Viking Six Panel Hat

To stave off the cold, I’ve created a Viking six panel hat created out of a deep burgundy garment sheepskin with rabbit fur trim.  It’s lined with matching burgundy linen for extra warmth.  The basic six panel hat and lining are pretty easy to make; the fur trim took up the most time and effort.

Materials used include: Garment sheepskin, linen, rabbit fur, and thread to match the sheepskin.  While I went with natural materials, you could easily substitute other fabrics or faux fur if you wanted.

Additional materials include: Sewing machine with leather needle, scissors, measuring tape, sharp knife, marker, needles, thread to match the fur, small clips, white charcoal pencil, ruler, pencil, pen, ruler, and straight pins.

First, I created a pattern for the six panels that will be connected to make the hat.  For scale, every four squares is equal to one inch.  The hat ended up with a circumference of 22 inches, so you may want to adjust the pattern or the seam allowance depending on your desired circumference.

I traced the pattern onto the linen six times with the charcoal pencil and then cut out the panels.

I repeated the process with the sheepskin, marking the ‘leather’ side with a marker since I want the suede side to show on the finished product.

Next, I stitched one edge of the lambskin panels together as shown, with the suede sides touching in the middle.  I used clips since pinning leather isn’t desirable. 

This shows the seam allowance I used.   Next I attached the other end to the next panel and repeated until all six panels were stitched together.

I followed the same steps for the linen, except I was able to use pins instead of clips.  If you are unsure about the sizing of the hat, you may want to do the linen section before the sheepskin one.  Linen is much more forgiving to fix (and cheaper to scrap if you need to start over.)

After the six panels were stitched together, I folded the seams over and stitched them down.  This will help strengthen the hat and allow it to lay nicely.

I wasn’t able to stitch all the way to the center of the hat using the sewing machine, so I flipped the hat to the suede side and finished stitching by hand.

I measured and cut a strip of linen approximately 3.75 inches by 24 inches (circumference of the hat plus an extra inch on each end) to use for the backing of the fur trim.  You could also sew the fur directly onto the hat instead, but the rabbit skin is delicate and I wanted a little additional strength and reinforcement.

I cut two matching strips of rabbit fur.  They were just barely long enough for my hat so you will want to measure and select your fur accordingly.  It’s also important to make sure that the color and direction of the fur on the pieces that you use matches.  Alternatively, you could use another type of animal with a larger pelt to avoid using multiple pieces.  I used a sharp knife to cut the rabbit skin- you don’t want to use scissors because you will cut the fur, too.  You just want to very carefully cut the layer of skin apart.

To attach the two strips of fur, I placed them so the fur sides were touching and stitched the ends together.  Then I stitched the fur to the linen strip by hand (back of strip shown to demonstrate position of stitching.)  I used thread that was similar in color to the rabbit fur for any stitching that would actually go through the rabbit skin.

At this point, there were three pieces to the hat- the outer suede part of the hat, the linen lining, and the fur trim attached to a strip of linen.

The lining should be turned so that it fits inside the suede hat so that the seams aren’t showing.  The linen strip has one edge that overlaps with the fur and one end that is just linen.  I fit the end that is just linen between the suede hat and the linen lining (fur side down) and stitched it as shown. 

This way, the machine stitching attaches all three pieces but doesn’t actually go through the rabbit fur itself.

Lastly, I turned up the fur trim to the desired length and hand stitched the fur to the suede hat.  (Just a few small stitches per panel held it in place.)  The back of the hat where the two ends of the rabbit fur met required more stitching.

This is the finished hat.

Amazon Belt

The natural materials and unfinished edges in this Amazon belt were designed to give the piece an earthy, primal feel with an interesting variety of textures.

Materials needed: Leather remnant scraps (natural colors) and rabbit fur.  For this particular look, I used soft, thick, and crinkled pieces of leather.

Materials, continued: Leather cement (EcoWeld), q-tips, clasp rivet (antique brass), scissors, rivet tool, 17 cap rivets (antique brass), leather hole punch, thread, needles, sew on Velcro, hammer or mallet, and clips.  Not pictured and optional: sewing machine with leather needles; dress form; artificial sinew, beads, and coin for decoration.

I assembled leather remnants and chose my color scheme (black, dark brown, and tan.)  I selected long pieces that had an unfinished look and loosely wrapped the pieces around my waist to see which ones would best fit together aesthetically (shown on dress form.)  There are three basic layers of leather: the bottom pieces (tan), a middle layer (dark brown pieces) and the top of the belt (black pieces.)  Due to the way the layers overlap, the bottom layer will need to be made of your largest pieces of leather and the top layer will need to be the most narrow pieces.

