How the Process Works

Steps

1. Start with an idea
You can come in knowing exactly what you want, bring a reference photo, choose one of the WhipperWill styles below as a starting point, or simply tell me the general direction you’re after.

2. We work through the details
After your order is placed, I’ll contact you directly to go through sizing, head shape, material, colour, crown, brim, band, and the overall look of the hat.

3. Your hat is built
Each hat is made to order and shaped by hand. Material availability and current workload can affect lead time, and those details will be discussed before the build begins.

4. Final fit and finishing
Once the hat is complete, we make sure the fit and final details are where they need to be before delivery or pickup.

Choosing the Right Felt

The right felt depends on how you plan to wear your hat, what kind of finish you want, and how much longevity you expect from it.

100% Rabbit Fur Felt
A solid choice for occasional wear, dressier hats, events, or someone who wants a quality custom hat at a more accessible price.

Beaver Blend Felts — 5X, 10X, 20X, 30X, 40X and beyond
Blend felts bridge the gap between rabbit and pure beaver. As the beaver content and grade increase, the felt generally becomes denser, smoother, more weather resistant, and more durable, with improved shape retention and a more refined finish.

Lower blend grades can make excellent everyday hats without the price of pure beaver, while the higher blends offer increasingly premium feel and performance for customers who want something closer to a top-tier hat without going all the way to 100% beaver.

100% Beaver Fur Felt
The premium option for customers who want maximum durability, refinement, longevity, and luxury. Beaver is exceptionally well suited to frequent outdoor wear and changing weather, but it is just as valid a choice for someone who simply wants the feel and finish of a premium hat. With proper care, a well-made beaver hat can last for decades and potentially become an heirloom.

Because WhipperWill Hats now uses FEPSA felt exclusively, the X-rating has a clear meaning: it corresponds directly to the percentage of beaver fur in the blend. This makes it a useful guide when comparing materials, with higher X-ratings indicating greater beaver content and, generally, increased durability, weather resistance, shape retention, smoothness, and refinement.

X-rating-to-percentage ratios may vary between manufacturers. In general, however, a higher X-rating is used to indicate a more premium grade of felt within a manufacturer’s product line.