Wip Western Steampunk Top Hat

[Grey Drakkon]

So, inspired by the top hat I saw here on Leatherworker that Windrider made, I finally got the kick to make my own. It helped that Nstarleather had just sent me a bunch of SB Foot leather that NEEDED to be worked with.

I looked around online for patterns and styles, and decided for my first attempt instead of stitching I'd rivet the hat parts together. Not exactly a mistake, but definitely challenging without having some sort of supporting arm to put inside the hat for the last few rivets. I managed though, and by the time I was finished with them I was definitely getting a slightly different vibe from the more Londonesque Steampunk that I usually envision, especially once I put the "lantern" on.

I'm rather proud of the "lantern", it's a flickering candle LED encased inside a bead that I had traded for from Cseeger, I believe it's an African brass cage bead. Added on some crystals and more leather, and bam, steampunky lantern that can be turned on and off from inside the hat! (I actually have plans for the next hat I make in regards to lighting, I think I've started up a new habit...

The quetzalcouatl style snake is made from flat and seed beads in a double row, the "head" is made from moulted chicken feathers from my Easter Egger hen and another African brass bead.

The crescent indents are scarring on the leather which I thought looked pretty neat, I'll be adding more stuff to that area in the future.

The back was something I debated over, should I rivet it as well? I decided to go with a simple x with leather cord and reinforce the area with another strip of leather, keeping the hat size to a maximum since I want it to be a large sized hat and I still need to put a liner in the rim so the rivets inside don't get sweated directly on.

[Windrider30]

I really like that look, by the way tandy has a hat pack that I used for my pattern (has three sizes the largest one that I used ofr my head is a little big for me when wife puts it on it just slides down to her shoulders..told her she looks good that way..she tried to hit me while wearing the hat for some reason!!) The rivet look is interesting and ib et it was a pain in the ass to do along the the top. What I REALLY would like to do is find a plastic steam whistle that you can either have "steam" come out of or at least the noise of the steam engine but saddly have not had luck with that lol.

[Grey Drakkon]

Excellent idea, have you thought about checking with model train enthusiasts? They go for realism on a miniature scale, I bet they would have SOMETHING that works! For that matter, I remember getting a model train as a kid that ran on DD batteries and would puff "smoke" as it ran. There MUST be something that does that but with smaller batteries by now!

Haha yeah I went a wee bit large with this one, but at least that's what I was aiming for, I'm picturing some big hairy dude decked out in it. In the pic below, the only thing holding it up is my ears! I'll have to check out that Tandy pack, thanks for letting me know about it.

[Boriqua]

You guys are going to make me make a hat arent you!!

That came out cool and its a bonus that the leather had some branding marks on it.

[Windrider30]

Good idea about checking with the hobby trains! here is the pattern pack that I have, had to take it to a photo shop to have it printted out though and its an OLD format so they will have to go a size bigger.

https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1210-2662-leather-hat-pattern-pak.aspx

[Windrider30]

Forgot to mention about the pattern pack the sizes are actually a bit small. I made one of the cowboy hats measured my head and it was an inch under the max of a medium...well the hay does not fit its too tight so keep that in mind

[Grey Drakkon]

Whoops, the pictures broke after the upgrade, so here they are again:

 

[Windrider30]

Figured I might as well add mine as well Really do love the rivet idea that would have been a headache figuring out that..oh and another one of me wearing my hat and a steampunk style mask this is what happens when the stress gets to you! lol The second hat is a medium sized cow boy hat that I made from the tandy leather hat pack, the sizes are a bit off to be honest so if you get it remember it tends to run a little small

[Grey Drakkon]

Funny enough, I went with the rivets mostly because I didn't want to rip off your hat too much!  ;D  Sweet get up, and thanks again for the link to the patterns, that will definitely make things easier.

[Windrider30]

Most welcome and i would not have considered it a rip off if you had sewn it lol. Just rember what i said about the sizes being a bit on the small side 

[kiwican]

Thats sweet Grey, well done!

[Grey Drakkon]

And done!  

I lined the inner rim with pig suede to cover up the metal bits, as well as making the hat fit a bit more snugly.

Left side, I added some gears I had just ordered.  I used jeweler's wire and seed beads to hold them in place, the gears on top spin freely.

The back.  I found a neat wooden bead and glued some of my Easter Egger hen's feathers into it, then stitched it onto the hat.  

Right Side.  Pretty much the same as before, might have fiddled with the lamp a bit more.  

Front.  More chicken feathers for the snake's "crest", and added a dangling thingamabob.

  

[Windrider30]

That is really hot love the idea of the pig skin lining. Mine is not lined at all.

[Grey Drakkon]

4 hours ago, Windrider30 said:

That is really hot love the idea of the pig skin lining. Mine is not lined at all.

You likely didn't need it the way mine did.  With all those rivets, the metal would be right against the head and that seemed like a bad idea for a few reasons.  I do like how it finishes it off, but in the future I'll cut some darts along the top edge to let it lay flat, there's a few wrinkles in there as it is.