Hat Glossary — Every Term You Need to Know
A complete glossary of hat terminology. From blocking to sweatband, crown to brim, every term explained in plain English.
Hat Glossary
Hat-making has centuries of specialised vocabulary. This glossary covers the terms you'll encounter when buying, caring for, or discussing hats.
A
Acetate — A semi-synthetic fibre used in hat linings. Smooth, lightweight, and breathable.
Astrakhan — Tightly curled lambskin (or faux version) used for Russian-style hats such as papakhas and ushanka trim.
B
Band — The decorative strip around the base of the crown where it meets the brim. Also called a hatband or ribbon. Can be grosgrain, leather, feathered, or woven.
Bash — The shape intentionally formed in the crown of a hat. A "centre-dent bash" is a single crease down the middle. "Cattleman bash" has three creases.
Beret — A soft, round, flat-crowned hat usually made from wool felt. No brim, no peak.
Blocking — The process of shaping a hat on a wooden or metal form (called a hat block). This is how the crown and brim take their shape.
Body — The unfinished hat shape before it's been blocked, trimmed, and finished. Also called a "hat body" or "blank."
Bound edge — A brim edge finished with a ribbon or tape sewn around its circumference. Common on Homburgs and fedoras.
Brim — The horizontal projection extending outward from the base of the crown. Provides shade, rain protection, and style.
Buckram — A stiff cotton fabric used inside structured hats (especially baseball caps) to maintain shape.
C
Capeline — A wide-brimmed hat body (usually in straw) that's the starting point for many women's sun hats.
Cattleman — A cowboy hat crown shape with three creases: one running front-to-back down the centre and one on each side.
Chin strap — A cord or strap running under the chin to keep a hat secure in wind. Common on boonie hats, sun hats, and outdoor styles.
Cloche — French for "bell" — a close-fitting, bell-shaped women's hat popular in the 1920s.
Cockade — A decorative rosette or knot of ribbon worn on a hat, often as a military or political emblem.
Conformateur — A measuring device used by hatters to map the exact shape of a customer's head. Creates a template for custom blocking.
Cord — A decorative braided or twisted band around the crown, often seen on bush hats and cowboy hats.
Crown — The top part of a hat that covers the head. Can be round, flat, creased, peaked, or dome-shaped.
C-crown — A crown shape with a centre crease and two side pinches, forming a C shape when viewed from above. Standard fedora shape.
D
Derby — American name for a bowler hat.
Diamond crown — A crown creased into a diamond shape when viewed from the top. Common on fedoras.
E
Eyelets — Small holes (often metal-ringed) in the crown panels of caps for ventilation.
F
Fascinator — A decorative headpiece attached with a clip or comb, typically worn to formal events. Not technically a hat (no crown covering the head) but often categorised with them.
Felt — A textile made by matting, condensing, and pressing fibres. Hat felt is typically made from wool or fur (rabbit, beaver). The raw material for most formal hats.
Flat cap — A low-profile, rounded cap with a short, stiff peak stitched to the front. Also called ivy cap, scally cap, or driving cap.
Fur felt — Premium hat felt made from animal fur (usually rabbit, sometimes beaver or hare). Denser, smoother, and more water-resistant than wool felt.
G
Gore — A triangular or tapered panel used in constructing caps and some hats. An eight-panel newsboy cap has eight gores.
Grosgrain — A ribbed ribbon commonly used for hatbands. Pronounced "grow-grain."
Gutter — The trough or channel at the base of the crown where it meets the brim.
Gus — A cowboy hat crown shape with a long, deep front-to-back crease and a sloped front crown. Named after the character from Lonesome Dove.
H
Hat block — A solid form (traditionally wood, now also aluminium) used to shape hat bodies during blocking.
Hat jack — A spring-loaded device placed inside a hat to maintain its shape during storage.
Hat stretcher — A tool used to gradually widen a hat that's too tight.
Homburg — A formal felt hat with a single centre crease (no side pinch) and a ribbon-bound edge.
I
Ivy cap — Another name for the flat cap.
