of the silk plush cover, which is quite a nice and particular piece of
work. The strip of plush for the side-crown is cut from the web bias
and of a width the depth of the intended hat; the tip piece which is
to mate this side-crown is of course circular, and a quarter of an
inch larger all round than the tip of the hat. These two pieces are to
be sewed together by hand face to face, the edges being folded back,
and the plush put well through to the proper side with the needle as
the sewers proceed, so that the seam when the hat is finished may not
appear bare for want of plush.
In finishing, whether the hat body be of fur or gossamer, the first
thing is the putting on of the under brim, which we shall suppose to
be plush, satin, or merino. A strip is cut from the web or piece at
about an angle of forty-five degrees, and having the length reduced to
suit the size of the hat; the two ends are then sewed together, and
having been laid on the hat, one of the edges is made fast to the edge
of the brim with the iron, all round, and smoothly laid down, the bias
allowing this to be done by stretching. It is next to be steamed with
a damp cloth under the hot iron and the inner edge stuck inside of the
hat with the nose of the iron.
The upper brim is next in order. A strip of silk plush the requisite
width is run on, slightly, in much the same manner as with the under
brim, but dispensing with both the cloth-steaming and often with the
sewing. The one end of this upper brim being cut with the scissors and
the other with the knife, a good invisible seam may be made.
The brims being now on, the tip of the hat is wetted inside, and the
block put in. The silk plush cover, having been previously spread with
gum tragacanth, about where the side seam is likely to be, and now
dry, is carefully drawn over the crown and fitted to the hat; the two
ends of the cover being folded back and marked for the seam. The cover
is then removed, the plush brushed back at the folding, and the cloth
cut for the seam with a pair of sharp scissors; the top of the seam is
cleaned or dressed off and the cover replaced on the hat body. The tip
and side crown are now to be stuck with the hot iron to the body with
particular care, so as to make a good joining at the seam, and not to
draw through the varnish. The making of a good seam is the test of a
good workman.
The dressing and polishing of the hat now commence; and while it
remains upon the block, this is done by means of brushes, wettings,
ironings, &c., once, twice, or three times in succession, after which
it is fixed on the veluring machine where it is revolved rapidly,
for the purpose of freeing the nap of all impurities by means of the
hair-cloth velures that are applied.
The hat is next taken back to the bench, where it receives its final
dry-ironing, veluring, &c., and the crown is papered up.
The brim is yet to be finished, which is done by hand, with the
brushes, sponge, iron, &c., and made to shine like the crown; after
this it is given to the trimmer to be trimmed and bound, when it comes
back to be curled and properly shaped in the brim, suiting the taste of
the wearer. The workman who gives the hat its final touches makes use
of a number of tools, which, though of seemingly trifling appearance,
are nevertheless necessary for his department, which requires a refined
taste.
Forming Machines.
Such is hat-making, but we cannot conclude without remarking that
there have been many patents granted in this and other countries for
improvements in hatting, that we cannot notice. Nevertheless there
are two, of decided merit, claiming attention, as having entirely
revolutionized one-half of the making department, and which may be
modified and extended to answer many purposes, in addition to that of
hat-making.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.
Forming Machine for Fur Hat Bodies.]
The first and most ingenious is called the pneumatic process of forming
the bodies, hence in all large cities the bowing operation is not
employed. It is as follows: A cone of sheet copper punched full of
small holes, and set upright, revolves slowly upon its axis; beneath
this or attached to it an exhausting fan is placed, causing by its
rotation a current of air to draw through the holes from the outside.
A trunk or box with an opening facing against this revolving cone,
discharges the fur which is fed into it at the other end by a feeding
apron, in quantity just sufficient for one hat-body. It is drawn into
this trunk between two rollers that are covered with leather or felt,
and immediately seized by a cylinder revolving about four hundred times
in a minute, furnished with a number of stiff brushes. This generates
a current of air which scatters the fur and blows it out of the mouth
of the trunk, where floating in the air it is speedily drawn upon
the perforated cone, and evenly spread over the top and sides of the
same, in quantity enough for one hat-body in so many revolutions. The
discharging trunk is so adjusted that any desired quantity of fur can
be deposited on any particular portion of the cone. When the cone has
got the fur for one hat-body, the workman wraps over it a wet cloth and
slips a metallic cover over the whole, which he removes into a tank
of hot water. A new cone is immediately set in its place to receive
another coating of fur. The hot water into which it has been dipped
tends to make the mat more tenacious, which is next slipped off the
cone, taken to a table, gently worked by hand-rolling in a piece of
blanket, squeezed and pressed, and folded into a convenient shape and
sent to the regular hatter to be felted at the ordinary plank kettle.
