Modifying a Straw Hat

I wear a wide-brimmed hat on weekends when I go yardsaling to protect my fair skin from the sun. It's been this floppy fabric thing that has no shape to speak of, so I decided to buy myself a straw hat to replace it.


I went to K-Mart and found this basic straw hat for $7.99. I removed the hatband and the elastic sweatband (one size fits all!)

After soaking it in warm water I shaped it using a piece of stretch fabric (to hold up the brim on the sides) and metal clips (to weigh down the brim in the front and back).

I placed the stretch sweatband around the outside of the crown to keep it from stretching out too large. Plus I reshaped the top of the crown.

After it dried I stained it with dyes and antiquing to give it a bit of character. Now I just need to come up with a hat band to finish the look.