Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

[BunnyHardaway]

Really random, I know, but this has been bothering me for awhile.

I bought an authentic MLB fitted hat, and I like to wear my hats low. When I put the thing on, it's so tight that it feels like it's cutting off circulation to the top of my head. I tried getting the next highest size, but that's way too big for me. Is there a way to break the hat in and not feel as if it's got a death grip on my head without wearing it for extended periods of time? I had some ideas like taking out some stitches, but I'm not sure if that'd work or not.

[Pointguard]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

If your going to experiement, try some cheap hat, not one you pay alot of money to.

Besides that, I dont know. Never ran cross that problem. Maybe find a bowl that would expand the hat while it sat there instead of making you have to wear a tight cap but that may be a hard task...

[RubenDouglas]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

id stuff it with a towel or something.. i mean really stuff it so it stretches it to the breaking point

[SPTO]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

I was going to suggest filling the hat with baseballs or something while you have it hanging or something like that.

I dunno...I never had that problem and quite frankly i've stopped wearing caps 5 years ago.

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

I think I might have to try the towel thing, as I don't own any baseballs. Thanks for the idea.

[Fiddy]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

i have the same prob with new era caps.. i could wear a 7 1/8 but it is to snug, the 7 1/4 is just a bit big... but i buy the 7 1/4, soak it in hot water, then put it on while still soaked to get it to mold on my head for a few mins..then take it off and put it in the dryer and bam..

.it shrinks to a perfect fit for me..and the front also doesnt look like cardboard standing up on the bill lol..that is how i turn my new era caps into basically franchise relaxed fit caps..

i do this b/c everyone now seems to wear those franchises and i want to have a diff look with my caps. people ask man, where did you buy that new era hat broke in? i say hatworld lmao, then they go and look for em and cant find broken in ones...what a bunch of beavis's

[ehh]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

i have the same prob with new era caps.. i could wear a 7 1/8 but it is to snug, the 7 1/4 is just a bit big... but i buy the 7 1/4, soak it in hot water, then put it on while still soaked to get it to mold on my head for a few mins..then take it off and put it in the dryer and bam..

That actually works? I've heard about it several times but never tried it cause it seemed bogus.

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

i have the same prob with new era caps.. i could wear a 7 1/8 but it is to snug, the 7 1/4 is just a bit big... but i buy the 7 1/4, soak it in hot water, then put it on while still soaked to get it to mold on my head for a few mins..then take it off and put it in the dryer and bam..

.it shrinks to a perfect fit for me..and the front also doesnt look like cardboard standing up on the bill lol..that is how i turn my new era caps into basically franchise relaxed fit caps..

i do this b/c everyone now seems to wear those franchises and i want to have a diff look with my caps. people ask man, where did you buy that new era hat broke in? i say hatworld lmao, then they go and look for em and cant find broken in ones...what a bunch of beavis's

Now this sounds good, but is there any certain setting you put the dryer on and for how long? I've never used a dryer before and I really don't want to screw the hat up.

[Husker_OS]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

i have the same prob with new era caps.. i could wear a 7 1/8 but it is to snug, the 7 1/4 is just a bit big... but i buy the 7 1/4, soak it in hot water, then put it on while still soaked to get it to mold on my head for a few mins..then take it off and put it in the dryer and bam..

.it shrinks to a perfect fit for me..and the front also doesnt look like cardboard standing up on the bill lol..that is how i turn my new era caps into basically franchise relaxed fit caps..

i do this b/c everyone now seems to wear those franchises and i want to have a diff look with my caps. people ask man, where did you buy that new era hat broke in? i say hatworld lmao, then they go and look for em and cant find broken in ones...what a bunch of beavis's

I was looking for a way to break in my Cleveland new era cap so I guess I'll try this. Thanks Fiddy.

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

It works, the hat is no longer strangling my head. Thanks Fiddy!

[Fiddy]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

yeah it works..

glad to hear it worked for ya!!

i ruined my fair share of hats (new era) when trying to cut out the inside that makes the hat stand up..the work around to get it to lay flat is to just soak the hell out of it with the hot water, put the cap on, slick it back on you head a bit.. etc..like i posted above..

i have a cards blue fitted hat that fits perfect and all of my Mets hats fit to a T..

[RockinDaMike]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

What Fiddy said is the best way if you want to break it in. I wear most of my hats backwards so it doesn't matter if i do it. I also curve my bill so I wet that part and curve the way I want and keep it in a cup so that it'll dry into that curve.

[TD73]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

I do the soak in hot water thing also. Works great! I got this from neweracap.com

Too tight?

What happens is the sweatband does its job and collects any moisture when you are wearing the cap. Without a head to hold its shape and size, it will shrink as it dries. For starters, grab your cap from the rear of the cap, place it over your knee and give a good hard yank. You will hear some popping noises. That's O.K. Stop pulling after you hear a couple of these noises. If you pull too hard and too long, you could rip a seam. We DON'T want that!! What you are actually doing is breaking the sizing, which is a stiff plastic strap that we sew into the cap for shape and size maintenance

[TD73]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

Heck heres the whole cap care page from neweracap.com




Cap Care

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR NEW ERA CAP

Key things to remember...

If you make the cap wet, it will take on shape as it dries! If you don't provide the shape, it will shrink to its own smaller shape. If you want it to fit your head, dry it on your head. If you want it to be shaped like a coffee mug, dry it in a mug. If you use rubber bands and you make the rubber bands too tight, you will see rubber band marks

Cleaning a 59FIFTY...never wash the cap!

The cap is made of wool and you will ruin its shape. To clean the headband, take a wet washcloth and put a little detergent and a little Spray and Wash and gently rub down the headband with the wet wash cloth. After you have sufficiently cleaned the headband of sweat stains and soil, rinse the wash cloth out with clear water and once again wash down the headband, cleaning up any left soap. Let dry and your cap will be ready to go again. Some sweat stains stay in but at least the cap will be clean.

Dusty caps?

Things like a little cat hair or lint, just take some masking tape (I like the 2 inch size) and wrap some of it around your fingers so the sticky side is exposed and dab the hat with the tape. The tape will pick up all the lint and anything else on the cap.

Just a little big?

Take a spray bottle of water and spray the headband with the water, then let dry in the sun on top of an empty coffee can. Or, just let it dry without being elevated by the can. You can also dry it with a good portable hair dryer.

Drying

DO NOT put them in the dryer!

Too tight?

What happens is the sweatband does its job and collects any moisture when you are wearing the cap. Without a head to hold its shape and size, it will shrink as it dries. For starters, grab your cap from the rear of the cap, place it over your knee and give a good hard yank. You will hear some popping noises. That's O.K. Stop pulling after you hear a couple of these noises. If you pull too hard and too long, you could rip a seam. We DON'T want that!! What you are actually doing is breaking the sizing, which is a stiff plastic strap that we sew into the cap for shape and size maintenance.

[RoyalBoyle78]

Re: Breaking in a fitted hat without wearing it?

put the hat in a few platic bags, and then run over it with your car..