Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-07-21
HOW FELT HATS ARE MADE.

rhousands Of Men, Women and Boys
Employed In the Industry.
One of the leading industries OF this
country is the manufacture Of hats. At
the present time fur-felt hats are made
in eleven states namely, Connecticut.
Indiana Illinois, Maryland, Maine.
Massachusetts,, Missouri, New Jers
sey, New York, Pennsylvania and
Rhode Island, says the New York Com
mercial. There are in all more than
200 manufacturing plants producing
hats for mems, boys, women's and
childrens wear composed OF the fur OF
the rabbit, beaver, nutria and other
animals. The industry employs up
ward of $4,000 men, women and boys,
and the approximate value of the out
put is said to be $20,000,00O annually.
Speaking of mems hats and their man
ufacture, representative of one of the
largest firms in this city said:
Felt hats include the popular derby
and the various other styles of soft
hats, all Of which are made from ami
NAL furs, the natural coats of the
cOney hare, nutria, muskrat and
beaver. To manipulate the skins Of
these animals SO as to properly pre-
pare the fur for felting purposes is an
expert chemical operation; in fact, a
trade in itself entirely distinct from
that of hat-making, and is carried on
by hatters fur-cutters in London, the
worlds great center for that work.
The art of the hat maker includes a
knowledge of the particular fur or
combination of furs for making given
quality of hats. The proportioning of
the different furs requires the utmost
exactness. The quality of product
having been decided upon, the fur is
then cleaned and separated from stray
hairs and all unreliable substances
This initial process is accomplished by
a windy machine called the devil.
THE next process, forming con-
sists of distributing by means of air
currents a light coating of fur upon the
outer surface of a revolving perpen-
dicular cone, perforated with small
holes. When fur covers the cone suf-
cloths and given a brief hot bath, then
stripped from the cone, and, after the
stopping process OF adding little fur
to weak spots, IS wrapped with other
cloths inside WOODEN cloth to harden
it for handling BY a process called
sizing which consists of repeated i'm
mersions in hot water, together with
rolling and unrolling, folding and un-
folding, the cone-shaped mass is re-
duced to one-third its original size. 1t
is wonderful how each fiber will twist
and intertwine, basket-fashion, with
the other, until the product is closely
wcven mass.
The body is then shaved to re-
move stray hairs in the fur, and then it
is stffened with a coating of shellac,
thoroughly dried and then subjected to
steam, which softenS the shellac and
draws it into the fabric. When dried it
is immersed in hot alkaline solution
to free the surface from shellac, and
then iel cold water to remove the alkali.
Blocking succeeds stiffening. The
fabric is dipped in boiling water and
placed on block patterned for the
final shape of the hat. After the dyeing
process comes that of finishing, which
consists of steaming, blocking to shape
the crown, drying, coating with a stiff
fening solution, drying again, ironing
out wrinkles, after which it is pbunced
with emery paper and singed to re-
move the long nap. and oil applied to
smooth the surface. The curling de-
partment cuts the brim to the desired
width, rolls up the sides and pitches
the front and rear as the style de-
mands.. With the process Of trim
ming, consisting of sewing on the bind
ing and band and cementing the lining,
the derby is finished If a soft hat is
desired the stiffening process is omit
ted"