SCA: Hedeby "Pillbox" Hat (Leens Hat)

 Here's a quick little project that I whipped up yesterday, because I was finished with all my other projects and needed something to do.  Also, I was lacking any type of headgear for my Viking outfits.  

Previously, I had made several Jorvik and Dublin hoods for myself, which I originally wore with my women's Viking outfits, until I learned that they were very likely men's hats; and which I discontinued wearing when I realized that they were styles from the British Isles, and didn't fit with my Swedish/ Danish persona (I haven't narrowed it down farther than that; I base most of my clothing on finds from Birka and Hedeby).

However, that left me with only my Skjoldehamn hood to cover my head, and while it's not always cold enough to warrant that kind of coverage, sometimes I just want to wear a hat with my guy's Viking outfit. 

And so, I decided I'd make myself a Hedeby "pillbox" hat.  I first saw this hat on The Welsh Viking's YouTube channel (link to Leens hat video), and I based my construction and stitching methods on this video of his.  

The most complete hat of this style comes from a find in Leens in the Netherlands very close to the German border (which area was Denmark during the Viking age);  other similar fragments which could be this same style of hat have also been found at Hedeby.   The design itself is practically timeless - this type of hat has been worn since ancient Roman times, was very popular during the Renaissance, and persisted in various forms up through the 20th century (think fancy hotel bellhops).  

Leens hat, from Journal of Archeology in the Low Country

Both hats date from the 10th century, and are made of wool.  The Leens hat contains some decorative stitching around the top edge and down the center of the top of the hat, in a type of braided/herringbone stitch. 

My hat is made of scraps of heavy brown linen left over from the Skjoldehamn hood project - I didn't have any wool on hand. The "side wall" pieces are about 4.5" high by 27" around (my head measurement), and the top is a rough oval shape, which I traced from my metal AOA circlet.  So the hat would be thick enough to keep its shape, I double the thickness of the linen on the sides and top.  I sewed the hat by hand, using a plain running stitch on the seams, and then turned the selvages in and whipstitched them closed, creating something like a French seam to keep them from fraying.  The hem is simply turned and whipstitched in place. 

construction stitches

top piece based on my circlet; "band" pinned and ready to sew

For the decorative stitching around the top of the hat and along the back seam, I used a #10 cotton crochet thread floss in a medium gray (because that's what I had on hand).  I followed Jimmy's instruction from his video (above), and it looks like this: 

diagram of how the stitch works

stitch in progress

If I end up liking to wear this hat and wear it a lot, I may one day replace it with a wool hat with wool thread on the decorative stitching; but for now this linen version is a good start.  I'm actually pretty happy with the way this hat fits and looks.  The band is a bit loose, so the hat slides around a tiny bit; but thankfully it doesn't make my already tall head look even taller.  I'm not sure whether I'll wear the seam stitching at the back or the front; I've seen it done both ways online.  

finished hat