How to Shrink Fitted Hat Perfectly [2023 Guide]

Published by Ahmad Jamal on May 28, 2023 | Last updated on May 29, 2023

There’s an old saying that says, “Appearances can be deceiving,” and the same can happen to you when you buy a new fitted hat, and it just doesn’t fit the way you thought it would.

You’ll need to know how to shrink fitted hat properly, whether you ordered it online and found it doesn’t fit properly, or the same fitted hat you’ve been wearing for months has been worn too much and it started to loosen out.

Regardless of the cause, you’re reading this CleanersAdvisor guide to master how to shrink fitted hat, and our cleaning experts are here to deliver.

You’ll have more than one situation explained, whether the fitted hat is old or new, we’ll fix it for you. Read through.

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How to Shrink Fitted Hat

Our go-to method when shrinking a fitted hat is submerging it in hot water, then wearing it when it’s a bit warm until it dries out and shrinks perfectly on your head.

The science is simple, heat causes the material in your hat to expand, and when it’s placed on your head to cool it’ll conform back to your head, making it shrink to the perfect size that suits your head.

Here’s how to shrink fitted hat:

1. Warm the water until it’s giving off small amounts of steam but not boiling, this will be hot enough to allow the shrinking but not to damage you or the hat.

2. In a small sized pot, submerge the hat into the warm water and let it soak for 8-10 minutes.

3. Remove the hat from the pot with warm water and let the excess water drip off for a couple of minutes.

4. Let the hat cool off a bit until you can wear it, then wear it until it’s dry, allowing it to shrink and conform to the new size of your head.

Here’s another method explaining how to shrink fitted hat properly:

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How to Shrink a Fitted Baseball Hat

Use a hairdryer and a spray bottle with clean water to shrink the fitter baseball hat, by spraying the baseball from the inside then the outside with clean water, then wear it and use the hairdryer on it until it shrinks to the size you’d want.

You’ll need 3 things only, a spray bottle, clean water, and a hair dryer.

Then here’s a step by step showcasing on how to shrink a fitted baseball hat:

1. Fill in the spray bottle with clean water and start spritzing the insides of the baseball hat, but be careful not to soak it with water, you’ll need it to be wet, not soaking wet.

2. Move on to the outside of the hat and spray it all except for the bill as it doesn’t require shrinking at all.

3. Set the hair dryer on high settings and prepare it for the next step.

4. Keep the hair dryer away from your head by about 12 inches, then wear your fitted baseball hat you want to shrink. “You can use a ball that’s smaller than your head as well”

5. Use the hairdryer on the hat to shrink it closer to your head.

6. Once you’re done moving around different parts of your hat with the hairdryer, you’ll feel the hat shrinking closer to your head than it originally was.

7. Let the hat dry for a couple of hours before wearing it back on.

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How to Shrink a Fitted Hat New Era

Use a foam tape that’s similar to the size of your hat’s visor, and put it inside the hat where the visor meets the crown, then wear it for a little bit, afterward you’ll need to take the little backing strip off the foam tape and place it back where you put it before, and enjoy the new size.

Here’s a step by step showcase on How to Shrink a Fitted Hat New Era:

1. Get a foam tape that’s used to seal windows and doors.

2. Cut a strip of the tape about the size of your hat’s visor.

3. Flip your Fitted Hat New Era upside down.

4. Take the hat’s sweatband inside out.

5. Put the strip you cut where the visor meets the crown (right behind the buckram).

6. Now test how wearing it will be perfect.

7. Take the little backing strip off and expose the sticking side.

8. Place the strip back where you put it inside the hat.

9. Now, enjoy the perfect size of your hat.

Here’s a video to help you master How to Shrink a Fitted Hat New Era properly:

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How to Shrink a Fitted Hat Polyester

To shrink a polyester fitted hat, you can use the hat in the washing machine on regular heat settings and normal wash cycle, then rinse away the excess water and wear the cap until it shrinks to the size of your head, leave it to dry afterward as a last step on how to shrink a fitted hat polyester.

This method works well on fitted hats made from polyester or another synthetic, and here’s a step by step explanation on how to shrink a fitted hat polyester:

1. Put the hat inside the washer alongside other clothes if possible (helps with shrinking better).

2. Put in a small amount of laundry detergent if you’d want to clean the hat while shrinking it (optional).

3. Put the washer on regular heat and normal wash cycle.

4. Let the hat go through the complete wash cycle.

5. If you’d like the hat to shrink only a little bit, one complete wash cycle is enough for you.

6. Put on the hat and let it air dry on your head.

7. After an hour or so, leave the hat to dry on its own for a couple of hours before wearing it with the new shrinking size.

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How to Make a Fitted Hat Fit Tighter

To make a fitted hat fit tighter you can use any of the methods we explained in this guide, including using a hot pot with warm water and submerging the fitted inside the pot.

Or you can use the hairdryer to fit the fitted hat tighter by air drying your wetted hat until it fits as tight as you’d like.

Then, there is the washing machine method in which you can wash the fitted hat in a normal cycle and wear it after you’ve got rid of the excess water until it fits perfectly on your head.

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To Wrap Up

This concludes our guide on How to Shrink Fitted Hat, whether it is a baseball hat, a new era hat, or even a polyester hat, you have multiple methods to carry out in the process.

Always make sure you follow the step by step methods we’ve showcased in this guide for a perfect shrinking of your fitted hat.