Reader Chris writes:
I am an avid purchaser of hats. Usually just a few different teams (primarily the Atlanta Braves). I recently purchased my first two 59/50 hats. One is wool and one is poly. I've read your site on the suggestions of how to mold/shape them my head and more to my liking. The poly doesn't seem overly complicated with the hairdryer technique and I will try that asap. However, the wool kind of confuses me. I've seen tons of suggestions and methods. The most one that seems the most effective I have read about is soaking it in warm water then putting it on your head. My question is, do you put the whole hat into the warm water? Will this hurt the logo?
Thanks for the question, Chris! You've anticipated the major line of my suggestions in your e-mail. There are, as you mention, a ton of suggestions on how to shape wool 5950 hats. They range from the fairly loony - wearing your hat in the shower, to the more subtle - wear it on a hot day. Both of these suggestions come from somewhere, however, the desire to shrink the excess materials around the hat.
Thanks for the question, Chris! You've anticipated the major line of my suggestions in your e-mail. There are, as you mention, a ton of suggestions on how to shape wool 5950 hats. They range from the fairly loony - wearing your hat in the shower, to the more subtle - wear it on a hot day. Both of these suggestions come from somewhere, however, the desire to shrink the excess materials around the hat.
My suggestion is like the one Chris mentions - shape the wool hats with warm water. Unlike our earlier suggestions about the new polyester caps (you can check on the MLB 5950s - if the underbill is grey you have an older wool cap and if it is black you have one of the newer polyester caps). With the polyester techniques, I've mainly focused on shaping the wire mesh in the front of the cap that keeps it firm.
The warm water sounds fairly simple, but there are some tricks to it. Turn your cap over for a moment. Do you see the light on the other side poking through those nice little ventilation holes? Here is what I suggest doing. First, take some water and put it on the stove and make it warm. It is incredibly important that you don't bring the water to a boil or make it too hot - you don't want to burn your head. Make the water warm, give it a moment to cool off, and hold the hat above a clean sink. Slowly pour the water in a circle through those little ventalation holes. It is important that you avoid letting the hat touch the logo in the front or the MLB logo in the back so that you avoid allowing the colors to run.
Once you've got the hat warm and wet, put it on your head and hold it close to your dome. Though your girlfriend won't like you very much for the next few minutes - you'll smell like a wet dog - she'll eventually like the fat that your hat looks far less goofy.
Hope this helps. Feel free to e-mail us with more questions!
