Submitted for your parusal is my latest effort at making a leather hat, which is a bit of an obsession with me........Movie buffs may recognise the influence 
Made from 1.6 mm pit veg tanned split leather, with a firm temper. I didn't want full grain as I was looking for something more rough & ready with a distressed look, unfortunately the camera insists on showing a shiny, 'new looking ' hat which it ain't in reality...
It was sanded on both sides to make it as smooth as possible then dyed with a 'dark oak' alcahol based wood dye.
Because the leather is so stiff I couldn't fold over the brim edges so had to use a binding which, along with the sweat pad & hat band, are made from 1.2mm upholstery leather
Brim width is 8.5 cm all way around & crown height 10cm.
No eyelets as this isn't a bush hat....
I could have wet moulded the brim into shape but as I prefer the option of changing the style depending on my moods I opted for a hefty length of fencing wire which of course can not only hold a given shape but also be shaped 'any which way' I choose.
It has been thoroughly coated in sno-seal.
Now for some piccies.....
side view...
the other side..
The top is made from a seperate piece of 1.6 full grain ...unfortunately is was pre-dyed a sort of orange colour,(advertised as mahogany) which refused to take any kind of dye so I had to rub in 'burnt umber' artists paint to brown it up..
Here you can see the sweat pad & the 6oz sail cloth used for the sweatband..(not finished yet)..I aiso glued some of the same cloth onto the underside of the top, which will add extra rainproofness & makes the leather a little firmer..
I also added a couple of leather tabs with 'antiqued' brass eyelets for the stampede cord.
Looking at it head on ....
As usual with me , in that I only buy 4 sq.ft. of leather at a time, there wasn't enough for the crown so I had to add a sewn panel.......which is also why I had to use a different piece for the top as there wasn't any of the original leather left
Incidently the brim is wonky & asymmetric on purpose, those that are in the know will understand..
This lid is probably too unpractical to be used as a bush hat but ripe for a bit of steampunking ....if I can find some interesting ideas & designs I might give it a go..
I think I've covered everything.......I'm currently looking around for a nice piece of full grain & I was thinking of doing a little tutorial on how to make a leather bush hat without any special leather tools.......thought it might interest some......
Thanks for listening..
Made from 1.6 mm pit veg tanned split leather, with a firm temper. I didn't want full grain as I was looking for something more rough & ready with a distressed look, unfortunately the camera insists on showing a shiny, 'new looking ' hat which it ain't in reality...
It was sanded on both sides to make it as smooth as possible then dyed with a 'dark oak' alcahol based wood dye.
Because the leather is so stiff I couldn't fold over the brim edges so had to use a binding which, along with the sweat pad & hat band, are made from 1.2mm upholstery leather
Brim width is 8.5 cm all way around & crown height 10cm.
No eyelets as this isn't a bush hat....
I could have wet moulded the brim into shape but as I prefer the option of changing the style depending on my moods I opted for a hefty length of fencing wire which of course can not only hold a given shape but also be shaped 'any which way' I choose.
It has been thoroughly coated in sno-seal.
Now for some piccies.....
side view...
the other side..
The top is made from a seperate piece of 1.6 full grain ...unfortunately is was pre-dyed a sort of orange colour,(advertised as mahogany) which refused to take any kind of dye so I had to rub in 'burnt umber' artists paint to brown it up..
Here you can see the sweat pad & the 6oz sail cloth used for the sweatband..(not finished yet)..I aiso glued some of the same cloth onto the underside of the top, which will add extra rainproofness & makes the leather a little firmer..
I also added a couple of leather tabs with 'antiqued' brass eyelets for the stampede cord.
Looking at it head on ....
As usual with me , in that I only buy 4 sq.ft. of leather at a time, there wasn't enough for the crown so I had to add a sewn panel.......which is also why I had to use a different piece for the top as there wasn't any of the original leather left
Incidently the brim is wonky & asymmetric on purpose, those that are in the know will understand..
This lid is probably too unpractical to be used as a bush hat but ripe for a bit of steampunking ....if I can find some interesting ideas & designs I might give it a go..
I think I've covered everything.......I'm currently looking around for a nice piece of full grain & I was thinking of doing a little tutorial on how to make a leather bush hat without any special leather tools.......thought it might interest some......
Thanks for listening..
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