Besides quality millinery supplies, Millinery Hub offers services for both milliners and hat wearers like hat repair, alterations, restoration, baseball cap alterations and repair, custom dyeing, and more…
Hat Repair
Hat Alteration and Restoration
Baseball Cap Alterations and Repair
Custom Dyeing
and more…
Hat Repair and Alterations
If your hat needs some TLC, I just may be able to help. There are many things on a hat Lindsay can repair.
- Repair split seams
- Replace hat linings
- Reshape a dented hat
- Add trims and embellishments
- Restore damaged trims and embellishments
- … and more!
Lindsay has restored many precious heirlooms that may not be glamorous or of commercial value but may have belonged to a loved one or have sentimental value. If it means something to you, I’ll give you an idea of what’s possible. The best way to proceed is to bring in your headpiece and show me what you need. Or, if you can’t do that, please get in touch with me with pictures of the hat. The more I know, the more accurate I can be in diagnosing problems and solutions. Finally, I’ll give you a quote and a timeframe for the hat repair or alterations.
Baseball Cap Repair and Alteration
I get a lot of queries about resizing or fixing baseball caps, so it’s worth mentioning them separately because ball caps are wildly different from most other hats. In general, caps are factory-made to a specific size, and the factory has all the different equipment set up and ready to do a particular job. From sewing a seam with twin needles while adding binding on the underside to riveting a button on top, it involves specialised equipment. If I pulled your cap apart and put it back together, it wouldn’t be quite the same. Most other hat repair or alteration is done by hand.
See the cap making process at New Era and Next Level Garments; you can see the specialised machines they use.
I can:
- Replace broken snaps
- Some minor size adjustments
- Restitch broken seams
I can’t:
- Replace top buttons or ‘squatcho’
- Fix warn-out fabric
- Replace the peak/brim
- Miraculously clean grime
More about cap repair
Size –Most size adjustments would involve pulling your cap apart. I no longer do that because I don’t like doing it, it costs a lot, and it never looks as good as it did before.
Even if I did, I can’t make your cap bigger. There is no room in the seams for ‘letting it out’. No, I can’t add in fabric. Even if I could somehow find and buy the same fabric as your original hat, it would take a lot of time, and you’d be paying for that too. Making a cap smaller is technically possible, but except for a very small adjustment, that involves pulling the ball cap apart.
If it’s a little big, there are options. I can sew in an elastic velvet band which will shrink it in a little without looking weird. But that is only possible if it’s only a cm or two too big.
Warn Out – If you’ve loved your hat to pieces, sorry, there isn’t much I can do. If your favourite cap is at the stage where it’s worn through, dirty and falling apart, no one can fix it. It’s time to get a new hat and retire this one to the trophy cabinet. Your new hat will be your favourite before too long, just as your old one was once new.
If your baseball cap needs repair, by all means, contact Lindsay.
Contact Lindsay now to discuss your hat repair or alteration needs
Dyeing Service
Ask most milliners what they are like at dyeing millinery materials, and you’ll get a resounding “No, I’m not good with dye”. Sometimes it’s because dying is an entirely new concept they don’t have the training in, and sometimes it’s because past attempts have lead to unsatisfactory results. Dyeing is not so complicated it’s out of reach, but to become proficient, one needs to have some practise and make some mistakes. Doing so can be costly, not because dyes are expensive (they are in most big box stores), but the millinery materials are. Then, there’s colour theory. Many of us know what we learned as children mixing paint; some even have more training at university or art classes. Unfortunately, most of these institutions are still teaching outdated colour theory. Did you know that blue, red and yellow are not the primary colours (for mixing paints and dyes)? But look in most art books, and that’s what you’ll see. Learn more about colours and dyeing.
For this reason, Millinery Hub offers a dyeing service. I dye a range of our products, as well as products clients bring us. There are a few things you should know that will help you get the result you’re looking for.
- What is cerulean? Colour names aren’t accurate in communicating colour. One person’s fuchsia in another’s magenta, and yet another’s cerise. Don’t agree? Google a colour name and look at the image results. If all you’re after is a general colour, by all means, tell us you want a red. But if you are looking to match something you have, I need a sample to work from.
- A good sample is a good start. Are you trying to match a dress with a hat for a client? If I’m going to dye your material, the best thing is if I can see the dress, and better still, if I can keep it while doing the job. Some clients bring in a sample of the dress fabric. Often, this is impossible, so the next best thing is to match a thread to the desired colour. Especially if you are overseas, find a Gutermann thread colour that matches, and I can likely find it. The least effective is a photo. Both the camera and the screen can make a significant difference to colour, but I still dye based on an image.
- Though I have done same-day turnaround jobs for a valued client, most times I can’t drop everything and dye your hood. Generally, you will need to allow a week. If you need something dyed urgently, please let me know, and I’ll see what I can do.
To access the dyeing service, contact me or bring me your sample. I like to discuss dyeing on a case-by-case basis, so it’s not something you can select online. Some material and colour combinations are impossible, so I’d prefer you talk to me before purchasing materials. I have no minimum quantity for dyeing. It is charged on a per-job basis and is usually around $40 per dye bath.
