Felt Cowboy Hats, New and Used

Felt Cowboy Hat Savvy

A whole bunch of us have worn felt cowboy hats for a lot of years without ever really even knowing exactly what felt is. Felt is a dense collection of short, single animal fibers pressed together with hot water and steam so that they interlock. Felt is a fabric, but it is much stronger than woven fabrics because with felt each individual fiber is interlocked with other fibers in several different directions. Woven fabrics, on the other hand, are made from fibers that are first twisted into threads. When the threads are woven together the result is a fabric that can be torn apart in a straight line. Felt does not have this inherent weakness.

Felt makes a superior fabric for a cowboy hat because it is light, smooth, much harder to tear or damage than other fabrics, and is naturally water resistant.

Caring For Your Felt Cowboy Hat

Do not set your felt cowboy hat down on its brim. Setting your hat down on its brim could cause the brim to flatten and lose its shape.

Hat care: Don't set your cowboy hat on its brim

Instead of setting your hat down on its brim, turn it upside-down and set it down on the top of its crown.

Put your hat up at night by placing it on a hat rack or in a cowboy hat box.
Do not take your hat on and off your head by handling the crown. Use the front and back of the brim instead.

Don't leave your hat anywhere it can get very hot like in an enclosed truck or other vehicle, or near a heater or stove. Too much heat can shrink the sweatband and ruin the fit of your hat. Hot and humid conditions are especially bad for your felt cowboy hat.

Felt cowboy hat care: Don't let a felt hat get too hot

When cleaning your hat, dust it off with a hat brush, a sponge, or a clean damp cloth when the hat is dry, not wet. Begin dusting on the front left side of your hat and work your way around the hat in a counterclockwise direction. Persistent lint or stray hairs can be removed by patting your hat with the sticky side of masking (or similar) tape.

If you have removed your hat when either the sweatband or the entire hat was damp or wet (from sweat, rain, snow, or whatever), turn the sweatband up until dry. This will help allow sweat, water, and/or hair care products to evaporate instead of soaking into your hat. Let a wet sweatband and/or the entire hat air dry naturally. Do not use heat to speed up the drying process.