There are several reasons you’d want to bend the bill of your baseball cap. A bend in the bill can help rain flow off more easily if you get caught in a storm. A bend in the bill can also help your hat fit more comfortably on your head. Forget functional reasons, maybe you just want a bent bill as a fashion statement—that’s totally valid!
To get that perfectly worn look and provide comfort, you’ll need to break in your baseball cap by bending its bill. Baseball caps rarely come with bent bills, because of how they’re stored before purchase, which means you need to put a little effort to break it in. Here are tips for bending the bill on your baseball cap.
1. Break your baseball cap in gently.
If your first impulse is to just get it done, slow down! You could seriously mess up the bill if you try to break it in too aggressively, and then you dropped some serious money on a New Era 59FIFTY for nothing!
Take your time. It’s worth the extra effort to avoid damaging your hat. Bend the bill gently and build pressure as it begins to loosen up.
2. Don’t start bending your baseball cap from the middle.
It makes sense that you would start bending your cap from the middle, but this can ultimately be bad for the brim. By bending from the middle, you can actually crease or even rip the cardboard that that brim is made of, which won’t look great.
3. Bend your baseball cap from the sides.
If not from the middle, where should you bend your bill? The best way to bend your baseball cap bill is by starting from the sides and then working your way towards the middle as it becomes easier to bend.
4. Check your progress.
If you’re working with a fitted baseball cap, make sure you’re checking your progress by looking at the hat eye level from the front. This ensures that you get the curve that matches the profile of your hat, and prevents over-bending.
5. Use the rubber-band method.
Snap-back baseball caps have tougher brims than fitted caps, which means you have to work a little harder for the perfect bend. Grab two size 64 rubber bands from your local hardware store, and place them around the center brim after you’ve broken it in a bit. Let it sit overnight and in the morning, you’ll have a perfectly bent snapback.
6. Put the brim in a cup.
If you’re not able to get your hands on thick rubber bands, you can use a drinking cup to bend the bill. Get it curved enough to fit inside the cup, place it in the cup, and let it sit overnight.
7. Seal in the shape with hairspray.
If you want to ensure that the bill of your baseball cap keeps its shape, you can use extra strength hairspray to seal it in. Lightly coat the top of the bill with hairspray, let it dry, and you’re good to go!
