leather viking hat

calanneh · September 4, 2008

Attached are photos of a viking style leather hat I just finished. These were worn to keep the head warm or under the standard metal helmut as a little padding.

It is made from 4 segments of 4-5oz vegtan leather that are cut out and then sewn together. I attempted a 'butt-seam' but as 4-5 is kinda thin, the edges pulled over one another in a few places. I didnt stress over it as I wanted this to look like a well worn item, not something brand new and spotless.

I even used a piece of leather that already had a few 'character' spots on it. You will see some on the back side of the hat real good.

Dyed it using Eco-flo 'canyon tan' in a sprayer. This gave it a little uneven look which played into the 'well worn' concept.

I tryed to glue some fake fur into it and was going to wrap it over the edge but it didnt work out too well and was VERY HOT! So I removed it and used a big scrape piece of distressed upholstry hide with the flesh side out as trim.

I had planned on stitching the trim but going thru 4 layers of upholstrey hide and the veg-tan was a pain! So I just tacked in it back. As the hide is glued into the inside of the hat, it is all staying together nicely.

The 'in process' photos are of my son's hat. He is making one like mine, but I forgot to take in process.

Have a look at the photos and let me know what ya think!

cal

TomSwede · September 4, 2008

Definetly looks cool and "raw" or "live", not sure how to put it but I hope you get what i mean. It has the real deal characteristics (I think, hard to remember stuff from soo long back in time;-)

You're on a roll Cal! :clapping:

Tom

calanneh · September 4, 2008

Definetly looks cool and "raw" or "live", not sure how to put it but I hope you get what i mean. It has the real deal characteristics (I think, hard to remember stuff from soo long back in time;-)
You're on a roll Cal!

Tom

Thank bro! I know just what you mean. I was going for the 'raw' or 'natural' look on this. And yeah, replicating leather items that were made and used hundreds of years ago is a little hard as most of the leather decays completely. There have been a few lucky finds unearthed that have pointed us in the right direction tho.

Thanks for the compliments bro!!!

cal

TomSwede · September 4, 2008

Yup! There is a knife sheath (sax type knife) found fairly intact wich has patterns to it so tooled leather was also present at that time.

sodapop · September 4, 2008

i really am diggin this hat cal!!...i think i want to give this style a go...i could actually wear this in minnesota and it & I would look "normal" in winter...but i think i'd go ahead & line it with some rabbit fur cuz winters here are, extreme lol

question how the heck to you figure out correct fit of someones skull and translate it to the leather??...what considerations or elements with diameter and cutting the pieces so the puzzle all fits together in the end??

darryl

calanneh · September 4, 2008

i really am diggin this hat cal!!...i think i want to give this style a go...i could actually wear this in minnesota and it & I would look "normal" in winter...but i think i'd go ahead & line it with some rabbit fur cuz winters here are, extreme lol
question how the heck to you figure out correct fit of someones skull and translate it to the leather??...what considerations or elements with diameter and cutting the pieces so the puzzle all fits together in the end??

darryl

Thanks for the compliments Darryl! This was a fun piece to make. My son has his assembled but not dyed or trimmed yet.

The pattern is really simple (attached below). Just pop on a ballcap that fits you the way you are comfortable and then measure around your head right where the cap sits. Then print out the attached pattern and enlarge it til four of the pieces make the right diameter. We did not do this on my son's (as he started his first) and the resulting cap was too small. He worked a fifth segment in and re-engineered a few things and it will be fine for him.

My head is right at 23.5 inches diameter so I rounded up to 24 and then added 2 inches to have room for the trim. Then took the 26 inches needed and blew the pattern up until it was 6.5" wide at the bottom.

If you are going to butt-seam the segments, I would suggest using leather a little thicker than 4-5oz. It will butt up better and stay in place. I used the X pattern on the stitching just to give it a little detail. I know some folks will glue the pieces together in a butt-seam and then stitch it. I did not use any glue on mine before hand as I wanted the 'raw' look mentioned above. I wanted it to pull and contort slightly.

Let me know if you have any other questions bro and make sure you post pix as you make yours!!

cal

sodapop · September 4, 2008

thanks much cal for the info!! :cheers:

tashabear · September 5, 2008

Curious, because this is my area of interest when it comes to re-enactment. Please know that I'm not trying to nit-pick... but do you have documentation for this hat made out of leather? I've only ever seen it made out of wool, and it's be interesting to expand one's scope.

calanneh · September 5, 2008

Curious, because this is my area of interest when it comes to re-enactment. Please know that I'm not trying to nit-pick... but do you have documentation for this hat made out of leather? I've only ever seen it made out of wool, and it's be interesting to expand one's scope.

No prob Tasha, the questions help us all....

I got the pattern from a uk website recommended by my local vikings re-enactment group, Texas Branch of the Army of Jomsborg (http://www.vikinginvasion.org/texaselag/index.html). They are part of a world-wide group known as the Jomsvikings (http://www.jomsvikings.com/) and stick to authentic as much as possible.

The site had the above posted pattern and directions on how to make it from sheepskin or lambskin. They even had a pic or two if I recall right of some of their members wearing their hats. Their's had wool or fur as the trim.

The link is as follows:

http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/resources/...ickit/index.htm

I have others bookmarked, but this is the most complete I have seen. I would love to hear your thoughts after you look thru this site. The more input the better!

cal

whinewine · September 5, 2008

No prob Tasha, the questions help us all....
I got the pattern from a uk website recommended by my local vikings re-enactment group, Texas Branch of the Army of Jomsborg (http://www.vikinginvasion.org/texaselag/index.html). They are part of a world-wide group known as the Jomsvikings (http://www.jomsvikings.com/) and stick to authentic as much as possible.

The site had the above posted pattern and directions on how to make it from sheepskin or lambskin. They even had a pic or two if I recall right of some of their members wearing their hats. Their's had wool or fur as the trim.

The link is as follows:

http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/resources/...ickit/index.htm

I have others bookmarked, but this is the most complete I have seen. I would love to hear your thoughts after you look thru this site. The more input the better!

cal

Thank you, Cal:

it's a great wealth of both information and patterns.

russ

RuehlLeatherWorks · September 25, 2008

I think I need to make this hat! :thumbsup:

calanneh · September 25, 2008

I think I need to make this hat!

It was a good project to work on. I have been wanting to make a hat for awhile, but all the patterns I coudl find were the standard television style musketeer big brim things.....

I will be starting a second one soon for a member here. His will have coyote or fox fur instead of the suede lining I have on mine.

Thanks for the comments guys!

cal

RuehlLeatherWorks · October 30, 2008

I made this hat out of wool (Grey body with a dark green edging) and it turned out great! I'll have to post pics of the whole kit after Halloween!

calanneh · October 30, 2008

I made this hat out of wool (Grey body with a dark green edging) and it turned out great! I'll have to post pics of the whole kit after Halloween!

Can't wait to see it!! I am making one that will have fur around the edge....

I will post pix of it when it is finished.

William

RuehlLeatherWorks · October 31, 2008

Here's the finished hat!

calanneh · October 31, 2008

Very kewl!!

You look like Link!!! Is the o'l lady going as Zelda for Halloween??

William

RuehlLeatherWorks · November 5, 2008

Still think I look like Link?

calanneh · November 5, 2008

Still think I look like Link?

Maybe an older Link that needs a shave...... LOL

Petsha · August 10, 2009

awesum I will give that a shot maybe with some fur on the edges

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