How do you wash a Kangol hat in a machine?

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My answer to How do you wash kangol hat in a washmachine?

Answer by Enna Morgan:

Kangol is a brand of hat, not a type of hat, so it depends on what type of hat you have. This is their collection: Hats. Born British. Raised On The Streets Of New York.

Some hats such as a blocked hat, made of straw, fur, or felt, should not be washed. It should taken to someone who specialises in hat care and cleaning.

Typically, when people use the word kangol hats, they are referring to this:

image source:Kangol Hats Flat Caps

This is a wool hat (low grade, but wool nonetheless), and it is recommended to never wash wool. That being said, I make the rules, I don’t follow the rules, so I experiment. You can do so at your own risk.

Other types of hats can be washed, but it depends on the fibre content. Kangol makes a lot of cap-like hats, and the the fibre content is typically a polyester/ cotton, a wool blend (they call it ‘wool’ but it is either a low grade wool or a wool blend) or a poly/ acrylic/ lycra blend. Don’t get me wrong, Kangol also makes very good quality hats, but what floods the market are not those of exceptional quality.

You would not want to wash anything with wool, cotton, or rayon, they have a tendency to shrink (a poly/ cotton blend is washable). Linen will not look the same after washing, and silk may not be sturdy enough to withstand the agitation of the machine.

Many hats are now being manufactured with fabrics of various blends, and so they may be washable; however, it should be done with the understanding that there may be shrinkage. If your hat does shrink, that is a whole other post. Write me and I can answer that (I like to keep the focus on the topic under discussion).

Just as a blanket statement, I never wash anything in hot water, because hot water breaks down the colour and content of materials. And in particular a hat, I would wash it only in cold water, on a gentle cycle, and permanent press selection in the dryer.

Keeping in mind that heat also diminshes colour and shrinks fabrics, you may want to again be cautious about machine drying your hat(s).

Examples of hats that can be washed: these are (1) Berber hats (cotton/poly/lycra blend), with a silk, linen, or cotton liningVelvet hats (poly/lycra blend with a faux fur lining (poly/acrylic)): Feeling Crafty!

Examples of hats that should never be introduced to water (unless it is by a skilled milliner/ hatter):

Wool beret, with faux fur band; photo & design: enna morgan

Brushed Fur felt men’s bowler; photo & design: enna morgan

Wool felt men’s western hat; photo & design: enna morgan

Brushed fur felt women’s fedora: photo & design: enna morgan

Seagrass straw hat; photo & design; enna morgan

Seagrass straws and Rami straw (background)

Knotted sisol and panama straw; photo & design: enna morgan

Para-sisol straw cloche; photo & design: enna morgan

I know that it would appear that some of these types are obviously not to be washed, but in my 13 years as a designer/ milliner, I have learnt that ‘common sense’ is not very common, so I call it ‘rare sense’ and just proceed to prodigally hand out the do and don’t prescription like hot cakes, to everyone.

All photos and designs (except the Kangol) are property of enna morgan and are not for reproduction.