The Complete Guide to Leather Hat Making (Sizing, Leather, Tools, Patterns and Build Order)

Making a leather hat comes down to five steps: measure your head, choose the right leather weight, print a real size pattern and check the fit in paper, cut and punch the pieces, then stitch the crown before the brim. Get the first three right and the stitching is the easy part.

This guide covers all five in the order you will do them, and it applies to every hat pattern on leather-patterns.com, from a flat cap to a top hat. Each of those patterns has a free full build video on the Tony See Patterns YouTube channel, so read this first and then watch the video for the hat you picked.

Step 1: measure your head and pick the size

Run a soft tape around your head where the hat will sit, about a finger's width above the ears and eyebrows. Note the measurement in centimetres. That number is your hat size, and it is the one thing you cannot fix after cutting leather.

Then check the pattern against your head in paper before anything else. Print the crown or head band pieces, tape them together, and place the paper band around your head. If it is tight in paper it will be tighter in leather, because leather has thickness and the seam takes up room. Go up a size. The 7 panel flat cap comes in ten sizes from XS to XXL, so it is the easiest hat to fit exactly. For other patterns, check the product page for what sizes are included.

Step 2: choose the leather

Caps and soft hats, meaning flat caps, newsboy caps, baseball caps, bucket hats and aviator caps, want 2 to 3 oz leather. Anything heavier fights the curve of the crown and the seams go lumpy. Chrome tan or soft veg tan both work, and chrome tan is the more forgiving of the two for a first cap.

Structured hats, meaning top hats, bowlers, pork pies and brimmed western hats, need leather that holds a shape. Use veg tan, which can be wet formed: dampen it, shape it over a block or a former, and let it dry stiff. The pattern's materials list gives the weight for that hat, and the build video shows how much stiffness the design needs.

One ounce is about 0.4 mm, so 2 to 3 oz is roughly 0.8 to 1.2 mm. The full table by project is in what leather thickness do you actually need. A cap uses around 3 to 4 square feet. Buy a little more than the list says for your first hat, because panels get cut wrong.

Step 3: print the pattern at real size

Every Tony See hat pattern is a PDF in three paper editions, A4, US Letter and US Legal, all in one download. Pick the one that matches your printer paper. Open it in Adobe Reader and print at 100 percent, Actual Size, never Fit to Page. Print the test page first and measure the square before printing the rest.

Larger pieces like brims are spread over several sheets. Cut each sheet on the dashed border, line up the marks and tape them before you cut anything. The whole procedure is in how to print a leather pattern at home without ruining the scale.

Step 4: tools for hat making

You need less than you think. A sharp knife, a stitching chisel or punch, two harness needles, waxed thread, a mallet and a cutting mat cover every cap and most hats. For a wet formed hat add a bowl of water and something round to shape the crown over. A hat block is nice, a mixing bowl of the right diameter or a stuffed bag has done the job for plenty of makers. Contact cement helps hold a sweat band in place before stitching. A full starter list with prices is in how to start leathercraft for under 100 dollars.

Step 5: cut, punch and stitch in the right order

Trace the paper pieces onto the flesh side of the leather, cut with the knife, and punch the stitching holes through the printed marks. The holes on Tony See patterns are pre-marked and matched piece to piece, so if you punch what is printed the seams line up hole for hole.

Build order for a panelled cap: stitch the crown panels together first, working in pairs, then join the pairs. Attach the peak or brim next. Fit the sweat band last, on the inside, so it covers the raw edges of the crown seams. For a top hat or bowler, the crown side wall is formed and closed first, the top is stitched on, then the brim, then the band. Stitch with a saddle stitch, two needles on one thread, and pull every stitch to the same tension, because on a hat the seams are all on show.

Why hats go wrong, and the fixes

• The hat is too small. The paper fit was skipped or the leather was too thick. Go up a size, or drop to 2 oz.

• The crown seams are lumpy. Leather too heavy for the curve, or the stitch tension is uneven. Use lighter leather and pull each stitch the same.

• The panels do not meet at the top. Printed at Fit to Page, so one edition of the pattern was scaled. Reprint at 100 percent and measure the test square.

• The brim will not hold its shape. Chrome tan was used where the pattern wants veg tan. Wet form a veg tan brim instead.

• The peak flops. A peak usually needs a stiffener between two layers of leather. Check the build video for that cap before you cut.

Which hat to make first

The 7 panel flat cap, then the bucket hat, then the baseball cap. After those three, the pork pie or the plain top hat, and after that the bowler and the wet formed western hats. All 25 hat patterns are listed with links in top 25 leather hat patterns.

Frequently asked questions

What leather is best for a hat? 2 to 3 oz for caps and soft hats. Veg tan that can be wet formed for stiff top hats, bowlers and brimmed hats.

How much leather does a hat take? Around 3 to 4 square feet for a cap. Tall hats and wide brims take more. The pattern's materials list gives the figure for that design.

Can I make a leather hat without a hat block? Yes, for caps and soft hats. For a wet formed crown, a bowl or any round object of the right diameter will do.

Are the patterns printed at real size? Yes. Every Tony See PDF is 1:1 in A4, US Letter and US Legal, with a test page to check the printer.

Can I sell the hats I make? Yes. The licence allows up to 10 finished items per pattern per year. The pattern files may not be resold or shared.

Start with the free patterns on the free stuff page to test your printer, then pick a hat from all patterns.