches smaller on the top that
way it will slope a little toward the top to give it a better look. I made my side piece 4 1/2 inches tall you can make it taller or shorter it just depends how far down on your
head you want the hat to sit. Now for the top piece; you can use the piece that you cut out for the hole to save leather. You will notice that I cut it on a slope into a
rounded point in the front to give it a cowboy hat look. This will also work for a bush craft hat, but for a top hat you are just going to want to leave it round. Now that you
have made your patterns transfer them to your leather and cut them out. Again these patterns can be changed very easily to whatever you want. It is just up to you to
decide what kind of hat you would like!

Step 3: Prepping Your Edges

Now you are going to want to take your skiver and skive the edges of the side and top down a little, only on the suede side . This will help when it comes to stitching
especially if you are using thicker leather than 2-3 ounce. If you do not have a skiver you can use a piece of sand paper. I would also recommend using an edge beveller
and round the edge of the brim.

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Step 4: Stiching the Side And Top Together
Next take your side piece and stich it together. Stich these pieces together inside out with the suede on the outside. To stich the top on you have to mark your holes out
and count them to make sure that you have the same amount of holes on the side piece as you do on the top piece that way you do not have any wrinkles or weird
buckles in it. It also works the best if you start at the front and work to the back on each side. Also be sure to sew it with the suede side up.

Step 5: Stitching the Top of the hat to the Brim

First your going to need to turn the right side out. To do this you have to let it soak it in water until it gets nice and workable. If you try to turn it right side out without
soaking it, it will make creases in the leather that will not come out even after you burnish it (rubbing it with a round wooden tool). Now you are ready to stitch the top to
the brim. Do this the same as you stitched the top piece to the sides. Just remember to count your holes. One thing I found is that you don't want to pull the stitching too
tight, this will cause the brim to wrinkle and not look as nice. Once you have the top stitched to the brim you are ready to start forming it to the shape that you want. To do
this take a spray gun and mist down the part that you wish to form and form it, and keep forming it until it dries. To form it you can use your fingers or any rounded object.
It is also good to put it on your head while it is still damp to form it to fit your head.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hand-Crafted-Leather-Cowboy-Hat/
Step 6: The Sweat Band
Now take a piece of deer hide and cut it 1 1/2 inches wide by however long your hole is round. To fasten this to the hat I just used leather contact cement, but you could
stich it to the side piece before it is stitched to the brim.

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Step 7: Staining and Putting a Finish on the Hat
1. By now you should have every thing done and be ready to stain it. I used medium brown Eco-Flo stain from tandy leather. Staining is pretty self explanatory just
be sure to get it all spread as evenly as possible. **IMPOTANT** do not stain the inside of the hat or it will wear off onto your head if you wear it much at
all and that would not be cool to have a big brown stain on you forehead.:) Before the stain has completely dried I would recommend using an edge slicker
and slick the edge of the brim of your hat to give it a smoother feel. And than for the finish I used Eco-Flo super shene leather finish. It is not hard to apply this,
just make sue that you cover it all and it also would not hurt if you put two coats on just for extra protection. If you put the finish on when the stain is still a little
damp it will make for a floppier hat, but if you put it on when it is dry the hat will be stiffer.

Step 8: The Hat Band

The hat band is made from the same leather that the hat was made from. All you have to do is measure around the top of your hat and cut a piece of leather a little longer
than that for the stitching and however wide you want it. I made mine an inch wide and stained it a saddle tan color using the same finish as I did with the rest of the hat. it
is up to you if you want to put anything on the front. I did to add character but it is completely up to you what you do with it. I sewed it together in the back and then used
contact cement to attach it to the hat.

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Step 9: Finished
I hope these instructions will help you if you ever decide to build a hat. It is not that hard to make a hat, anybody can do it if they want to. You just have to decide that you
can do it and stick to it until the task is done and don't give up. I did it and I haven't even been working with leather for a year. Good luck to you if you do decide to make a
hat and let me know if you have any questions. I will do my best to answer them.

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Comments
1 comments Add Comment

DIY Hacks and How Tos says: Oct 24, 2015. 5:59 PM REPLY
That is a very fine hat. Excellent leather working.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Hand-Crafted-Leather-Cowboy-Hat/