Choosing & Caring for Your Hat

Choose Your Quality

Materials

Some non-wool furs included at upper end of range; all-wool at lower end. Budget-quality hat and trim.

Suitability

Entry-level 4-H, local open shows.

Comments

Handle/store with extreme care. Never allow to get wet.

Materials

Mix of beaver and rabbit fur; there is a  higher beaver percentage at higher X ratings.

Suitability

Levels up to/including regional breed or discipline-specific shows.

Comments

Hat and trim quality best at 5-10X and above. Better mid-market hats last several seasons, with care.

Materials

Predominantly or all beaver fur; other high-grade furs also used.

Suitability

All levels; “the standard” for judges and world-caliber exhibitors.

Comments

Withstands repeated steaming/reshaping. Longest lasting. Can be refurbished to like-new state, cost varies depending on condition of hat.

Heads Up!  Seven Hat Care Tips

Once you buy your dream hat, make sure you take excellent care of it to increase its longevity. The following hat-care tips will explain how.

  1. Handle your hat with clean hands. Skin oils attract and hold grime, and residues from some show-grooming products are difficult, if not impossible, to remove from felt.

  2. Always handle your hat by the crown, not the brim. This helps maintain the brim’s shape.

  3. After placing your felt show hat in its original cardboard box or in a molded-plastic hat carrier, store it in a controlled climate area, such as house or office. Never leave it for long periods in your horse trailer, truck, car trunk, or other place where temperature and humidity fluctuate. Otherwise, your hat may lose its shape.

  4. Avoid getting your hat wet. If you do get caught in rain while wearing it, allow it to dry fully (24 to 48 hours), then smooth the felt’s nap with a soft brush before replacing the hat in its box or carrier.

  1. Dust your hat after each use and before putting it in its storage container. Use a hat brush, a vacuum cleaner with upholstery-brush attachment, or forced air from a compressor.

  2. If you must store your hat outside box or case, even for a few minutes, set it on its crown--never on its brim, as that would harm its shape.

  3. When storing your hat in a hard-sided case, maintain its oval head shape by placing it on the holder with the hat’s front pointing left, and the hatband buckle on the latch side rather than the hinge side. Holders are designed to echo head shape, with the left end of the holder corresponding to the front of your head.

Barbara’s Custom Hat Size Measurements

It’s important to make sure your cowboy hat fits correctly. If it’s too tight, you will get headaches and if it is too loose, it will fall off. To make sure this doesn’t happen, we’ve provided the following sizing chart for our hats.

Sizing Chart:

Head Size (in) Head Size (cm) Hat Size General Hat Size
21 53 6 – 5/8 XS
21 – 1/2 54 6 – 3/4 S
21 – 5/8 55 6 – 7/8 S
22 – 1/8 56 7 M
22 – 1/2 57 7 – 1/8 M
23 58 7 – 1/4 L
23 – 3/8 59 7 – 3/8 L
23 – 3/4 60 7 – 1/2 XL
24 61 7 – 5/8 XL
24 - 1/2 62 7 – 3/4 XXL
25 63 7 – 7/8 XXL

Measuring Your Hat:

Measure around your head, about 3/4 of an inch above your ear, where your hat will be worn. A cloth tape measure such as a seamstress or tailor uses is ideal. It is usually helpful to have someone help you.