Next, I clipped a piece of each of the bottom two layers together and used my sewing machine with a leather needle to stitch them in place.  My particular machine worked fine with this soft type of leather, but you will have to determine whether your machine is suitable or whether you should hand stitch.

The first two pieces after stitching are shown below.

Next, I positioned the thinner strip of black leather at the top.  I used the leather punch to punch holes through the layers and then loosely attached the pieces with the cap rivets (I didn't hammer them down at this point.)  See instructions further down for rivet placement.

I continued to build the belt horizontally by attaching additional pieces of leather, starting with the bottom tan layer and building up.  I used the scissors along the way to trim as needed.  As you can see on the bottom layer pictured below, I positioned all of my stitching to be covered by other layers so it will not show on the final piece.

Once the bottom pieces were attached, I stitched the middle dark brown layer over top, again, being mindful of my stitching placement.

Next, I attached another black piece to the top.  To help with equal positioning of the rivets, I cut a small piece of paper the length I wanted between each rivet (from center to center) to use while punching the holes.

I continued attaching the remaining pieces of leather in the same fashion until all my selected pieces were secured together. I wrapped the belt around my waist again and marked the leather where I wanted to attach the ends together with Velcro.  I stitched the coarse side of the Velcro to the top side of the belt in the desired location using the sewing machine.

On the opposite end, I removed a few of the cap rivets and stitched the soft side of the Velcro to the underside of the belt, as shown in the two photos below.  Then I reattached the black piece of leather using the cap rivets.  [Note: I ended up needing to tighten the belt further, so you may notice later that I added another piece of Velcro to the final piece to compensate for that.]

I used scissors to shape and roughen up edges of the leather that looked too neatly cut to give it a more rustic, primitive look.

I wrapped the belt back around my waist and positioned a couple of scraps of rabbit fur to hang down beneath the leather.  I roughly stitched the fur to the bottom layer of leather (tan) by hand using needle and thread, being careful to position all of the stitches so they would be hidden underneath the dark brown or black layers.

Once all the stitching was completed, I applied leather cement between each set of rivets to further secure the layers.  Then I used the rivet tool to hammer the rivets in place.

For additional decoration, I strung some natural looking beads and a coin using artificial sinew, wrapped the sinew around one of the rivets, and then hammered the rivet down.  The beads I used were made of wood, metal, and bone.

Although the Velcro does most of the work in securing the belt, I needed to secure the very end to prevent it from sticking out.  I punched a hole on the bottom part and screwed in a clasp rivet (far left.)  Then I punched a larger hole on the top piece and snipped a keyhole shape using the scissors.

This helps to hold the end of the leather down, as shown below.

That’s it!

Wonder Woman Baldric

The final essential piece of the Wonder Woman outfit is the baldric, a leather harness that goes over one shoulder and holds both the God Killer Sword and the Lasso of Truth.  It is fairly simple to create but difficult to describe, so I used color coding in some parts of this tutorial to make it easier to understand.  If you are making a sword and lasso, you will want to have those completed first so you can tailor the baldric to fit them.

Materials needed:  dark brown leather (at least 28" in length), scrap leather, scissors, ruler

Materials, continued: Cap rivets (18 pc), medium buckles (2 pc) [pictured in later images], clasp rivets (2), snaps (3), snap tool, rivet tool, hammer, sewing machine, thread, clips, leather punch, marker, Ecoweld (leather cement), q tips, gold and black paint, paintbrushes, acrylic finisher, repellant, Velcro

In order to best describe the construction of the baldric, I have color coded and labeled the sections as shown below: 

The first step was to measure and cut strips of dark brown leather.  Your length may vary, depending on your measurements.  I used a soft glove leather because it was all I could find locally in the right color and length, but you don't need leather this fancy.  I cut 5 separate strips in the sizes below:

A: 24"x 3"

B:  28" x 3"

C:  13" x 3"

D:  18"x3"

E:  18"x 3"

I folded each strip of leather in half, as pictured, and first stitched along the outside edge using dark brown thread.  My sewing machine worked well with this leather, but you will have to determine if your machine and leather are compatible or if you will have to hand stitch.

Next, I stitched along the folded edge.   This left me with sturdy strips 1.5" in width.

I then designed a pattern for the two leather attachments on the left and right sides.  These pieces connect the leather straps of the baldric and also hold some of the props that go with the costume.  Each square = 0.25":

I cut the following shapes.  The long strip should be dark brown leather (with enough length to hold your lasso), but the other pieces can be any color since they will be painted.

