Cleaning boater hat lining help!

Dilly Day

Dilly Day

Registered Guest
Would anyone have any tips on cleaning the lining of a vintage boater please?
It is quite stained from what I assume must be a mix of hair products and natural grease. Looking on line I could only find instructions for cleaning removable linings but mine is fixed. I'm concerned about damaging the straw if it gets wet. The leather band inside is also rather grubby.
Any input would be much appreciated.
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Please take this with the caveat that I am not an expert and hopefully people who have more experience/knowledge will weigh in, but I would use a good leather cleaner/conditioner on the leather band, and I'd try a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide on the rest of it. Maybe start with the baking soda paste first, then wipe/brush it off after leaving it for a while, then use the leather conditioner as baking soda might dry the leather out if any gets on it (I wouldn't deliberately put it on the leather). Again, caveat, this is just what I'd try if it were my hat, not saying that this is the best or right way.
 
It is my understanding that soiled hat linings are removed and replaced - commonly. I can see wanting to maintain the original for providence, but if that is mold I would remove and replace, and keep the label separately. Lining labels are often from the lining manufacturer, which is not always the hat maker. Hatbands are also replaced, as they are there to protect the hat from the wearer's sweat. So, the wear on a lining and band are normal wear and tear, and not a good indication for taking a hat out of commission. So, if you are selling, keep as is for showing the age. If you are keeping and want to clean it up, do as a hat wearing collector would do and make it nice for yourself. Or, spot clean. Dried out hatband are very uncomfortable, though.
 
That's great advice, Sadie! I don't have any personal experience with replacing a hat liner - is this something you have done?

In a quick internet search, it looks like there are several companies out there who sell replacement liners for men's hats in a couple of sizes. I suspect replacement linings for women's hats are more difficult to source. I did find a DIY tutorial though!
 
MagsRags said:
That's great advice, Sadie! I don't have any personal experience with replacing a hat liner - is this something you have done?

In a quick internet search, it looks like there are several companies out there who sell replacement liners for men's hats in a couple of sizes. I suspect replacement linings for women's hats are more difficult to source. I did find a DIY tutorial though!
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I've removed linings, but not replaced myself. We take our Western/Cowboy hats in regularly for lining and band replacement. Although the last time we were unimpressed with the local shop that had been doing it for 100 years.

There's a newer, good milliner in Portland, who I met through a friend a few weeks ago. I was talking to him about cleaning up our nicer/more valuable hats, and he was willing. I watched a few of his Instagram videos and it is total ASMR. He's fancy - when I saw the kinds of hats he builds for custom orders, I was a little embarrassed for asking about linings. But, it is likely the bread and butter of his business to do repairs. At least until he starts getting custom orders from the stars. Western is his specialty, it seems. And, he has all of the traditional shaping and steaming tools that have been used in the trades for a century.

You might need to take patterns as women's hat shapes are all over the place. Trimming where the band had been with a wide grosgrain ribbon would most likely be the same as the original band.

As boaters are a standard shape, I would expect there is a standard lining size to match the hat size.
 
I would personally leave it as Lincoln Bennett is a good hatmaker and some buyers may want it for the label. The hat seems to be in good condition otherwise. If its a small size it will be a tough sell anyway, so any elbow grease you put into cleaning it, which may do more harm than good to its sale price, is a waste of time. You can always do a thorough wipe with a damp cloth, and cut a piece of card to fit inside the crown, which you can tell people covers the original, soiled lining. The leather sweat band will be cleaner with a bit of leather cleaner, but it won't be unstained - the mark will remain.
 
Thank you all for your replies and advice. I have now discovered that the lining is actually removable - it seems to be a silky/satiny fabric backed with stiff paper so I can't get it wet. I think I will leave well alone other than a brush and wipe over. As Jonathan said Lincoln Bennet was a prestigious maker so someone may overlook the staining just for the name. The hat is in overall very good condition and looks fine from the outside! Thanks again.
 
