Hat question

[Charlotte Doyle]

My lovely Sparrow-esque hat arrived today from Excalibur Leather, and I am in love. It is much darker than the picture on the website; it looks pretty much identical to Captain Jack's hat, except of course being in a much more "new" condition.

Only one problem preying upon me happiness -- the accursed thing doesn't fit me properly! Me family is cursed with having, well, rather large heads (how else does one say it? *grins*); me mum has always had a difficult time of it in trying to find hats that fit. I got the largest size Excalibur offered for the Jack Sparrow hat, the XL, but what I really needed was the 2XL (which unfortunately they not be offerin').

Now, I don't mind dishing out eighteen bucks for a Hat Stretcher in the least, or driving an hour to the nearest "big" town to the hatter store and get _them_ to stretch it out for me; either would please me when it would come to gettin' me hat to fit so that it doesn't leave a red impression on me forehead when I take it off! :) My question to all you who have full pirate costumes and know of such things -- does hat stretching a (leather) hat actually do any good? Does it really make *that* much of a size difference? Or am I maybe going to have to *sob* consider sending me hat back for a refund?

[Duchess]

Depends on how small the hat is. Several inches? No way in hell. Does it fit on your head but pinches or hurts. Stretching will solve all that. The best thing to do would be head (ha!) to the hat store, explain how it currently fits, and how you would like it to fit. The hat store hat experts will tell you if it is possible.

The Duchess

[Charlotte Doyle]

Depends on how small the hat is. Several inches? No way in hell. Does it fit on your head but pinches or hurts. Stretching will solve all that. The best thing to do would be head (ha!) to the hat store, explain how it currently fits, and how you would like it to fit. The hat store hat experts will tell you if it is possible.

The Duchess

Nah, I don't be needin' it several inches increased -- it fits on my head rightly enough, it just pinches and leaves me with a vague headache-y feeling after awhile. So I really do just need it _stretched_ more than anythin'.

So I think I will be headin' over to a hatter place sometime next week -- thanks muchly for the advice!

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

You should be OK with just a stretch. The person at the store in town that does the stretching should be able to tell you how much his/her technique can help you when they see how it fits on your head.

[Duchess]

Depends on how small the hat is. Several inches? No way in hell. Does it fit on your head but pinches or hurts. Stretching will solve all that. The best thing to do would be head (ha!) to the hat store, explain how it currently fits, and how you would like it to fit. The hat store hat experts will tell you if it is possible.

The Duchess

Nah, I don't be needin' it several inches increased -- it fits on my head rightly enough, it just pinches and leaves me with a vague headache-y feeling after awhile. So I really do just need it _stretched_ more than anythin'.

So I think I will be headin' over to a hatter place sometime next week -- thanks muchly for the advice!

Aye ye be welcome.

[Charlotte Doyle]

Yayyy!! I received an e-mail from me hat company ("my hat company"? I am getting lofty, am I not . . . :)) -- and if I wait 'til they reopen after Christmas for business, I can get the tricorne hat remade to actually _fit_ me, not just getting it stretched but having them make it to my specifications. I cannot even tell you how totally this made my entire month. Despite the fact that I am legendary among my friends for having the patience of a fruit fly -- in this case, I would much rather wait a few weeks more to get a good, well-made Sparrow-esque hat that actually FITS me, then to try and get it stretched in the hopes that that'll work, just because I can't wait a month to get me new one. So, in this case, I'm just going to suck it up and be _patient_ for once -- 'cause I want to enjoy wearing my hat, not get headaches from it. :)

So this has definitely made my weekend for me, if not my month (I really like the hat design, so I really want it to fit well and all that) . . . thanks to everybody in the meantime for the advice an' all, I appreciate it. :)

Oh, and Duchess -- I really be likin' yer sig quote. :)