How to Make an EASY Viking Age Hat! 

About math for the top part: I remember my math teacher telling me that pie are square, which is confusing because cornbread are square and pie are round.

Me: Pfft. I definitely don't need a fun early medieval hat. Me, ten minutes later: OK but I definitely need to have a go at that herringbone braid stitch.

Totally impressed by your Dutch and proud to be living in the north of the Netherlands where these hats were kept safe in our glorious mud!

Sides and crown, my dear boy, side of the hat, and crown of the hat.

Flappy doodles is such a great description

As a left handed person who often has trouble understanding embroidery videos, I must say I really appreciated and understood the instructions for that stitch! I have trouble when people show themselves doing the stitch, but don’t include a diagram like that because my brain can’t compute the way their hands are moving. I just really really appreciated this cause I can compute this! Lol! Can’t wait to try it out! Thank you so much!

Best way I have found for creating a hat crown pattern, round thing at the top. Is to fold a length of Aluminum foil into a one inch strip. Wrap it around your head tape it at the size you want. Then very carefully lift it straight up and put it on a piece of paper and trace around the shape. One crown pattern.

Dammit, Jimmy, I've got a sewing queue as long as the Ormen Lange and I DO NOT NEED ANOTHER PROJECT. Tromps off to inspect my bag of remnants. Also, well done on "Groningen". That was quite respectably pronounced. I expect being a Welsh speaker helps. My mother-in-law comes from Leens.

I do like the look of that seam treatment, it looks a lot like piping , and I would guess strengthens the seam in a similar way, as well as eliminating the need for seam allowances when they weren't needed. Hand sewing may seem tedious to (most) modern people, but it's nothing compared to the mind boggling amount of time needed to spin the yarn and then weave the cloth. Burying people with weapons and armour is more obviously an expensive prospect, but even a simple full set of clothes represents hundreds, or even thousands of hours of pre industrial labour. I feel your pain regarding a 60cm head, I have a 61cm head and can never buy a ready made hat. (My brother is 62cm.)

“Flappy-doodles” - Jimmy 😂😂😂

That pronunciation of Groningen was really good

"Make a note of that word: Flappydoodles. I'd like to use it more in conversation."

You can soften the scratchiness out of that wool with a hair conditioner rinse.

The hat with the peak absolutely looks like a contemporary welder's cap.

This is kind of exciting - my friend is doing some serious weaving using wool that she spun from endangered sheep breeds. We have some cochineal dye and that should look excellent with the dark dark weave!

Flappy doodles 😂

Who doesn't want floppy doodles around their head!

I was SO surprised at your perfect Groningen pronunciation, doesn't happen a lot

That stitch looks exactly like a finger braid I did as a kid. When I saw it I expected you to explain how to finger braid! If you're not into exact historic replicas, finger braid a braid and stitch that bad boy along the seam, same result, lots faster.

Brilliant! I am recently obsessed with reinforced seams. You did lovely work on this piece. Ach, Jimmy, I do not need another project. What hast thou wrought?!

That's a very nice hat. I really like the fabric and the red braiding is such a nice contrast. Great job! Did the women wear this cap also - or just the men? Blessings.

Man, conditioning is really something ... now I really just need to hear your lovely little intro music and can't help but smile :D Just so wholesome, in addition to educational.

Warning: several extrem close ups of a lovely pair of hands. 😊

Goes through bag of remnant-pieces.... Thank you again.

Just in case nobody has noted this: finding the circumference of an ellipse (i.e. the oval top part of the hat) is actually mathematically rather difficult and annoying. There are approximations, but nothing as obvious as for a circle. The one I would use is the squared circumference C^2 ~= (2pi^2)(a^2 + b^2) where a and b are the short and long axes of the ellipse. This is an okay approximation because the top of the hat is close-ish to a circle. Also thank you for this video, this will be my first real piece of kit that I make myself!

Ah, yes, you might THINK that looks like rain, but actually it was just someone power washing the side of the house. It's all right, it's easy to confuse the two. 😁 All kidding aside, I have to admit that my first thought was This doesn't look very promising. But AFTER you put it on and styled it in so many ways, very cute and surprisingly adaptable!

