Sewn-to-Size Sweatbands: How to Order One and How to Fit It

A stock leather sweatband has to be cut, joined and finished with ferrules before it goes into a hat. A sewn-to-size sweatband skips all of that: tell us the hat size, and the band arrives already cut, stitched and closed with the seam at the back, at the right length for the crown, in one of four colours. It is made to order here and ships from the USA. Here is how to order one and how to fit it.

Who it is for

Anyone replacing a sweatband in one hat and not planning to make a career of it. Hat shops that want a repair done in ten minutes instead of thirty. Hat makers who want every band on a production run to be exactly the same length. It costs a little more than a stock band because the cutting and joining is done here.

How to measure

Run a soft tape around the inside of the crown at the base, where the old band sat, and read the circumference. If the old band is still in the hat, measure the inside of the crown, not the band, because bands stretch. If you know the hat size, use our hat size chart to convert it to inches or centimetres. When a measurement falls between two sizes, order the larger one; a band that is a touch long can be eased in, a short one cannot.

What to tell us

The hat size or the crown measurement, which of the four colours you want, and whether the hat is a felt, straw or western style. Every band we make is reeded, with a synthetic wire in the bottom edge, so there is no reed choice to make. Add the measurement in the order notes if it is not one of the listed sizes.

How to fit it

Take the old band out, pin the new one into the crown with the seam at the centre back and the finished edge toward the brim, and stitch through the leather and the felt with a small running stitch, following the old stitch holes where you can see them. Fold the band down into the crown, steam lightly if the leather resists, and sew a bow over the seam if the hat had one. Our step-by-step guide to replacing a hat sweatband covers the whole job with a stock band; with a sewn-to-size band you start at the pinning step.

Stock band or sewn to size

If you have a sharp blade, ferrules and a bench, a stock band is cheaper and covers a range of sizes. If you want the hat back in service today with no cutting and no join to finish, order sewn to size. We have been sewing bands to size for other people's hats for five years on Etsy, and the 2,500-plus reviews there, 4.9 stars on average, tell the story better than we can. You can see all our leather sweatbands for hats in the shop.