The cost of hat-bodies is reduced, it is computed, by this process
as five or six to one of the old bowing system, and the rapidity of
production is as thirty to one.
[Illustration: Fig. 8.
Forming Machine for Wool Hat Bodies.]
It will not have escaped observation that this ingenious piece of
machinery is applicable only for fur, the filaments of which are short
and less inclined to tangle than those of wool, but another and no less
useful piece of mechanism has been invented for forming the bodies of
wool hats, and like the other has entirely superseded the use of the
bow in all large factories where wool hats are made. It consists of a
modified common carding machine, the sliver from which is conducted to
a set of double conical blocks that are placed base to base, and which
slowly revolve upon their axes in front of the carding machine, and the
sliver is received and wound upon these combined blocks to the required
thickness, sufficient for one hat, both blocks being covered at the
same time. This machine which carries the blocks has a horizontal
vibratory motion, or swaying backwards and forwards, that enables the
sliver to be wound in a systematic manner on the cones, with a varied
thickness of material for brims and crowns, and causing also the fibres
of the wool to lie in a diagonal position, as layer upon layer covers
the blocks. The bodies of the two hats, each of a conical figure, are
thus made over the surface of a double cone which are separated by
cutting them along their middle or base line, and slipping them off at
the end. They are now ready to be wetted, shrunk, and felted in the
usual manner by the regular hatter.
Shoes and Gaiters of Felt.
We will here describe the making of felted gaiters and shoes, which is
similar to the art of hatting. There may be other and better methods,
as the expansive stretching nature of felt may admit of other modes.
The wearer of these gaiters may walk upon the slippery pavement with
comfort and full confidence, and if furnished with a leather or rubber
under-sole, they are a neat, easy, comfortable cover for the feet.
A given quantity of wool calculated for one pair of shoes is weighed
out, which is divided into four equal portions, two of them for each
shoe. One at a time is laid upon the hurdle, and with the proper bow
it is bowed as if for a hat, and disposed of in exactly an equilateral
triangle, which being gathered together with the basket, is pressed,
and temporarily solidified, laid aside, and the other portion treated
in the same manner. A piece of coarse brown paper is now folded into a
triangular shape, a little smaller than the bats just bowed; all the
three edges are to be folded together with the paper inclosed. The use
of the inclosed paper is to prevent the inner surfaces from felting
together, and to keep the inside open. The intended shoe is next
lapped in a sheet of cloth, and hardened at the hot basin (the basin
is a disk of solid iron with a fire beneath). Water sprinkled on the
sheet when turned upon the basin, sends steam all through the mass, and
when rubbed slightly by hand, friction is communicated to the surface
fibres, which in a short time become smooth, when the position of the
triangular wool should be changed and the rubbing continued. A few
crossings and rubbings give it a consistence sufficient for handling at
the plank kettle, where we shall suppose both shoes to have arrived.
The felting operation at the kettle is performed in quite the same
manner as that of a hat, by pressing, rolling, folding, and unfolding,
&c., with its dippings into the hot water, until the material has
assumed a hardness and solidity quite astonishing to the casual
observer.
This operation finished, the shoe still in the triangular shape, one
corner is now to be cut off to make an opening, and the confined paper
taken out, which is quite a soggy spongy lump of pulp. The mate to
this shoe having been advanced to the same forwardness, they are to be
pulled upon their respective lasts and dried, and perhaps dyed, after
which they are pounced, and finally trimmed.
Printers' Sheets.
The making of _sheet_ felt for calico and other printers is a business
that fell into the hands of the hatters at the introduction of the
water-proofing of hats, as previous to that time the thick stout old
hats of former times were quite sufficiently thick for the fittings of
their blocks, so that when no more of them could be gotten, recourse
was had to the new article, although it should be at a slight sacrifice.
Felt is employed in this business because of the facility with which
it lifts and carries from the color sieve, the colors that are to be
applied to the cloth. Wood and Copper blocks or rollers require two
different thicknesses of felt, and though various qualities are made,
a solid body and clear smooth surface and edge when cut and pounced by
the block-cutter, are absolutely necessary, as otherwise, a ragged edge
to the printed figures on the cloth will be the result.