K
Kettle brim — A brim that turns down all around the crown, like an inverted kettle. Common on cloche hats and some bucket hats.
L
Lining — The interior fabric sewn inside the crown. Covers construction, adds comfort, and reduces friction with hair.
Longbow — The taper of a crown from front to back. A long-oval crown accommodates heads that are longer front-to-back than side-to-side.
M
Millinery — The craft of making women's hats (traditionally). A milliner makes hats. Historically distinct from "hatting" (men's hats), though the terms have merged.
Mood felt — A thick, heavily fulled felt that's naturally resistant to water. Used for outdoor and utility hats.
N
Nap — The raised fibres on the surface of felt. High-quality fur felt has a smooth, fine nap. Wool felt may have a coarser nap.
Newsboy cap — An eight-paneled cap with a button on top and a short peak. Fuller and puffier than a flat cap.
O
Open crown — An unblocked crown with no bash or crease. The wearer shapes it to their preference. Some cowboy hats are sold with an open crown.
P
Panama — A lightweight hat woven from toquilla straw (Carludovica palmata) in Ecuador. Not from Panama. Grades range from 3–4 weaves per inch (standard) to 40+ (Montecristi superfino).
Peak — The protruding visor or bill on the front of a cap. Also called a bill or visor.
Pencil curl — A tightly rolled brim edge. The brim curls inward on itself like a pencil.
Petersham — A thick, ribbed grosgrain ribbon used for hatbands. Wider and stiffer than standard grosgrain.
Pinch — The indentation at the front of a crown where the fingers grip to put on or remove the hat. Also called a "front pinch" or "telescope pinch."
Pork pie — A hat with a short crown, flat top, and short brim that's turned up all around. The flat top is the key identifier.
R
Raw edge — A brim edge that's left unfinished or simply trimmed, without binding or welting. Common on casual felt hats.
Ribbon — See Band. Also used generically for any decorative fabric strip on a hat.
S
Sennit — A flat-braided straw used for boater hats. Rigid and uniform.
Sinamay — A stiff, open-weave fabric made from abaca (Manila hemp). Widely used in fascinator and millinery construction.
Snap brim — A flexible brim designed to be worn "snapped" — turned down in front and up in back. Classic fedora feature.
Stiffener — Any substance (shellac, laquer, starch) applied to a hat body to maintain rigidity. Heavy stiffening makes a bowler; lighter stiffening makes a fedora.
Sweatband — The leather, fabric, or synthetic strip lining the inside of the hat where it contacts the forehead. Absorbs sweat and provides comfort.
T
Teardrop crown — A crown shape that's wider at the back and narrower at the front, like a teardrop when viewed from above. Common on fedoras.
Telescope crown — A flat-topped crown with a centre pinch, creating a telescoping appearance. Found on pork pies and some fedoras.
Toquilla — The palm plant (Carludovica palmata) whose leaves are woven to make Panama hats. Native to Ecuador.
Trilby — A narrower-brimmed cousin of the fedora with the brim sharply turned up at the back.
Turned-up brim — A brim folded upward, either all around (as on a boater) or partially (as on an Australian bush hat with one side snapped up).
U
Underbrim — The underside of the brim. Sometimes a different colour or material from the top. A contrasting underbrim adds visual interest when the brim is turned up.
Ushanka — A Russian fur hat with ear flaps that can be tied up over the crown or fastened under the chin.
V
Ventilation — Any feature that allows airflow through a hat: eyelets, mesh panels, punched holes, or open-weave construction.
Visor — A brimless headpiece that shields the eyes with a peak but leaves the top of the head open. Also another term for the peak/bill on a cap.
W
Welt — A strip of fabric or leather sewn around the brim edge as a finishing technique. Similar to binding but more minimal.
Wool felt — Hat felt made from sheep's wool. More affordable than fur felt, slightly coarser, and less water-resistant.
X
X-factor rating — A quality grading system used for cowboy hats, where more Xs indicate higher-quality felt. Ranges from 1X (basic wool) to 1000X (ultra-premium beaver/mink). There's no universal standard — each manufacturer defines their own scale.
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