How to Make a Hat Smaller: 5 Fixes That Actually Hold

You are doing 25 on the boat, and your hat takes off like it has somewhere better to be. Or your cap slides back every time you look up at the scoreboard. The fix depends on your closure type, and most trendy hats can be taken in without ever touching water.

Below are five fixes, starting with the 20-second adjustment and working up to the permanent ones. Start at the top and stop as soon as the hat fits. Most people never make it past the second fix. We also cover what never to do to an embroidered hat, because a hat that fits but has a warped crown is not much of a win.

Key Takeaways

• Check your closure first. A snapback adjusts. A fitted hat needs a spacer, sizing tape, or heat
• Hat sizing tape and felt spacers are the safest fixes, and both are reversible
• Water and heat shrink cotton and wool. They barely affect polyester
• Never machine wash an embroidered or structured hat. You will lose the crown shape

What Kind of Hat Are You Working With?

Flip the hat over and look at the back. The closure tells you which fix to reach for.

#1 Making the Hat Smaller Without Ruining the Strap

Most Mad Hatter hats are one-size snapbacks, so this is your first stop. Snap the strap to the tightest setting that still feels snug and comfortable and wear it for about 20 minutes before you do anything else. The crown and sweatband settle once they warm up, and a hat that feels loose in the mirror often feels right after a lap around the yard.

Still loose? Add a foam sizing strip under the sweatband at the front and sides, not the back. The strap is already doing its job back there, and padding behind your head pushes the brim down onto your forehead.

#2 Using Hat Sizing Tape

Sizing tape is the cheapest, most reversible fix on this list. Buy ⅛-inch adhesive foam sizing strips. One strip takes a hat down about half a size, and two take it down a full size. Those sizes only mean something once you know how to measure hat size on your own head.

• Peel off the backing and press the strip under the sweatband, sticky side against the hat
• Run your finger along the strip to seat the adhesive
• Stack strips, or cut them into shorter pieces, to fix a fit that is only loose in one spot

#3 Adding Felt and Cork Spacers for a Snug Fit

Spacers do the same job as sizing tape with a little more structure. Pick the one that matches your sweatband:

• Felt strip: runs the full inside of the band. Best on cloth or ribbon sweatbands
• Cork spacer: a short, curved piece. Best on leather or faux-leather sweatbands
  

Trim the strip to length instead of forcing it in. A band that is too tight leaves marks on your forehead, which is the exact problem you were trying to avoid.

Felt and cork spacers can usually be peeled back out without a trace, so they are a good choice for a hat you might hand down, resell, or wear with a different hairstyle later on.

#4 Sewing in an Elastic Band

This is the permanent option, for the hat you wear every single day and refuse to replace

• Cut a piece of waistband elastic about an inch shorter than the gap you want to close
• Pin it to the inside of the sweatband near the back seam
• Stitch both ends down with thread that matches the sweatband
  

Heads up: this changes how the inside of the hat looks, and some sweatbands do not take a needle well. Check yours before you start. If you are not confident with a needle, a local tailor or dry cleaner can usually do this in a few minutes for a few bucks.

#5 Shrinking the Hat by Material

Water and heat shrink natural fibers, and synthetics barely notice. Check the tag inside the hat, then find your material below.

Steam, or a hair dryer held six inches away, is the gentler version of the same idea. Go slow and check the fit between rounds.

Whichever method you use, put the hat on while it is still slightly damp and let it finish drying on your head or on a rounded form close to your head size. That way it shrinks to fit you instead of shrinking to whatever shape it lands in on the counter. And keep in mind that shrinking cannot be undone. If you overshoot, there is no setting that brings the hat back.

What Not to Do to an Embroidered Hat

Shrinking is a gamble with any hat. With an embroidered one, a few mistakes are permanent:

• Skip the washing machine. Agitation warps the crown and can pucker the embroidery
• No dryer heat on a structured front panel
• Never wring or twist. Squeeze the water out, then reshape by hand
• Keep heat sources at least six inches from the fabric

Every Mad Hatter hat is embroidered in house in Georgia on Richardson blanks. Treat it right: spot clean, air dry, and store it somewhere cool and dry. Knowing how to wash a trucker hat correctly will help maintain your hat’s shape and color.

Get a Hat That Fits Before You Ever Reach for the Tape

The easiest way to make a hat smaller is to start with one that adjusts. Every Mad Hatter hat is a one size fits most snapback, so you can dial in a perfect fit in about four seconds and save the sizing tape for your thrift store finds. Browse our funny trucker hats, our cool hats for men, or our cute hats for women, then snap it to fit.