60 cm in diameter?! That's one huge head, Jimmy! :D

yes!!! just in time for summer reenactment!!! :) thank you jimmy!!!

May have to steal that stitch for my next cardigan (I know it sounds weird but hear me out, I'm planning a sort of not particularly accurate but adequate Viking pattern in the knitting !) love your videos glad to see you are feeling better after your bout with the plague!

Adorkable! As usual - thank you ^*^

You pronounce Groningen better than I do.

If wool is scratchy, you can hand wash the piece of fabric with hair conditioner! It might take a couple of washes to get rid of the scratchiness (my Icelandic wool sweater took about 5, it was a pain but is super soft now!) Loving the hat, it looks great!

Heya. I discovered your channel a few days ago, and have already watched over a dozen of your videos. I wanted to say that I appreciate your scholarly, though personable and accessable approach. You obviously put a lot of work into your studies and teaching. I feel like I'm learning a great deal, and am also delighted by your liberal sprinkling of humor. Thank you for the work you do. I am a professional calligrapher, who typically specialized in medieval celtic lettering and illumination. If you ever have the time, I would love to see a video about viking scribes and artistic styles. On both runestones and manuscripts. Thanks again. You're doing quality work.

This was a true joy to make. Measuring, cutting out and sewing the thing together took me 30 minutes. The decoration all around about 2 hours. Probably the fastest and most enjoyable sewing project I have tackled in a while. Thank you for the inspiration!

Don't ever do pink and you should be alright. Otherwise Jackie Kennedy Onassis called and she wants her Pillbox Hat back.

MERCH OP! Looks like rain Better make a hat

Your videos are so delightfully informative and relaxing to listen to!

About a year ago, after some quick basic research, I made a pillbox hat from subtle thin leather. Totally unaware of the historical accuracy I also added a stich line over the top. But not for decoration but for pure necessity. My top piece turned out to be too big and the easiest and most aesthetic option was to remove some material from the middle and turn a circle into an oval. I guess it was a happy accident after all. It's no longer a bug, it's a feature.

Very dashing. Good job unraveling the instructions for that stitch. It looks great! Just trying to figure it out made my eyes cross. Take care.

Your pronunciation of Dutch place names was bang-on as far as I could tell, nicely done.

Bestwel leuk om zoveel Nederlandse bronnen in deze video voorbij te zien komen. Your pronounced the Dutch words quite good! Hou van je videos, groetjes.

Now that is a convenient time for a german student during exams who actually wants to study :D

Not finished it yet but the basic hat is rather fun to make and fairly quick. Now for the decorative bit...

I love this hat! Am going to make it RIGHT NOW! Well, with woven cotton, not wool... And actual piping, not embroidery... But, INSPIRED by this awesome hat and your delightful presentation! As a dedicated math avoider, I compliment you on your effective math avoidance. I feel certain you are a lot closer to the authentic historical method than anything involving pi... My plan: Make the side piece out of stiff paper, tape ends together (overlapped correctly to account for the seam widths) squish the resulting circle into an oval (maybe use 2 bits of tape to keep it in place?) Much easier to trace this stiff paper than floppy fabric! Trace oval onto the second piece of stiff paper. You can trace the outside, so as to include the needed seam allowance. (I'm assuming the goal is to match NOT THE EDGES but the SEAM LOCATIONS? which is a bit trickier but traditionally essential! ) Bonus: you end up with two paper pattern pieces! Much easier to adjust your pattern to make a better-fitting second hat (I always plan on the first edition being a fail, lol. Save your good fabric for the second version!!!) Your explanation of the embroidery was astonishingly coherent-- very impressive! But the embroidery itself seems... *irrationally* time and labor intensive. This instantly suggests to me that it had some religious purpose. I submit it was the physical part of a charm for the safety of the wearer, to be executed while reciting an associated verbal incantation. Not anticipating much personal need for protection from war axes, I will lazily default to piping. Thanks for the great video :)

Its was correct , Groningen ;) what you also can do is take the top of a bucket hat pattern .than you have the same pattern for this hat ( i think ) .

Is this strictly a male cap or would it have been worn by women as well?