Jonathan said:
I would personally leave it as Lincoln Bennett is a good hatmaker and some buyers may want it for the label. The hat seems to be in good condition otherwise. If its a small size it will be a tough sell anyway, so any elbow grease you put into cleaning it, which may do more harm than good to its sale price, is a waste of time. You can always do a thorough wipe with a damp cloth, and cut a piece of card to fit inside the crown, which you can tell people covers the original, soiled lining. The leather sweat band will be cleaner with a bit of leather cleaner, but it won't be unstained - the mark will remain.
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Thank you for your reply.
Going off topic here! I have an interest in the 1940s and was idly browsing online and came across the WARdrobe exhibition in Canada. There was a green hessian/burlap duffel bag that came from England and I have recently acquired something very similar. I know it's a long shot as the exhibition was quite a number of years ago but I would be very interested if you had any more information regarding this bag.
 
Jonathan gives you some good advice. If it were mine I would do some basic cleaning and leave it as is. I have never known anyone to replace a leather sweatband on an antique straw boater, and am surprised that others know people who can do that! Felt, yes, much easier to remove the band and replace it. Those old boaters are made of thick and hard straw and I just cannot imagine sewing a new leather sweatband on that old, hard and thick straw without cracking the straw. Plus I doubt they could replace the ventilator (the narrow part between the leather and the straw) and that part gives it nice antique charm. If there are people who can do that, I bet it is very expensive as you need a special machine for that. But I would think it is a risk, the hat could be badly damaged and then you are out of luck.

Most of my boater customers over the years will still buy even if the hat has some soiling inside. If it is a good size, at least a 7 or hopefully larger, that's more important to some buyers than inside soiling. Its a great maker and looks to be in great shape otherwise.

By the way, what size is it?
 
Dilly Day said:
Thank you for your reply.
Going off topic here! I have an interest in the 1940s and was idly browsing online and came across the WARdrobe exhibition in Canada. There was a green hessian/burlap duffel bag that came from England and I have recently acquired something very similar. I know it's a long shot as the exhibition was quite a number of years ago but I would be very interested if you had any more information regarding this bag.
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Yes, that is in our collection at the FHM. There is someone in Germany doing research on these, and it turns out they were made by German nationals who were living in England at the beginning of the war and were interned on the Isle of Mann at the beginning of the war while the authorities determined whether they were enemies or not. This was a craft project done by the women in one of the camps.
 
Rue_de_la_Paix said:
Jonathan gives you some good advice. If it were mine I would do some basic cleaning and leave it as is. I have never known anyone to replace a leather sweatband on an antique straw boater, and am surprised that others know people who can do that! Felt, yes, much easier to remove the band and replace it. Those old boaters are made of thick and hard straw and I just cannot imagine sewing a new leather sweatband on that old, hard and thick straw without cracking the straw. Plus I doubt they could replace the ventilator (the narrow part between the leather and the straw) and that part gives it nice antique charm. If there are people who can do that, I bet it is very expensive as you need a special machine for that. But I would think it is a risk, the hat could be badly damaged and then you are out of luck.

Most of my boater customers over the years will still buy even if the hat has some soiling inside. If it is a good size, at least a 7 or hopefully larger, that's more important to some buyers than inside soiling. Its a great maker and looks to be in great shape otherwise.

By the way, what size is it?
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Thank you. No, I wouldn't think replacing the band would be practical or cost effective on an old boater! As I said, I will take Jonathan's advice & just give it a basic clean. It is in good condition apart from the mark on the lining. It is a size 7- 1/8.
 
Jonathan said:
Yes, that is in our collection at the FHM. There is someone in Germany doing research on these, and it turns out they were made by German nationals who were living in England at the beginning of the war and were interned on the Isle of Mann at the beginning of the war while the authorities determined whether they were enemies or not. This was a craft project done by the women in one of the camps.
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Thank you so much for that information. I think the bag that I have is for a gas mask - it's just the right size to fit a mask in its cardboard box. I bought it from a lady on the south coast who said it was made by her aunt who was a Wren during the war, she gave me her name & I managed to find some information about her online. It has the same mixture of embroidery & felt appliqués, some relating to the area she came from. It is made of natural undyed hessian. I had never seen anything like it until I came across yours.
 
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