The following makes a very good article:--
7 ozs. best backs of coney wool, and
6 ozs. of Saxony lamb's wool.
The coney is first well broken over with a light bow, upon the hurdle,
and then by means of the heavier wool bow, the well-carded Saxony is
intimately mixed with it. This thoroughly accomplished, the whole is to
be divided into two portions; the one a little heavier than the other,
which is laid upon the hurdle, and with the same wool bow, strung with
stouter cat-gut, the hatter disposes of the mixture in a perfectly even
flat form, of an oblong square, which when gathered by the hatter's
basket, measures 18 inches wide by 3 feet long. A cloth is then spread
over it, and the whole turned upside down; the sides and ends of the
cloth are lapped over, so that this bat as it is called is completely
enveloped. A stiff skin is now thrown over it, and pressed and rubbed
for some time in an even manner, to reduce its thickness. The skin
having been removed, the sheet with its bat is rolled and pressed still
more, then laid aside while the other half undergoes exactly the same
operation, but is made three inches shorter in length.
These two sheets, which are destined to form but one, are connected
thus. The shorter is first folded over upon itself, and the two ends
joined by overlapping with a proper inlayer of paper; then the larger
bat is laid upon this one, and the whole turned upside down, so that
the joinings of the two bats will be upon opposite sides of the sheet
of felt. After these joinings are carefully made, the would-be sheet
appears exactly like a lady's muff, and is again to be enveloped in the
cloth, for the hardening process, at the hot basin, where it receives
a partial steaming, rubbing, re-folding, &c., till finally it is
carried to the plank kettle, where the severest labor must be applied;
the object being to condense the materials of which it is made to the
utmost degree of tension. It is then cut open, dried, and receives
an application of a weak solution of size; when again dry it is well
pounced with pumice stone, and the edges cut straight, which finishes
a first class printers' sheet of felt, the size being 33 or 33-1/2
inches long by 12 inches wide. Sheets for _copper_ blocks or rollers
require a thickness of a quarter of an inch, and those for _wood_
three-sixteenths of an inch. Some prefer a sheet altogether of Saxony
_wool_.
Cloth Hats.
After the introduction of gutta-percha into the arts, and the
manufacture of it into thin sheeting, a new kind of hat was introduced,
made of gutta-percha cloth, and from the variety of shades, &c. seemed
for some time to supersede the soft low-crowned FELT article. But the
cupidity of some of the manufacturers destroyed the business almost
entirely when in its infancy, some say purposely, by making them so
very inferior and at the same time so perfect a counterfeit, that the
really good and perfectly made hat became universally distrusted, and
hence the result.
We shall refrain from all notice of the methods employed tending to
this deterioration of the new article, and merely describe the making
of the honest, sound, and valid hat, the revival or resuscitation of
which is well worthy of consideration.
A dry, thin, and soft fur or wool body is to be drawn upon the proper
block, generally 3 or 4 inches deep with either a square or round
crown, and the brim spread out upon the bench or bottom board. A
circular piece of gutta-percha gum the size of the intended brim,
having its centre cut out, is to be slipped over the crown down on to
the felt brim; a similar piece of good cloth is likewise slipped over
in the same manner to cover the gum, and now the extreme outer edges of
the felt and cloth are to be carefully cemented together by means of
the gum, by passing round a hot iron. The usual stirrup or bridle is
then thrown over the hat, girding the inner edge of the cloth to the
block, and stuck with the heel of the iron. This partially stuck brim
is finally overlaid with a wet loose brim-cloth and properly ironed,
the heat of the steam from the damp cloth softens the gutta-percha gum
and effects the adhesion of the cloth to the fur body. About half an
inch of cloth will project up on the side crown, which is also made to
adhere to the felt body by the heated iron.
The block is now to be withdrawn, and the hat turned inside out, which
reverses this would-be upper brim to the under side. The hat is next
to be re-blocked, a repetition of the gum and cloth is to be applied
to this side of the brim exactly as with the other, and then succeeds
the covering of the crown, which is to be wholly laid over first with
the gutta-percha and then with the previously prepared cloth cover as a
crown piece, these being held tight by means of the blocking-cord. The
whole crown, both tip and sides, is to be cemented and finished, never
omitting the wet finishing-cloth between the hat and the hot iron, and
the hat is now complete and ready for lining and trimming.
The above makes a good soft pliable cloth hat. But if a stiffer and
firmer hat is wanted of the same material, the felt body is to be put
through the process of the alkaline bath, similar to that of fur hats,
and when dry, proceeded with as above.
