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Braided Horsehair
Western Hatbands
Every cowboy wants to show his
rugged individuality. How better than to customize your favorite old hats
with hatbands that reflect your lifestyle. Even before JB Stetson made that
first cowboy hat, hats have been known to mark the character
of the wearer.
These hatbands are the best
available in their class. At one time, Cultured Cowboy was having these
hatbands made for us in Tecate, Mexico. We worked together with a few
other companies to be able to have enough hatbands made. You
should know that the tighter the weave of horse hair hatbands, the
better they last. These are the best!
Yes, a hat protects, but ya might as
well look good while wearing it! Did you know that you can choose a few
hatbands and totally change the look of your hat, just by interchanging
bands? Fasten them just a little tight, and they will stay in place
most times. Placing just about 6 dabs of hot glue around the hat where the
band will rest can give a little more hold. You really are not permanently
gluing the
band on, just providing a rubbery surface to hold it on to your hat
better.
If you want a permanent change,
you can sew it to your hat with just a few stitches. Many hat factory
hat bands are sewn on. When taking off a factory band, look for the
small stitching and I like to use a seam ripper. DO NOT cut the line of
stitching that goes all around the hat. That line is holding on the
inner headband. If you look carefully, you will be able to see the
difference. The small stitches will be seen on the outside of the fabric
hatband. When you sew your horsehair hatband onto your hat, using a
matching color thread, it will not show from the outside. It just pulls
in and looks like more hair. An
alternative is a glue-on hatband. Usually, a hot glue gun, or E-6000
glue is used. Either can be gently pulled loose from the hat with steam. If felt
looks like it is coming loose, just a small drop of fingernail polish
remover can be used to soften the glue. TEST for colorfastness of the
felt in an inconspicuous place, under the headliner of the hat. I have
used a toothpick to get the glue remover just exactly where I want it. A
Q-tip gets too much on the hat. And, you can easily apply a little hot
glue on your band as you place it on your hat. Just a dab here and there
will do nicely.
When Garth Brooks and Brooks &
Dunn were wearing all those wild shirts, Cultured Cowboy began cutting off
the shirt tails to make matching hatbands for the "dance hall
crowd". This can be easy for a seamstress, but difficult for a
beginner. Looks good though!
Today, things are a little more
"conservative. Your horsehair can come with a variety of widths and tassels.
In certain circles, the knots and tassels are worn on the left side. In
other circles, the tassels hang off the back of your hat brim. Either way is good. Ya
might just try wearing your cowboy hatbands both ways to see which way seems to get
more complements!
Truly,
shipping charges on several hatbands are about the same as shipping on one. Or,
your hatbands can be shipped with your new hat or other items at no extra
shipping charge. When
sizing your hatband, just gently pull the horsehair through the
braided keepers. This is easy. Don't yank. Yanking might pull the tassels
off. If a grandchild does pull a tassel off, E-6000 will work great.
Just a dab in the barrel and stuff the hair end back in. In 10 minutes,
you're ready to go again. Most horsehair hatbands will fit almost all hat
sizes. Time has made these
cowboy hatbands popular. The horseshows and dance halls have also made the
"Bling" a must for many cowgirls. If you want a "bling
band" mixed with horsehair, you can sew the crystal band onto your
horsehair or other hatband and then apply the new layered band to your
hat. Guess what I'm indicating is that when it comes to your hat and
hatband, you are only limited by your imagination.
If you have any questions
about how to remove your old original band, or how to adjust, or
anything else, just call or email us. Enjoy!
We start with the
simplest, and get a little more complex as you search down this page of
horsehair hatbands.
Some more fun facts: The darkest horsehair is from dark horse
tails. The lighter horsehair is from lighter tails. Colors are from as
white as they can get, then dyed to the color shown, similar to how you
would use Ritz dye to dye cloth. |