I'm late as fuck but as a Groningse I have to compliment you on your pronunciation of "Groningen", the G is usually very tricky for foreigners but you did well!

Thank you so much for sharing this hat tutorial. I made several of these hats recently. However, I couldn't remember how you did the embroidery stitch. I watched this video a couple of times and now have it down. I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Be safe and healthy. Look after you ❤🇨🇦

Lovely simple instructions, thanks Jimmy. That's a great project for the thin scraps of wool I cant do much of anything else with!

As someone from the town next to Leens, that's exactly how you pronounce it! Groningen is correct as well. Rasquert is almost the same, we pronounce it like 'ras- quirt'. I was expecting something far from home, turns out it's literally from my neighbourhood xD Kinda a shame I didn't knew this was knowledge from the Vikings, through we do have a lot of local musea focused on that period of time, usually about agriculture, clothes, tools, and how we dealt with water back then. Now that I think about it, I think I saw this kind of hat in a small museum here. Looking forward to making this myself.

Oh my gosh. Im so happy I heard someone else say "flappy-doodles" now I have evidence that no one can make fun of me. Hahahaha.

Nice! I've done a Leens cap a few years back for a museum in red diamond twill. That fabrics frayed like crazy, I can see how the embroidery could be a strengthening stitch...

I like hats!

All medieval hats look silly, but it was considered rude for a man not to wear one. My constant dilemma

Nice! I attempted nalbinding for the first time last week and got a wearable hat out of it. Is it pretty? Nope! I think I'll try this next, although I'm not sure where to get the fabric for it. There aren't many good fabric shops where I live in Texas.

Oh! I love that hat! Looks great.

the fact that some hats survived at all o.O

Adding more bits to my Viking kit over this last...pandemic.... I don't know if this is a unisex cap, but I may make one just to keep my noggin warm on those chilly An Tirian nights.

Thanks for another fab video mate! Still working through the back catalogue and having a fabulous time while I learn! Thank you 😁 I dont suppose anyone could point me in the direction of a video on Nalbinding? I really want to learn! Yes I know there are lots of beginner guides about but they're not like these 🥰

Came for the smoulder, stayed for the stitching. And I don't even sew!

Yay new embroidery stitch!!! Uploading at 1.am 👎🥱

Shwdi ddweud "flappy doodles" yn Gymraeg? 🤭

I'm sure the middle seam on top was just piecing together the scraps they had because it was cabbage cut off from making a tunic or pants and they wanted to use up the fabric or it was to shape the hat to be a bit more round for the top of the head .. just some thoughts

I dont't know if it's because i'm stupid or because i'm drunk, but I understood absolutely nothing of the sewing instructions for making the fancy stich. But no worries, i'll try again later when I',m sober. Great vid as always btw

Floppydoodles? Holding my sides here.

Me: Well, just look up the mathmatical formula for an oval online so you can easily make your own patterns ^.~ -20mins later- Me rocking back and forth in a corner muttering: Three circles... so much effort... not easy... ohhhh no... not easy... Pies the key... circle of three.... (Honestly: Looked at two formulas and noped out. )

1:40 dude, you spoke the name perfectly fine lmao Source: am Dutch

Love that stitch. Must remember to try it out some time. Thanks!

That's a decent sized head, which makes my happy, as it means less fudging of the maths, if I ever decide to make one for myself (my head is a smidge bigger at 61cm) or the spousal unit (his is around the same size as yours). Excellent hat 😁👍

So interesting!

This is a guess only, but if you look at some national dresses, take Faroe islands gor example they have their hats to the side often. As you showed as one example. It wouldn’t surprise me if thats how you did wear them. Often in daily work days you see them have their hats like that even if it an ordinary pointed hat.

I want to make a hat like this by Nålbinding wool yarn. I'm just finishing up a Nålbind Sack Hat. :)

I made pill box hats ages ago for my late roman impression and I need to revisit them.

I would think that, if your head is so much bigger than the original, you should add an inch or two to the depth as well to get the proper effect. The one you’re wearing looks a little skimpy. Love the embroidery technique. Thanks for the video.

