Quick 'n' Dirty Steampunk / US Civil War Foraging Cap

Those of you who are into the costuming aspect of Steampunk have probably noticed somehow your ensemble doesn't feel complete without some sort of hat. Bowlers, tophats and newsboy caps are easy enough to source. If you want to stand out, however, you might be interested in something different altogether. 

I know I was! I started looking at reenactment sites and the like to find out what soldiers of the 19th century were wearing. One of the hats that I thought had great steampunk potential was the foraging cap as used during the US Civil War. There are replicas available online, though they tend to be expensive, and I had trouble sourcing one in "steampunk-friendly brown" (yes, that is an official color).

So I went looking for patterns to make my own. I had no luck finding any. I thought that perhaps I could perhaps find a pattern for another type of hat and adapt it, but as it turns out, hats are surprisingly complicated things, and at this point I had never even touched a sewing machine in my life!

So I started mulling it over in my mind.. how hard could it be? They're little more than baseball caps, how complic... hang on!! Baseball caps! Of course! I can just cheat and modify one of those instead! Here goes! 

Step 1: Supplies & tools needed

You need very little to make one of these caps. I used the following materials:

- The cheapest baseball cap you can find. You'll be cutting into it and sewing cloth onto it, so it doesn't have to be fancy at all! Just make sure it fits and you'll be fine!

- Cloth in the color and material of your choosing. This cap was meant as a prototype so I just used some scrap material. You really don't need much. A piece of 18x32 inches will give you plenty of material to work with.. 

- Some thick paper or thin carboard for the top. I used the side of a juice box.

- Some sheets of paper to make a rough pattern.

- Spray paint (optional)


I also used the following tools:

- A pen

- Tape measure

- Scissors

- Glue

- Some tape

- Sewing machine

Comments

[Eacon]

Gotta love this hat! I also like the idea of upcycling a boring ad-baseball cap into a unique headpiece. Have you thought about adding some lining in the next version of it? Lining always adds style!

[akumabito]

The Mk.II version will be a lot nicer, yet just as simple.. :)

[bpfh]

Never shoot a xenomorph that close without your goggles!!! ;-)

[strawberrygirl]

That looks great! Some advice, if you use a needle designed for sewing thicker fabric on your sewing machine, it might make the final step easier :)

[aarmstrong3]

I... I just wanna know where the Xenomorph Queen came from, and where can I get one!!! (Also, the hat is pretty awesome, too ;) )

[shadeydave]

The "Silver Snail" comic shop in Toronto. On Queen street, close to the John street intersection. They have really cool busts in the back, and most of them are for sale. I believe this particular Alien can be found there.

[akumabito]

I encountered her in the murky depths of the Interweb.. just follow the tubes past the 'Here be Dragons' sign..

[askjerry]

Fun project! I can see an army of steam punk dino-fighers. :-)

[tinker234]

cool can i modify to make a civl war hat

[akumabito]

Shouldn't be too hard to do.. Have fun making your own!

[tinker234]

i will thanks

[rachel]

Very nice! You totally sewed a hat :)