I also cut an additional rectangle (not pictured) that was 2.5" x 7.75".  This rectangle needs to be more than long enough to wrap around your sword, if you have one.   

First, I will show construction of the right side attachment (right side of the person wearing the costume.)  This is the side that holds the Lasso of Truth. 

I punched small holes in the leather for rivets and the snap.  I attached leather piece A as shown below, using leather cement and cap rivets.  Then I attached piece B using leather cement and one cap rivet in the hole closest to the diamond shape.  Lastly, I attached piece D underneath piece B using one cap rivet. 

Once all rivets were placed, I glued the square piece of leather on top.  I stopped here for now (painting must be done before further work on the right side.)

I repeated the process for the left side attachment, except I attached the other side of piece D and piece C, as shown.  I strongly recommend you try on the baldric before you hammer down any more rivets, as it is easy to get things twisted the wrong way or you might need to shorten the length of the pieces.  You may even wish to clamp the some of the pieces together and work through the majority of the construction process before hammering any more rivets so you can make adjustments as needed.

Next, I  worked on the shoulder strap.  On the other end of piece A, I punched holes in the manner shown to accommodate my buckle, which I recycled from an old pair of sandals.  (Actual photo below was from another section of the costume, but the hole placement is the same.)

 I used leather cement and the cap rivets to attach the buckle in the manner shown below.  (Actual photo below was from another section of the costume, but position of the cap rivets is the same.)

The buckle on part A will connect to the other end of piece B.  I tried on the baldric so far to estimate my desired length before I punched holes in piece B and fastened the strap through the buckle.  [I later painted the little leather triangle gold, protected it with finisher and repellant, and cemented it to the end of piece B, as shown here.]

Once the strap was fastened, I punched a hole and cut a slit with scissors to make a keyhole shape in piece B and attached a corresponding clasp rivet to piece A to secure the end of the strap, as shown.

I attached piece E to piece B using two cap rivets.

I cut two smaller pieces of leather approximately 10"x 2" each for the straps that hold the sword to the scabbard.

I folded the pieces in half lengthwise and stitched along each side like I had done for the rest of the straps earlier.  This will leave you with two straps 10"x 1".  I took one strap and punched holes to accommodate the buckle.  Then I attached the buckle.

I wrapped the strap around pieces B and E and attached the pieces using one cap rivet in piece B and one in piece E.

The second strap is attached to piece B approximately 9" down from the first strap.  I used two cap rivets to attach the strap to piece B.

Instead of a buckle, I sewed Velcro to fasten the second strap, as shown.

On the front side of the harness, pieces A and C are designed to fasten with a snap.  I attached the top part of the snap to piece A and the bottom of the snap to piece C.

Lastly, I punched a hole with keyhole slit in the bottom of piece E and attached a clasp rivet to piece D in order to fasten E to D.

Once all of the basic construction was done, I resumed progress on the right side (lasso) attachment.  First, I painted all the gold details, using shades of gold and black paint.  I finished the gold sections with an acrylic finisher and repellant.  Next, I punched two holes for cap rivets and two for the snap in the piece of brown leather, as shown.

I hammered in the two cap rivets and the male side of the snap, as pictured below.

I then added the female side of the snap and fastened the snap shut.

Although I'm not 100% sure on the intended function of the left hand attachment, I imagine it is supposed to be a frog (fastener to hold the sword) so the sword can be quickly put away in close quarters or when  a cloak covers the back of the baldric.  For the sake of this tutorial, I am going to design the left side attachment to be a frog. 

In this case, the frog is just a rectangle of leather, folded in half, with the open end snapped shut.  I will only use one snap to attach the frog (no cap rivets) so that the frog can be rotated when in use (this way, you can position it so the sword will point down at an angle instead of straight back into bystanders.)

I painted gold details identical to the right hand side as well as details on the rectangle of leather I was using for the frog.  Once the paint was dry, I used an acrylic finisher and repellant to protect the paint. I attached one end of the frog to the baldric using the male side of a snap.

I hammered the female side of the snap to the other end of the frog and snapped the frog closed, as shown.

The baldric is complete!  The easiest way to wear the baldric is to leave the shoulder buckle fastened and just use the front snap to fasten and unfasten the baldric.  This also completes the basic Wonder Woman costume tutorial.  

Side note: After wearing the full Wonder Woman costume on a very cold Halloween night, I am considering a future addendum for a cloak!