
Finishing your Masterpiece
I remember taking my hat in to Tandy Leather when it was molded and constructed, but not yet dyed or decorated. My favorite employee, John, told me he thought it was an incredible finished project, let alone a work-in-progress. I’m telling you this so you know that from here on out, everything’s a bonus! Have fun with it! This is the time to really show your personality and aesthetic.
This tutorial is a part of a series!
- Part 1 – Choosing leather, Making the pattern, preparing the pieces
- Part 2 – Preparing to stitch, constructing the hat
- Part 3 – Finishing the hat, dying, lacing, waxing
Dying your hat



Dying your hat is nerve-wracking and exciting! Make the process a little easier by using waterstain dye – we love the Eco-Flo Dye Tandy Leather carries. It comes in a great selection of colors, has a great even consistency, and is super hyper pigmented (too pigmented? Water based means you can literally add water to thin it out for washes!) You can even mix colors for perfect cosplay matching.
Sealing the brim


Edge Kote is a thick, paint-like liquid applied to the burnished edges of leather. Use this with a dauber on the edge of the brim. Unfortunately the colors are a little limited, so if you can’t find the color you’re looking for, try mixing up some acrylic paint and applying it instead.
Finish and Shine



There are countless ways to finish, seal, and shine your hat. I happened to have Carnauba creme on hand which I love for it’s rich lustre and ability to be applied over and over again. Just like waxing a car, it’s a ‘wax on, wax off’ kinda deal theat requires a little elbow grease. Stay at one coat for a little richness or layer it up for some show-stopping shine. Jaime’s hat has about 2-3 coats while mine only has one.
Lacing the side seams



Lacing is completely optional but also serves a purpose by keeping the lining in it’s place. Use a lacing needle and just about any kind of leather lacing you want. I started at the top and did one direction of laces, than continued back up in the other direction. Leave about 6-10 inches of lace at the beginning and end for extra drama or try tying a bow or adding beads to each end.
Finishing touches!
That’s it! The rest is up to you. How will you decorate your masterpiece? Feathers? Flowers? Ribbon? Dead things? Live things? It’s all in your domain now, you creative mastermind.
We love E3000 or Barge cement for anything that needs glued. Extra lacing, stitching, and wrapping is always fun, too!
Here’s a look at what we did to add a little personality to these hunks of leather.





What do you think? Do you have the courage to try making your own leather hat? Maybe you’ll adjust yours for a top hat, cowboy hat, or the ever-ambitious fedora! We recommend not going much larger than these – they get a little heavy after a while!
Have you worked with leather before? How’d it go? Show us your projects to get featured on the blog!