Another method of making these cloth hats is to dispense with the fur
body entirely, the block being covered with two thicknesses of cloth
and having a ply of gutta-percha gum between, which are cemented
together by steaming and pressing, using at all times a wet cloth under
the hot iron. The brim is separate and distinct from the crown when
made, and consists of a piece of thick wool padding, which is to be
covered on both sides with the proper cloth, cemented together with the
gum, first one side and then the other, after which the crown and brim
are sewed together.
In all these cases, the gutta-percha gum acts not only as a cement but
also a water-proofing to the hat.
Conclusion.
In this treatise upon the history of hats and hat-making, of furs,
wools, &c., and the manufacture of felt, we are well aware of the
impossibility of illustrating in full the hatting trade of America, as
this country stands alone as compared with others, on account of the
mixed population that is here collected. As we have representatives in
this, as in every other line of business, from every civilized nation
upon earth, with all their various methods of working in their own
accustomed ways, the prejudices naturally engendered and entertained
through habit being hard to combat, so that the judges of this work may
be numerous and various, and no doubt profusely severe in some of their
criticisms.
But there is going on a rapid amalgamation of all that is best in the
trade of hatting, resulting from the continued flow of immigration, and
heightened greatly by the wanderings of hatters generally, from shop
to shop, and from town to town, that must ultimately bring together
in this our beloved land, a perfection in the trade that cannot be
attained by any other nation.
FOOTNOTES.
[A] The most familiar instance of mutual association and combination,
resulting in real utility, though not so striking on account of our
familiarity with it, is the broadcloth of which our clothes are made,
which when cut by the tailor will never unravel. This result is wholly
the effect of its felting in the fulling mill during the operation of
scouring and washing, every fibre of the wool of which the cloth is
made, having clung to its immediate neighbors, both warp and weft, and
with the spirit of true friendship they still remain in each other's
embrace, and the cloth is transformed from a loose to a solid fabric.
Another instance of the power of combination is the mysterious Gordian
knot that we read of in history, which promised the empire of the world
to him who could unloose it, and which Alexander the Great is reported
to have cut with his sword, because he failed in the attempt. If not a
fabulous story, that compound knot the illustrious Gordius is supposed
to have cunningly felted previous to hanging it up in the temple.
[B] The reason why wool and woollen goods felt and solidify more
readily than any straight fibred furs, is owing to the natural curl
or frizzle possessed by wool, each and every bend of every individual
filament assuming an inclination for travel independent of each other
and of the general inclination of the perfect fibre.
[C] Hatters' kettles for FUR hatting are made of copper, as they take
less firing than those that are made of lead. But lead must be the
metal if sulphuric acid, no matter in how small quantity, is used in
the water. It is generally resorted to by the men in sizing WOOL hats,
as it facilitates the felting operation. This acid (vitriol), having no
affinity for lead, does not affect the kettle, while it would soon eat
the one of copper through. Care, however, must be taken that no stone
be let fall into the water of the lead kettle, for a hole will soon
result from such an accident.
[D] As every hat must be finished upon a block of some particular form,
upon which the hat assumes the exact counterpart, it becomes necessary
with those having broad tops, that the block be in five separate
pieces, so as to get them out or into the hat, the centre piece acting
as a wedge to the whole.
INDEX.