The embroidery stitch looks hard to start and easy after 5 rows.

You pronounced Groningen pretty good

Send that rain here please!! Was that a seam on the top piece? It would be a way to save fabric.

Teehee we have the same noggin sizes XD

Nice, I recently bought a really simple one that's made from plain blue wool. The sides are quite short compared to yours, with the bottom barely reaching my ears when all the way on.

Love this vid! could you do a vid on the embroidery stitch. Maybe a bit more "step by step"? Thanks in advance for any help in understanding how to do this stitch.

The peek on the one hat look like maybe it would be to go between the eyes/eyebrows to protect that area from rubbing under a face shield of a helmet? Complete conjecture though lol

Mathsy comment: The head cross-section is a circle: top piece diameter is the circumference of your head, divided by pi (3.14...). The head cross-section is an ellipse (more correct): Measure the length (major axis) of your head somehow (take a photo) and the width (minor axis) (take another photo), use the equation of an ellipse for your major and minor axis to come up with your focal points. Mark out the focal points on your fabric, use a piece of string the length of your major axis and pin it to each focal point, trace out the elipse that you get by pulling the string tight and moving it around in a circle motion, add seam allowance, sew. I think your method's sound Jimmy to be fair

2:44 dont worry we forgive you, dutch is a hard language and let's not even start about frisian ;) bedankt voor de leuke videos!

Hi, I really love watching your videos, especially this one!!👍👍 I'll have to watch it a few times over before starting to make my hat, 😋😅😅 but I really look forward to making it. Have a good one and sending lots of greetings from Cape Town, South Africa.🙋🙋

I'll have to try that herringbone stitch! Unfortunately, googling "herringbone embroidery stitch" turns up a whole lot of some other embroidery stitch... guess I'll just have to use the diagram in the video.

The pill box hat kind of reminds me of a frontiermans fur hat tube design and a flat top.some even had the tails and faces of the animal it was made out of the most common animal used was a raccoon.

I also have one of these fancy boy hats, and it got featured in two different outfits of trying to chart different Cornish fashions...probably could have been all of them but that seemed excessive.

"That's because I think it'll make me look even more of a penis" 😂 A sentence I never expected to hear but it definitely made me laugh. A good start to the day. 😊

The Rasquert (sp?) Cap is 90% surely worn with the flap in the back, staining and wear on the original does not fit with it pointing forward, even though I've pretty much only seen the dutch wear it proper. 😂

Don't forget seam allowances!

I would think that wool cloth was felted after it was woven. That would give it more strength and make it less raveily. Homespun and handwoven fabric is sort of unstable. Reason many garments were constructed of squares and rectangles - to avoid cutting.

I have been interested in the shape of hats and have been trying to knit a hat with a nice shape that is not quite a labour' intensive. The knowledge here was helpful to knitting a hat. I am going to design a pattern or formula that works for different thicknesses of yarn . I have a big head too and lots of hair. I knit smaller hats for others.

Why do I feel like it's a type of medieval beanie?

Hell yeah I've been meaning to make one of these out of some wool I have left over. I should probably finish my stays first tho lol. Thank you :)

Love it! Thanks!

All my headgear must now include flappydoodles. Not optional.

I tried one before. Bo decoration and lined it with linnen because I thought it wouldn't be firm enough without it. Did it also a bit shorter since I preferred that look. Turned out okay-ish, but the top is just sewn so sloppy. It's not a nice and round seam, so I'll have to do a Mk. II some day

i have a flappy doodles hat and a few others. i indeed to know the pain of a big head welshman 62 cm.

love the hat. i've made all the version of the pill box the Rasquert version gave me the most problem it the positioning the peak kinda feels like it more of a neck covering. rather than a glare protection but i guess as i wear it as a helmet liner and i have a mail aventail i would think along that line. the Aalsum version was nice to make though after a week of doing the making video i was pointed to a different interpretation of the Aalsum and ended up doing a one off making vid just for the other hat. also your skill is far greater than mine i didn't even try the decorative embroidery, so very nice to see it clearly explained.

The math for the top circle. :) Circumference divided by PI = the width across the top cirkel. (diameter) c ÷ π = d