When your Baseball Cap won't stretch any further - an experiment with the internal sizing

When I got a hat that ran small, my Hat Jack (Stretcher) could only take it so far. I tried to modify the plastic sizing inside the sweatband to give myself a little more room... and here are the results.
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[@windlesSpice]

I pray our best scientists are trying to cure cancer with as much focus, determination, and intelligence as Dre in the 616 is trying to solve the problem of an ill-fitting New Era hat.

[@narilthesales9923]

These dude is underrated. Needs more views and likes. C'mon people he's giving quality informative videos for capheads like me. Thumbs up!

[@Gaviid]

Kei Nah Real I totally agree. I have quite a few caps, and this guy is always my go to when I forget something or need help.

[@tylerjones5972]

Thanks for posting. This makes me think twice about the limits of sizing down.

[@dreinthe616]

Hey Tyler, thanks. Oddly enough, last night I stopped caring about this hat anymore, and I gave it one more run - cutting away a bit more of the sizing that I could access, and removing a bit of foam from inside the back of the sweatband. After overnight on the hat jack, it is a decent fit now - the sides bow out a little - but I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping the cap.

[@sandlotsf2395]

Thanks for the tips👍👍👍

[@bakesale.p]

This video really helped me alot, and nice cap you have over there 💥💥

[@dreinthe616]

Cool, glad I could help - thanks!

[@dogmosatchmo]

If you have a hat jack, apply steam daily, and give it a crank. Keep the jack in the hat. After a few days, and applying steam a few times, you would be surprised at the results.

[@dreinthe616]

Cool, thanks for posting. Although I left the cap on the jack for 24 hours, I did not keep steaming like that every day - but I'm glad to hear it works.

[@jorgealan997]

I have tried this one with spray fabric softener when the jack is on for over a week. With no success whatsoever :( is the steam the last thing i need to make it work?

[@Throskan]

You could try to remove the white band partially oder even completly. I tried it with a 7 1/2 that wouldn't fit and the result was really good.

[@dreinthe616]

Cool, thanks for posting the comment. On this cap, the deeper part of the sizing was stitched right into the fabric panels, so I had a hard time trying to remove a whole section. But it's good to know you had some success, I'll take another look.

[@bigpun2k6]

hate to say it but perhaps cutting the sweatband will work better. put notches in v shape in sides of the black headband part. It helps me but if its an expensive rarer new era perhaps not lol

[@dreinthe616]

Yes, maybe that's something I can try on a cap that is more replaceable sometime, thanks.

[@why-why-whywhywhy]

Hey there, Doug. Kinda new to your channel as far as commenting goes & was wondering if you might also review other brands of hats, as well? More specifically 47’ brand, both fitted & adjustable & Ebbets Field? Also I have forever been ‘cursed’ with having a big head (Thanks, Pops !!!😋) but while his was big & round, mine is horribly long from front to back. So whenever I throw on my 7 3/4 sized hat it actually fits fine front to back. But because of all that stretching the hat has to do, it ends up leaving the hat look very narrow on the sides. So in my case, would you just stretch the sides of the hat? Or maybe try to reinforce the sides to make them more bulky? Just curious. And thanks for yet another truly in depth review. Cheers !!! ✌🏼

[@dreinthe616]

Hey, thanks for the good feedback. Ebbets Field I will probably review soon, and 47 Brand maybe some comparisons. Your size/stretch issue is a tough one - I also have what's called a 'long oval' head shape, which is why I started using the Hat Jack to shape my caps (see kzbin.info/www/bejne/bn-Qdn9jp9Kaf8U if you have not watched it already). The only suggestion I might have for you is to get a Hat Jack (maybe a large) and then try to modify the wood blocks by shaping the sides a little bit, more like your head shape. The other thing is maybe go one size up to see if you can avoid getting the 'narrow' effect from stretching so far. Not sure if that's much help, but good luck and thanks for watching.

[@WillmaticNYC]

I wish there was a company that offered a service that convert a fitted hat into s snap/strap back. Just like you I have a few like-new condition hats that I can’t wear (either too big or too small) and if it were converted I would be able to wear it. I love my fitteds, but I rather put it on my head than to have it as a collectors item.

[@dreinthe616]

Good point - I haven't had it happen with too many caps, but there are some that I probably won't see again, so it would be at least good to have an option.

[@mr.disney4740]

Hi. Don't take this the wrong way...but you look so much better in a cap !( You wear a hat well 👍)

[@dreinthe616]

Thanks, appreciate it!

[@mr.disney4740]

@@dreinthe616 you're welcome...new SUBSCRIBER! Keep up the good informative videos.