Acid aids fulling, 21
Alkali stiff, 33
Analysis of hair, 12
Ancient hats, 26
Basket, hat, 40
Battery for sizing, 41
Bleaching of hair, 14
Block for hats, 47
Blocking, 47
Blowing machine, 35
Body making, 41
Bowing, 39
Bow-pin, 39
Broadcloth, properties of, 19
Cardinal's hats, 26
Carroting, 29
Cassimere hats, 48
Chemical analysis of hair, 12
Cloth hats, 63
Coloring, 47
Conclusion, 65
Construction of hair, 16
Cotton, why it does not felt, 17
Description of furs, wools, hair, &c., 11
Dressing, 56
Dyeing, 47
Dyes, 48
Elizabeth, Queen, patent, 28
Familiar proofs of felting, 17
Fashions, 28
Felting, 14
familiar proofs of, 17
inventor of, 27
when invented, 22
Felt made by Turcomans, 21
uses of, 22
Festival of hatters, 29
Fine wool, introduction into the United States, 23
Finishing, 49
First account of hatters, 27
Flowing nap, 43
Forming, 56
machines, 57-59
Fulling, 14
acid aids, 21
mill, 24
oil prevents, 21
process of, 25
soap aids, 21
Fur, kinds of, 20
qualities of, 14
Furs, description of, 11
how prepared, 29
inferior articles employed with, 22
low prices of in early times, 23
Gaiters of felt, 60
Glue, pelts used for, 31
Goods, shrinking of, 15
Gordian knot, 19
Gossamer hats, 53
Grease prevents fulling, 21
Hair balls in the stomach, 19
bleaching of, 14
chemical analysis of, 12
construction of, 16
description of, 11
how it grows, 12
peculiar properties of, 15
why it felts, 14
Hairs, number of, 17
Hat basket, 40
block, 47
bow, 39
iron, 49
Hats, ancient, 26
cardinal's, 26
cassimere, 48
cloth, 63
history of, 25
manufacture of, 36
scarlet, 26
Spanish, 28
Hatters' festival, 29
first account of, 27
kettles, 46
Hatting, history of, 25
in the United States, 27
silk, 52
History of hats and hatting, 25
How hair felts, 14
hair grows, 12
to judge of the quality of wool, 23
Inferior articles employed with furs, 22
Introductory remarks, 9
Introduction of fine wool into the United States, 23
Invention of felting, 22
Inventor of felting, 27
Kettles, 46
Kinds of fur, 20
Manufacture of hats, 36
Materials, preparation of, 29
for hats, 20
Nap, flowing, 43
Napping, 45
Number of hairs, 17
Oil prevents fulling, 21
Patent, Queen Elizabeth's, 28
Peculiar properties of hair, 15
Pelts used for glue, &c., 31
Planking, 42
Pneumatic process, 58
Polishing, 56
Pouncing, 48
Preparation of materials, 29
Prices of furs in early times, 23
Printers' sheets, 61
Process of fulling, 25
Properties of broadcloth, 19
Pulling, 29
Pumicing, 48
Qualities of fur, 14
Quality of wool, how judged, 23
Quantity of stuff for a hat, 38
Queen Elizabeth's patent, 28
Receipts for stiffs, 34
Ruffing, 45
Scarlet hats, 26
Secretage, 29
Shaving, 44
Shellac-stiff, 33
Shoes of felt, 60
Shrinking of goods, 15
Silk hatting, 52
Sizing, 42
Soap aids fulling, 21
Spanish hats, 28
Stiffening, 31
process, 44
Stiffs, 31, 33, 34
Stockings, wool, 18
Stomach, hair balls in, 19
Stuff, quantity of for a hat, 38
Turcomans, felt made by, 21
United States, hatting in, 27
Uses of felt, 22
Water-proofing materials, 31
When felting was invented, 22
When fine wool was introduced into the United States, 23
Why cotton does not felt, 17
hair felts, 14
Wire hoop for brims, 51
Wool, fine, introduction into the United States, 23
Wool, how to judge of the quality, 23
Wools, description of, 11
Wool stockings, 18
* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES.
Seven occurrences of "etc." have been changed to "&c." on pages 29
(twice), 41, 56 (three times), and 68.
Page 7, "Printer's" changed to "Printers'" (Printers' sheets)
Page 7, changed "Puffing" to "Ruffing" (Ruffing or napping)
Page 10, added "of" (dissemination as correct, of that which)
Page 15, "then" changed to "than" (more readily than)
Page 16, added "of" (counting the number of these)
Page 19, "broad-cloth" changed to "broadcloth" (the broadcloth of which)
Page 23, "Britian" changed to "Britain" (Great Britain, or)
Page 29, "too" changed to "two" (nipped between two revolving)
Page 29, "rolls" changed to "rollers" (and the rollers placed)
Page 32, "waterproof" changed to "water-proof" (light, and water-proof)
Page 33, "waterproofing" changed to "water-proofing" (and water-proofing)
Page 40, "overlaping" changed to "overlapping" (together by overlapping)
Page 43, "shorly" changed to "shortly" (will shortly be described)
Page 44, "clothlike" changed to "cloth-like" (smooth and cloth-like)
Page 45, "waterproofing" changed to "water-proofing" (of water-proofing)
Page 49, "singing" changed to "singeing" (as the singeing of)
Page 53, "ves el" changed to "vessel" (another vessel containing)
Page 61, "waterproofing" changed to "water-proofing" (water-proofing of)