While most people enjoy wearing a hat, only a few know how they are made. The type of hat determines the construction and materials used. For example, some hats that are made from a generic blank are blocked into shape with steam and heat. While others that are sewn, some are made from weirdly shaped pieces of material that don't even resemble the hat to be made.

Some of the hats that get blocked are felt and straw. In industrial uses, large machines can block more than one hat at once. Blocking hats was originally done by hand, but is now done by machine. Depending on the style of hat to be made the brim and crown may be manufactured using two different forms.

There are many different kinds of hats that all start out looking the same, since steaming the hat is what allows it to take its shape. Fedora, bowlers, and other types of hats are made as a shaped felt blank. Any shaping or creases that are desired are put in after the hats are placed onto the hat block. This is the same process that straw hats are also made.

The hat that is often coated in a stiffener and/or protective varnish is the straw hat. Whereas felt hats contain sizing to stiffen them. There are many other processes to making hats. Adding a brim wire is also necessary to finishing a blocked hat.

Everyone is familiar with baseball caps; these types of hats are shaped and sewn. The fabric used to make the hat is many times treated with a stiffener and then sewn together. If the crown or brim needs to be shaped, this procedure is often done after the hat is put together, except if it would harm the hat. After the procedure the hat should be finished and be like any other hat.

The hat has been through a lot of complex procedures by the time it arrives at the local store. Since a hat is a 3 dimensional object the process of making it is really more like sculpting art than garment making. The next time you wear a hat maybe you will think of it as wearing a beautiful sculptor instead of a simple article of clothing.