?Hats? Buy them or Make them? What is your favorite style for each season?

The title pretty much says it all.

I make hats knitted, felted, leather, and sometimes fur, yet my family has many other hats either bought or made by other family members too. How I ended up with some of them is still a mystery to me. lol

One last question that I really hope to see answers to is WHY.  Why do you like or choose to use a certain hat? I am trying to learn what real people who are outdoors for the love of it want in a hat.

I would love to post pictures of a few of my hats, however I have not managed to figure out how to post pictures here so maybe I can get someone in my home to help me with that later today.

For working outside I like to wear a straw 'cowboy-style' hat. They were common among farm-workers when I was a child on a farm in Southern California. Today I live in Maine, they are not a common sight in this area. I found them on-line at a party supply place asking $12 for 18 hats. To me they are so cheap, that I dont care if one gets ruined. Sometimes a wind gust will carry one fo these hats away from me.  15 years after buying a box of them, and I still have 10 left in the box.

In Winter I mostly wear black wool knit 'watchcaps'. I got used to them while serving on Active Duty. They work well at keeping your head warm.

I like hats with large brims to keep the sun off of my skin. I Like hats that I can soak in water to help keep me cool in the summer. I like hats that keep me warm in the winter. I like hats.

My favorite hat is the Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero: waterproof, breathable, adjustable, comfortable, long-lasting, waddable. Good for almost all conditions except aggressive winds.  Its wide brim protects the ears and the back of the neck, and fhe face from direct sun. Among other places, available from REI.

Tin hat, good for bouncing the alien laser beams off

My favorite cold weather hat is from Miou. They are fair trade, hand-knitted, and made from alpaca. The reason I love it the most is the size. All my other winter hats that I have gone through just barely kept my ears warm (if that). I can wear my hair in a bun inside my alpaca hat and still have it come down around my ears and neck.

Miou Hat


The rest of the year I rarely wear hats, and would rather build up my sun time and seek shade for sun protection when it's really intense.

Have to second the Outdoor Research hats, I think mine is called a rambler (it might be a kids had I have a tiny head)?  The material is lightweight and breathable, sun-reflective and water/dirt repellent.  The brim is extra wide, and wider at the back to protect my neck when I'm bent down working.  The top is very light beige to reflect sun, and the underside of the brim is dark grey, so it doesn't reflect light into your eyes.  I throw my mosquito net over it in the bush.  It's got a chin string that I can tighten if it's windy or use it to hang the hat on my back to dry out.  I pour water on it when I'm hot.  My favourite warm weather hat I've ever had.

In the winter I usually go for a tight fitting toque, but end up wearing a bandana under it because it feels gross against my skin.  I like toques that are lined with soft absorbent fabric that doesn't leave you feeling sweaty.

I have to give a nod to the good old American cowboy hat. I wear felt in colder weather (a second-hand Stetson) and straw in hot weather. Cowboy hats keep the sun out of your face and off your neck, and when it rains they channel the water away from you (just tilt your head forward occasionally to drain it). Quality matters, and I've found it's essential to get one that fits. If it fits correctly, the wind shouldn't take it, even without a stampede cord (where I come from only dudes wear stampede cords).

Admittedly, I feel like a poseur wearing a cowboy hat, seeing as how I hardly ever ride a horse and wasn't raised ranching. I'm old enough now not to care. It's such a practical hat.

Thanks everyone for your replies, and a big thank you for the links and brand names. I got to check out some new to me hats.

I am still moving pictures around (new computer), and finally got my camera working again so I will work on getting some pictures up this week.

My family loves knitted wool hats in the winter, and usually I work with them until I get their ideas incorporated into the hats. Here is a picture of my son's knitted winter hat.
The blue out lining the fish is some of my very first quality hand spun yarn. The rest of the yarn bought from a discount store, however most of the newer hats I have knitted have
all been out of my homespun yarn processed from my own sheep. (That last statement is the product of many years of learning, stretching, painfully slow progress. lol)    

I'll second alpaca fleece for knit winter hats! My favorite is a lightweight but warm beanie, my ears are never cold and it doesn't make me itch like sheep's wool does. It's also remarkably rain proof for a knit beanie. I bought it around 8 years ago and have used it every winter since, it still holds its shape and keeps me warm and dry. And I can fit my hair up in it if I want, which is always a plus.

In the summer depending on what I'm doing, I have a vented cloth hat with a cord... Boonie? Tenpenny? I'm not exactly sure what it's called but I can crush it, get it wet, and carry stuff in it. I also have a roll up sun hat that looks like it's made of straw but is actually synthetic, uv resistant and breathable. I use it more when I'm out and about and can roll it up quite small and keep it in my bag so it's always handy if I need it. And lastly, baseball caps. I dislike that they don't cover my ears well but they do have a hole for a ponytail unlike a lot of other hats.

I didn't make any of these, they were all either purchased or given to me. I don't think I've ever bought a baseball cap but somehow I have acquired several!

A felt cowboy hat is warm in winter, cool in summer. They are good at keeping both sun and rain off of your head. If you get one that fits properly, it looks cool all year. This one cost $0.50 at a yard sale. It disappeared last year.

I was told to smile for this picture, but I don't follow directions generally.

I like knitting and crochet. I use both techniques for making hats. For myself and others. I sent some knitted hats to the bootcamp (as kind of a BRK when a boot had 100 posts with photos). Sometimes I see one of the hats I made in a photo in a post, I love that!

To wear I do like a felt hat even more than a knitted/crochet one. But I am not good at felting myself. The hat model I like most is hard to find, it has to cover my ears (when my ears get cold with freezing temperatures they will start hurting). During my lifetime I had two felt hats, bought at thrift stores. But not now, I have two knitted and one crocheted wool hats now.

I have summer hats against the sun too. A straw hat, a crocheted hat made of paper (it looks like raffia, but it is made of spun paper strips) and one I sewed myself of white cotton fabric.
And then I have one 'rain hat', kibbutz style in a kaki colour.

I were 4 different types a lot. Most of the warm months I where a Shorter brim felt hat. Think Stetson open road. If it’s really windy I just were a ball cap sporting whatever co-ops logo from the area. Come the colder months I wear a scotch cap (think wool baseball cap with ear flaps). When it gets really cold I were a double thick crochet beanie.

I am not a hat person.  I am forcing myself to wear a straw hat in the summer and a socking hat in winter.

Hello,
I usually wear an australian leather boundary rider hat, that i bought 18 years ago. Still in good shape, with just a few scratches.
It only needs waxing twice a year, and is especially useful in rainy weather - which is quite often in belgium.
Good protection from the summer sun also, when needed.
Have a nice day,

Hello,

I have worn my soft brimmed bucket hat with neck and side flaps to protect my neck from the sun. the soft aspects of it make it easier to jump about and climb, as well as protecting my face from branches and thorns. It also comes in handing for crossing barbed wire.

I have worn it for 7 years now. It may be stained with exploded paint, and some rust, and is kind of warped to my head.

Its also not a bad eye patch.

In addition the soft brim means I can look down a scope without having to alter my hat,

The UV is around 12 -13 most the year.

And its worse around roads and concrete and beaches, rivers lakes. and if the soil has high amounts of sand it is also worse!

In terms of making hats, I have made a few from fibres and woven, I have made a few neckerchiefs, But haven't got around to making a rabbit into a hat yet!