How to Clean and Store a Velvet Hat (Without Crushing It)

By the Hikesity team, Victoria BC

Short answer: Hikesity's Luster Velvet hats are spot clean only. Clean them with a lint roller, a soft clothes brush and a barely damp cloth, never a washing machine. Store them crown up with the crown loosely filled, and nothing stacked on top. Almost every "ruined" velvet hat is really a crushed pile, and a crushed pile can usually be lifted back.

Velvet looks fragile, and a structured velvet hat looks even more so. It is easier to look after than it seems, provided you know what you are actually dealing with. This guide covers the five things that come up most: lint, marks, rain, a flattened pile, and storage. It is written around a velvet beret and a velvet cloche, but the same steps work for most velvet hats.

Why Velvet Marks and Crushes So Easily

Velvet is not a flat weave. The surface is a dense pile of short upright fibres, and what you see is those fibre tips catching the light. That one fact explains most velvet problems:

• Pressure lays the fibres down. A hat squashed in a bag, or a hat with something stacked on it, ends up with a dull, dark patch where the pile was pressed flat. The fabric is not damaged. The fibres are just pointing the wrong way.
• Moisture does the same thing. A wet patch dries with its fibres matted together, and it can look like a stain when it is really a change in direction.
• Rubbing makes it worse. Scrubbing a mark drags the fibres sideways and leaves a shiny patch that is much more visible than the original mark.

It is also why a black velvet hat can look matte black in one photo and almost satin in the next. Brushed one way the pile reads deep and matte; brushed the other way it catches the light. The same fabric and the same dye, just a different pile direction. Keep that in mind, because it means most of the repair work is simply brushing the pile back the right way.

The Quick Reference

Everyday Care: Two Minutes, Once a Week

Dense dark velvet shows lint more than almost any other fabric, so most of what looks like dirt is lint. Two quick steps handle it.

1. Roll it. Use a sticky lint roller and roll in one direction, lifting rather than scrubbing. A travel-size roller in your bag is the single most useful thing you can own for a velvet hat.
2. Brush it. Take a soft clothes brush and stroke the pile gently in one direction, all the way round. This evens out the finish, which is why a hat that looked patchy often looks new again after thirty seconds of brushing.

That is genuinely all that most velvet hats need. There is no need to wash a hat that has only been worn for an afternoon.

Removing a Mark

For a smudge, a fingerprint or a dab of makeup, work from the gentlest method upward:

1. Take a clean, soft cloth and dampen it so it is barely wet. It should not drip when squeezed.
2. Dab the mark. Do not rub. Press and lift so the cloth pulls the mark upward out of the pile.
3. Work from the outside of the mark inward so it does not spread.
4. Let the hat air dry away from direct heat.
5. When it is completely dry, brush the pile in one direction to even it out.

If plain water does not lift it, you can try a very small amount of mild soap on the cloth, but test it on an inside surface first, such as the underside of the brim. Hikesity's velvet hats are spot clean only, so keep the treatment local. Do not soak the whole hat to remove one small mark.

The sweatband is the other place marks collect, from skin oils and hair products. Dab it the same way. The band is polyester, so it dries quickly if you have not overwetted it.

If It Gets Rained On

A velvet hat that gets rained on is not ruined, but how you dry it decides the outcome.

• Shake off the loose drops first.
• Blot with a clean towel. Press, do not rub.
• Dry it at room temperature on a rounded surface such as an upturned bowl or a rolled towel. This lets the crown hold its shape while it dries. A hat left flat or crumpled will dry in that shape.
• Keep it away from radiators, heaters and hair dryers. Direct heat is harder on a structured hat than the rain was.
• When it is fully dry, brush the pile in one direction.

Lifting a Crushed Pile

A crushed pile is the most common velvet problem and the most fixable. Start with the gentlest option and only escalate if you need to.

1. Brush first. Stroke gently in one direction with a soft clothes brush. Mild flattening often disappears at this step.
2. Steam from a distance. If a patch is still dull, hold a garment steamer a hand-width away from the fabric for about ten seconds. Do not let the steamer head touch the velvet. The steam relaxes the fibres so they stand back up.
3. Brush again once the steam has dispersed, then leave the hat to dry on a rounded surface.

Try this on an inside surface first if you have not steamed that hat before. And never press velvet with an iron. Pressure and heat together are exactly what flattens a pile and leaves a shiny patch that is hard to reverse.

