Creasing Your Umpire Hat

[gonz57]

How do you crease your umpire hat? By directly applying the iron or will it burn your hat? Also, at what temperature should the iron be set at? Hopefully some of you will include a picture or two.

Thanks

[ump_24]

Originally Posted by gonz57

How do you crease your umpire hat? By directly applying the iron or will it burn your hat? Also, at what temperature should the iron be set at? Hopefully some of you will include a picture or two.

Thanks

Gonz,

First step is to fold your hat by hand where you want the crease. Personally, I fold it so the crease is slightly triangular right at the ventilation holes of the front of the hat

Once you've done that, head down to your ironing area. Wet a cloth so it is nice and damp and place it over top of the section of the hat you will be creasing.

As for the temperature, can't help you out too much there. The iron I use, courtesy of my mother, classifies temperature by what material you'll be ironing. Generally I just use max anyway however, because you still have the cloth to protect your hat. Working on a few pictures for you.

[Richard_Siegel]

Originally Posted by gonz57

How do you crease your umpire hat? By directly applying the iron or will it burn your hat? Also, at what temperature should the iron be set at? Hopefully some of you will include a picture or two.

Thanks

I just crease it by hand. Don't use an iron. I just give it a little 5 seconds of crease work before each time I put it on.

[seth503]

Originally Posted by Richard_Siegel

I just crease it by hand. Don't use an iron. I just give it a little 5 seconds of crease work before each time I put it on.

I do the same as Richard. Also, I don't work in an area where this is a huge deal, but do what your association expects, same as with many subjects.

[finnerty]

I've been bald since college, so I have owned and worn literally hundreds of caps. I had never creased even one until I became an umpire. As an umpire, I always wear a cap that is creased. It started out as the preference of the instructors that trained me (when in Rome ...), but I have grown so accustomed to the look that I now prefer it. I truly think it adds to the overall sharpness of the umpire's whole uniform.

You can iron it or do it by hand. The iron method makes it more permanent.

[robbyrudd455]

I'm not a fan of hat creasing, personally.

However, I've seen guys store their hats folded up with clothes pins holding the crease of the hat to the bill of the hat. That keeps the shape.

[ump_24]

When I started I did not crease my hats (more correctly, at my age, I did not ask someone to crease my hats for me), partially because I had no idea umpire hats were even creased. Now that I trust myself to operate an iron, I do crease my hats.

However, at the present moment, only my hats that have logos on them are creased. I'm not sure I like the look of a creased, logo-less hat. That may change however.

[zam989s]

I just started using the iron this year when I got some new hats, and it works well. I need to make sure I use the wet towel next time, because one of the hats did get a little burn mark on it....no biggie though.

I too use clothes pins to hold the crease while I'm storing the hats.

By the way, I had never tried to wash a hat, but I threw a couple of my Richardson wool hats in the washer with other laundry and let them air dry....they're as good as new.

[heyblue26]

If I remember correctly reading an article by the MLB Umpire R. Drake website about this very thing. As I remember you first take the top front of the hat that you are going to crease and fold it down even with the prim of your hat so that it is even with the front edge, next take the back part of the hat and fold it so it is also even with the front half of the hat.

Now with a damp wet towel and a med hot iron and lay the towel over the hat and pressing it a few times to form the crease. Then you can use rubberbands to hold it in place over night until the next day. Remove the rubberbands and if you folded the front portion of the hat correctly you should have a nice and permant crease.

Just what I remember.

[Richard_Siegel]

Originally Posted by zam989s

I just started using the iron this year when I got some new hats, and it works well. I need to make sure I use the wet towel next time, because one of the hats did get a little burn mark on it....no biggie though.

I too use clothes pins to hold the crease while I'm storing the hats.

By the way, I had never tried to wash a hat, but I threw a couple of my Richardson wool hats in the washer with other laundry and let them air dry....they're as good as new.

I tried washing my hats in the washer on the gentle cycle and even in the dishwaser. However, I found that the brims were never firm afterward. The cardboard in the brim apparently gets a bit too mushy from being saturated in the wash. I thought about it and decided that thing that you really need to get rid of on "dirty" hats in the the white salt (sweat stains) from perspiration that accumulates on the sides of the hat. The brim is rarely stained by the salt. Unless you drop your hat in the mud, the salt stain is the major concern to when cleaning the hat. I thought about it and realized that the salt is water soluble and should quickly dissolve if exposed to a lot of water. But how could you wash the hat without saturating the brim in a washer?

I started doing it a new way. Very primitive but it works. Once in a while when I start to notice the white salt stains begin to appear on a hat I will take the hat in the backyard and, holding it by the brim, I'll hose it off with a stiff spray from the garden hose for about 10 seconds. By holding the hat by the brim I can direct the water away from the brim so as little water as possible gets on the brim and it does not get very wet. Then I'll stuff the hat with a towel so it keeps its shape and I set the hat on a lawn chair out in the hot sun for the rest of the day. After it is dry it also comes out looking as good as new and the brim stays stiff.

[BrianC14]

Salt stains are easy to get rid of if you spray down the hat after a game, then pat it dry with a clean towel.

It's the old "spray bottle and clean towel in the gear bag" routine.

[seth503]

Originally Posted by BrianC14

It's the old "spray bottle and clean towel in the gear bag" routine.

That's how I clean off my shoes. Very versatile, those spray bottles and towels.

[Brotherhood_of_Blue]

Originally Posted by BrianC14

Salt stains are easy to get rid of if you spray down the hat after a game, then pat it dry with a clean towel.

It's the old "spray bottle and clean towel in the gear bag" routine.

Spray Bottle with a 50/50 mix of Water and Alcohol is a super cleaner, especially for the Salt Stains. Carried in the versatile spray bottle and pat dry with the towel. Use it on the interior of the hat also, especially around the "band" area where you tend to get buildup of things like sunscreen.