The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1899-02-16
HOW FELT HATS ARE MADE.
Thousands Of Men, Women and Boys
Are Employed I'm the Industry.

@f $500
Are Employed I'm the Industry.
One Of the leading industries in this
country is the manufacture of hats.
At the present time fur felt hats are
made in eleven states-namely: Con-
necticut, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland
Maine, Massachusetts,, Missouri, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and
Rhode Island. There are in all more
than 200 manufacturing plants produc-
ing hats for mems, boys. women's and
children's wear composed Of the fur of
the rabbit, beaver, nutria, and other
animals. The industry employees up
ward of $4,000 men, women and boys,
and the approximate value of the out
put is said to be $40, 600, 900 annually.
Speaking of mems hats and their manu-
f~acture, a representative of n of the
largest firms in this city said: Felt
hats include the popular derby and the
various styles of soft hats, all of which
are made from animal furs, the natural
coats of the coney, hare, nutria, musk
rat and beaver. To manipulate the
skins Of these animals so as to properly
prepare the fur for telling purposes is
an expert chemical operation, in fact,
a trade in itself, entirely distinct from
that of hatmaking, and is carried on by
matters fur cutters in London, the
worlds great center for that work. The
art of the hatmaker includes a knowl-
edge Of the particular fur or combina-
ton of furs for making a given quality
of hats. The proportioning of the diff
ferent furs requires the utmost exact
ness. The quality of product having
been decided upon, the fur is then
cleaned and separated from stray hairs
and all unreliable substances. This in
itial process is accomplished by a win
dy machine called the devil The
next process, forming consists Of dis
tributing by means of air currents a
light coating Of fur upon the outer sur
face of a revolving perpendicular cone,
perforated with small holes. When fur
covers the cone sufficient for one hat
1t is wrapped in wet cloths and given a
brief hot bath, then stripped from the
cone, and, after the stopping process
OF adding a little fur to weak spots, Is
wrapped with other cloths inside a
wooden cloth to harden it for handling.
By a process called sizing which con-
sists of repeated dimensions in hot wa
ter. together with rolling and unrolling,
folding and unfolding, the cone-shaped
mass is reduced to one-third its origin
al size. 1t is wonderful how each fiber
will twist and intertwine, basket fash
ion, with the other, until the product
is a closely woven mass. The body Is
then Shaved to remeve stray hairs in
the fur, and then it is stiffened with a
coating of shellac, thoroughly dried,
and then subjected to steam, which
softens the shellac and draws it into the
fabric. When dried 1t is immersed in
a no alkaline solution to free the sur
face from shellac and then in cold
water to remove the alkali. Block
ing succeeds s%tiffening. The fabric is
dipped in boiling water and placed on
a 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 s%tiffening
solution, drying again, ironing out
wrinkles, after which it is bounced with
emery paper and singed to remove the
long nap, and oil applied to smooth
the. surface. The curling department
cuts the brim to the desired width, rolls
up the sides, and pitches the front and
rear as the style demands. With the
process of trimming, consisting of sew
ing on the binding and band and &C.
menting the lining, the derby is fin
ished. If a soft hat is desired the stiff
fleming process is omitted. New York
Commercial.