How to Store a Velvet Hat

Most velvet damage happens in storage, not in wear, and it is nearly always pressure. Four rules cover it.

1. Crown up. Store the hat sitting on its band with the crown pointing up, so nothing is resting on the pile.
2. Fill the crown loosely. Tissue paper, or a soft scarf folded into the crown, supports the dome without stretching anything. Do not pack it tight.
3. Nothing on top. A shelf or a hat box is ideal. Do not stack a second hat or a heavy item on it, and do not store it under a pile of knitwear.
4. Do not hang it by the brim. A hook pulling on a rolled brim will distort it over time.

Storing a Beret

The Hikesity Luster Velvet Sculptural Beret has a six-panel dome that stands 10 cm tall, and that dome is the whole point of the design. The 14% spandex in the face fabric lets it fold into a bag and spring back, so a day of travel is fine. For anything longer, store it dome up rather than folded, so the shape is never asked to recover from a long squeeze.

Storing a Cloche

The Hikesity Luster Velvet Cloche Hat is more sensitive to how you store it because of the rolled brim, which is cut from 7 cm of fabric and rolled upward to about 5.5 cm. Keep the brim clear of anything pressing on it, whether that is a shelf edge, the lid of a box or another hat. If you have the space, an upturned bowl or a hat stand holds the bell crown naturally and keeps the brim in the air.

Travelling With a Velvet Hat

Both hats fold into a bag and recover, so there is no need to pack them as if they were fragile. Put the hat where nothing heavy will sit on it, such as the top of the bag or a side pocket, and take it out when you arrive. If the pile looks dull after a long day in a bag, a few strokes of a brush normally fixes it.

What Not to Do

• Do not machine wash it. Hikesity's velvet hats are spot clean only, and machine washing is what breaks the structure.
• Do not wring it. Twisting wet velvet is how a brim ends up permanently creased.
• Do not use hot water.
• Do not iron it. Use a steamer held away from the fabric.
• Do not dry it on a radiator. Direct heat distorts structured hats.
• Do not stack it. Pressure is the main cause of crushed velvet.

Looking After Your Hikesity Hats

Both hats are made from the same velvet in the same three colors (Black, Gray and Brown), so everything above applies to either. The Luster Velvet Sculptural Beret adjusts from 55 to 58 cm and sits on top of the head. The Luster Velvet Cloche Hat adjusts from 54 to 57 cm and comes down over the ears. If you are still choosing between them, our guide to beret vs cloche vs beanie covers fit, face shape and occasion. And if a beret keeps sliding rather than creasing, see how to keep a beret from falling off.

FAQ

Q: Can you wash a velvet hat in the washing machine?
A: No. Hikesity's Luster Velvet hats are spot clean only. Machine washing, wringing and hot water are what break the shape of a structured hat: the rolled brim on the cloche and the six-panel dome on the beret. Dab a mark with a barely damp cloth, let the hat air dry away from direct heat, and brush the pile in one direction afterwards.

Q: How do you fix a crushed or flattened velvet hat?
A: Brush the pile gently in one direction with a soft clothes brush. If a patch is still dull, hold a garment steamer a hand-width away for about ten seconds without touching the fabric, then brush once more and leave the hat to dry on a rounded surface. Test on the inside of the brim or crown first.

Q: How do you remove lint and pet hair from a velvet hat?
A: Use a sticky lint roller and roll in one direction. Dense dark velvet shows lint more than most fabrics, so a travel-size roller in your bag is worth having. A soft clothes brush also lifts pet hair.

Q: What should you do if a velvet hat gets rained on?
A: Shake off the drops, blot with a clean towel without rubbing, and let the hat dry at room temperature on a rounded surface such as an upturned bowl or a rolled towel so it holds its shape. Keep it away from radiators and hair dryers. Once it is dry, brush the pile in one direction.

Q: How should you store a beret or a cloche hat?
A: Store it crown up, with the crown loosely filled with tissue paper or a soft scarf, on a shelf or in a hat box with nothing stacked on top. Do not hang it by the brim. The Hikesity beret and cloche both fold into a bag and spring back because of the 14% spandex in the face fabric, but for long-term storage keep them crown up rather than folded.

Q: Can you iron a velvet hat?
A: No. Pressing velvet with an iron flattens the pile and leaves a shiny mark. Use a garment steamer held a hand-width away from the fabric instead, then brush the pile in one direction.