Wash a Cap and Beanie Without Losing the Shape

The brim decides everything – plastic or cardboard?

Before you do anything: feel the brim. Almost all modern caps have a bendy plastic brim, and it takes water without losing its shape. Older and cheaper caps may have a cardboard brim, which warps and buckles for good once soaked. Bend the brim gently: if it gives like stiff plastic, you can hand-wash the whole cap. If it feels rigid and 'cardboardy', or the cap is old or has collector value, only spot-clean the outside and never soak it.

How to hand-wash a cap

If the cap has a plastic brim, hand washing is safe and simple:

1. Mix cold to lukewarm water with a little mild detergent in a basin.
2. Dip a soft brush or cloth in the water and scrub lightly where the cap is dirty – the inner sweatband and the forehead area are the worst.
3. Rinse off the soap with a clean, damp cloth, or by rinsing gently under a cold tap. Do not rub the brim edge hard.
4. Press out excess water with a towel – never wring the cap.

Dry the cap over something round

The shape is kept or ruined in the drying stage. A cap that dries squashed or flat keeps exactly that shape. So pull it over something with roughly the same curve as your head while it dries – an upturned jar, a bowl, a balled-up towel or a dedicated 'cap form'. That keeps both the crown and the curve of the brim. Let it air-dry at room temperature, away from radiators and the tumble dryer, both of which can shrink the sweatband and loosen the glue in the brim.

Beanie: wash it like wool

A knitted beanie is washed by the same rules as a wool jumper, whether it is wool, acrylic or cashmere:

1. Hand-wash in cold water with a wool detergent. Acrylic is more forgiving, but cold water never harms it.
2. Move the beanie gently around – do not rub or wring, which makes wool felt and shrink.
3. Press the water out in a towel, reshape the beanie to the right size, and lay it flat to dry.
4. Never hang a wet beanie to dry – the weight of the water pulls it long and shapeless.

Common mistakes that ruin the shape

We see these errors again and again:

• The dishwasher for every cap: only some all-plastic snapbacks survive it, while fitted, wool and cardboard-brim caps are wrecked by the heat and detergent.
• Water too hot on a wool beanie: heat and movement felt the wool, and the beanie shrinks several sizes.
• The tumble dryer: heat shrinks sweatbands and elastic and loosens brim glue.
• Hanging a wet beanie on a hook: it stretches out of shape while it hangs.

When should you leave it to professionals?

You can handle an everyday cap or knitted beanie at home. But if you have a cap with collector value, a felt hat, a cardboard brim you are afraid to ruin, or a beanie that has already shrunk or lost its shape, you can send it to us. We clean and reshape the piece according to the material and its care label, so you do not have to gamble with headwear you are fond of. You order online, and you see the price before you order.

Frequently asked questions