Hat Too Big? Here’s How to Make it Fit

Many people who love to wear hats end up owning many kinds to match their wardrobe. When your family and friends are aware of your love of hats, you might find that they often give you hats or hat accessories to celebrate special occasions.

Hats are always great gifts, but there’s no guarantee that the giver will know your head size. If you end up with a hat that’s too big, don’t throw it out or feel compelled to re-gift it. With some slight (and simple) alterations, you can make that big hat fit your small(er) head.

Start the process of fitting your hat by getting a hold of a sewing kit. Make sure you have a needle and a spool of thread that closely matches the hat you want to alter.

Next, look for a piece of elastic band. If you don’t have any new elastic on hand, you can use the elastic band from old articles of clothing such as shorts or underwear. Carefully cut down the line of thread that attaches the elastic band to the rest of the clothing. This step is usually a little time-consuming, but with a bit of patience, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Put the hat on your head, and use your fingers to feel how much extra space you have at the back of your head. From this, you can estimate how much you need to tighten the hat to fit your head. Once you have separated the elastic band from the original piece of clothing, cut the elastic to that estimated size.

Turn the hat upside down so you can see the ribbon band that is located along the inside rim. Then, cut a length of the matching thread, pass it through the needle’s eye, and tie a knot in one end.

Fold the end of the elastic band onto itself, so there are no raw edges, and sew several stitches along the folded elastic to secure it to the inside ribbon. After making sure that the thread is secure, make a knot at the end to ensure that the thread that connects the elastic band to the hat’s inner ribbon will not come loose. Do the same thing to the other end of the elastic band, making sure that you have enough length of the elastic band to make the hat fit the size of your head.

Put on the hat to check if it is tight enough for the size of your head. If it is still a little bit loose, you can tighten it further by folding the elastic band again down the middle and stitching it up to cinch in the length. At this point, all you need to do is keep adjusting until you get the perfect fit.

After adjusting the elastic band, your hat should perfectly fit your head size. When you wear the hat later, you may not even remember that it was ever wiggling around on your head.