DIY: Vintage Hat Restoration

I’ve been wanting a veiled pillbox hat for quite some time, so when I saw this one at a vintage store I had to grab it. Turns out the hat had some minor signs of wear and tear and needed some TLC before I could wear it.

Before starting work on the hat, I sanitized it with rubbing alcohol, as it was a second hand piece. Please note that on any other material (this is straw) the rubbing alcohol would damage the hat.

One of the problems I was having with the hat was a small rip in the back. I stitched it up with some matching blue thread.

As you can see in the picture above there was an unsightly glue patch from where some fake flowers had previously been. I took the flowers off and decided to cover the glue patch with a bow. I only had one black bow big enough and it was attached to one of my old t shirts.

Using a seam ripper I took the bow off the shirt and then pressed it out to it’s fullest size.

Next I used a hot glue gun to attach the bow to the hat, covering the glue spot. I had to be very careful at this part not to accidentally glue the netting.

Once the bow was secure the hat was ready to wear!

I love the Hitchcock, Rear Window feel of this hat. It’s such a great vintage statement piece, and definitely not something that just anyone can wear. Stay tuned to see how I style it.

Photos are mine.