Picture this: You’re out shopping for clothes and find a fitted hat you fall in love with. You get the hat home, but to your surprise, the hat is much looser than you previously thought.
Or, you could be shopping online and order your beautiful hat that’ll fit perfectly. When it finally arrives, it’s much bigger on you than you expected.
Or what about that same old fitted hat you’ve worn for years now? You keep adjusting it to be smaller and smaller as the hat stretches over time. As time goes on, you realize that you can’t adjust the hat to fit any tighter.
What do all of these scenarios have in common?
The answer is simple: Your favorite fitted hat is way too big for you the way it is now. You need an easy way to shrink your fitted hat.
We’ve got you covered! In this article, we’ll cover the five proven ways to shrink your fitted hat so that you can keep wearing it for as long as you want.
How to Shrink A Fitted Hat
If you’re looking for the easiest ways to get your fitted hat to shrink down to a suitable size (see our hat size chart), then look no further. These are five of the best and most popular ways to help your hat shrink.
Submerge the Hat in Hot Water
One of the most effective ways to shrink a fitted hat, either made of cotton or an elastic band, is to submerge it in hot water and then wear it until it’s dry.
The science behind submerging your hat in hot water is that the heat will cause the material in your hat to expand. Then placing the hat on your head to cool and dry will help the material conform tightly to your head.
Using this method is simple. To start, you will need to either fill a deep pot with water to heat on your stove or fill your sink with hot water. Whatever you choose, your container should be deep enough that the water covers your hat when it’s submerged.
Warm the water until it is hot but not hot enough to burn you or damage your hat. Ideally, the water will be giving off small amounts of steam but never boiling.
Once your water is at the right temperature, submerge your hat into the water, and let it soak for about 10 minutes.
After your hat has finished soaking, remove it from the container and allow the excess water to drip off. After the hat has cooled off enough to hold for long periods, you will need to wear the hat until it’s dry so that it can shrink and conform to your head.
If you can’t wear a hat that long, you should wear it for at least a few hours until it’s almost dry. Then, you can use a clothespin or hook to hang your hat up by its bill to finish drying the rest of the way.
Use a Hairdryer
The hairdryer method is a tried and true method that anyone can do from home.
All you need for this method is a spray bottle, water, and a hairdryer.
Start by filling your spray bottle with water. Then, turn your hat upside down and spray the band inside the bottom of your hat.
After the band is damp, lightly spritz the inside of the body of the hat. Be sure not to soak the hat; it should be moist, not wet.
Once you’ve sprayed the inside of your hat, flip your hat over and repeat the same for the outside. Spray water around the outside of the band, then lightly spritz the outer body of the hat.
Now that your hat is damp, plug in your hairdryer and turn it on the highest setting. Place your hat over your first, and start drying the outside of the hat, holding the hairdryer no more than 12 inches away from your hat.
After the outside is almost dry, turn the hat upside down again. You will want to focus the hairdryer on the hat’s inner band since the inner band needs to shrink the most to fit you better.
Once your hat is almost dry, you should wear it until it dries completely. This way, it will shrink to fit your head much easier.
Take a Shower While Wearing Your Fitted Hat
This method is the easiest on our list. All you need for this method is your fitted hat, a hot shower, and your head.
To start, step into your shower while wearing your hat. Once you’re in the shower, you should turn your water on hot but not too hot. It shouldn’t be hot enough to burn you.
After you get the proper water temperature, soak the hat with the hot water. From there, continue your normal shower while wearing the hat.
For the best results, you should wear the hat until it’s completely dry.
If you can’t comfortably do that, then you can wear it until it’s almost dry, then hang it up by the brim using a clothespin to finish drying all the way. Using a hairdryer can also speed up the drying process.
Use Your Washer and Dryer
There are a few different ways you can use your washing machine and dryer to shrink your fitted hat. You can use just your washer, just your dryer, or a combination of them both.
To shrink your fitted hat with just your washer, you can wash your hat in a regular hot water cycle and then wear it on your head until it’s dry. Most polyester and blended fabric fitted hats will shrink in hot water alone.
Similar to the hairdryer method, you can use your dryer to shrink your fitted hat. All you need to do is spray the hat, especially the inner band, with cool water and put it in the dryer on high until it’s completely dry.
The fastest and easiest way to use your washer and dryer to shrink your fitted hat is to wash and dry the hat like normal. You will want to wash your hat on a hot water cycle, then dry the hat in your dryer on high.
Steam Your Hat
There are several ways to steam your hat, but we’re going to cover the easiest and most accessible way you can use steam to shrink your fitted hat at home.
All that you need is a pot, some water, and your stove.
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. You’ll see that the water at that point will be producing a lot of steam. Simply hold the hat by the brim about six to 12 inches above the steam for a few minutes. You can take short breaks as needed to avoid burning your hands.
After your hat is damp, remove it from the steam. You can then wear it on your head until it’s dry, or you can use a hairdryer to finish drying the hat the rest of the way.
Final Thoughts
Shrinking your fitted hat can be intimidating, especially if you’re worried about messing it up. But the methods we’ve covered are foolproof.
These five methods are the easiest and most effective ways to shrink your fitted hat from the comfort of your home.