[@scottcraigen630]

How snug do you think the cap should be. I’m between a 7 1/8 and a 7 1/4. The 1/4s I trt always feel too loose for my liking. However, I constantly find myself stretching my 1/8s with the knee trick. They’re not painful but definitely can feel it’s a good snug fit.

[@dreinthe616]

I try to avoid two things - pressure that gives me a headache, or red marks on my forehead. The hat jack is essential, and I have two different modified versions for different kinds of shaping (I posted tutorials on how to quickly modify a hat jack). For your situation, I would almost certainly go for the 1/8 most of the time, and use the hat jack as needed.

[@MrNeville78]

Hey Doug, thanks for all your info. My issue is that I bought a hat stretcher for a size 7 new era but a 7 1/8 Is too big. I cut the band and used a blow dryer and get it to fit how I want but after a while it shrinks back a bit . How do I make it stay ? Thanks

[@dreinthe616]

Not sure if I follow completely - are you saying you can't fit the hat jack that you bought into the size 7 cap? The way to make a stretch last is to steam it (as I show with the hat jack), crank the jack open and leave it on there overnight. If you want to keep going, steam it again the next day and crank open some more (never remove it from the jack), then leave it overnight again. Thanks to another viewer who made that suggestion in comments. Sometimes I still have to refresh a cap every six months or so, they can draw in a bit over time.

[@MrNeville78]

@@dreinthe616 cool thanks for the reply , gonna try it with steam

[@notthatdigusted7468]

I have a Redskins 2016 Draft hat that is really hard to find now (Gee I wonder why) that is a 54.6 cm hat but I wear a 7 1/4 size which is about 56 cm. Can I stretch the hat the extra two cm so that the hat would fit me comfortably?

[@dreinthe616]

When stretching, you can count on safely getting 1/8 of a size… without a table in front of me at the moment, you could check the conversion and see if that would get you there, thanks.

[@deandresiringoringo8401]

Hi great video! Would you think it is possible to stretch a size 7 hat to a 7 1/4

[@dreinthe616]

I usually recommend that you only try for increasing it by 1/8 size... to stretch it by a full 1/4 size would be a lot of strain on the cap, and you probably would not be able to get it that far, or get a good fit. Thanks for watching!

[@unsincerelyyours]

Do you know if this Pirates ultimate patch collection is still available on any local Lids stores there?

[@dreinthe616]

Not likely - if you are not seeing any stock online at Lids, chances are it is gone. They actually do a decent job of managing store inventory through their online orders - I've gotten caps shipped to my house from stores in many different locations.

[@LarryBone213]

can i stretch my 7 1/2 to 7 3/4 or 8 ?

[@dreinthe616]

The 7-3/4 would be too far... you won't be able to get much more than 1/8 of a size (to 7-5/8). After that, you're fighting the plastic sizing that is stitched in, and the cap will get really distorted.

[@reecealeck8314]

Is that an alternative pirates hat ? Where can I get it ?

[@dreinthe616]

That one is probably long gone (it was from a 2018 collection) but there are vendors that reissue that logo every now and then... just keep an eye on the small/specialty vendors - I’ve got other videos at my channel that focus on fitted vendors, thanks.

[@juandelgado5487]

Thanks for the insight! What team is that if you don’t mind me asking?

[@dreinthe616]

That is the Pittsburgh Pirates, in logo and colors from about 1908-1910. Thanks!

[@killakicks]

What team fitted is this ?

[@dreinthe616]

That is the Pittsburgh Pirates, cap design from 1908-1910

[@matthewvz28]

With the hat jack alone, how much of a size jump would a stretcher make?

[@dreinthe616]

I usually only count on 1/8" - going too far past that results in some distortion in the cap body. But remember that caps are all over the place because they are still mostly hand made when the sizing happens.

[@matthewvz28]

@@dreinthe616 thanks for responding... when you say 1/8", is that the same as 1/8 in size difference in the new era sizing? Or in inches? Just need some clarification

[@dreinthe616]

Yes, I mean Hat size - I usually only count on going up 1/8 hat size

[@sergioramirez1693]

Two years late but what team cap is that?

[@dreinthe616]

That is a Pittsburgh Pirates cap, design from 1908. The patch on the side is actually the 1908 WS patch. I see this design every now and then at some of the online vendors that specialize in 59Fifty/Cooperstown caps.

[@sergioramirez1693]

Thanks OG, sadly they discontinued these, i haven’t seen any on lids/hat club sites

[@gustavoavila2756]

Can I stretch a 7 1/8 to a 7 3/8?

[@dreinthe616]

No, in my experience that's too far to go, I don't think you'll be happy with the result.

[@gustavoavila2756]

@@dreinthe616 can you shrink a 7 1/2 to fit a 7 3/8?

[@robertadams6184]

Sometimesadooragwillhelpdooragmakesthehatsmaller