Crop Mutilations and Cow Circles

This hat was purchased with a specific character in mind and then decorated to suit.

A tan wide brimmed felt hat with home made fimo rune stones sown around the brim.

In the photo below the top of the hat as been sunk in/creased giving it a slightly different look.

Felt Hats = Many types of hats that are made from fur, beaver or wool felt

 The character that wore this hat was called Creedance and he belonged to the family below.

I should explain Crop Mutilations and Cow Circles but ....

Keeps My Head Warm

This fur hat I originally thought of as a Cossack hat, but its not really they are a ring of fur around the head and have a flat fur top, this is more a Mongolian Shepherd hat with it little horse hair tassel from the where the 4 pieces of leather join at a point. 

This hats been used for several different characters

The very thin almost invisible tassel of horse hair can be seen coming from a bead at the top

This hat was going cheap at a Medieval fair, it had gone mouldy and was in a bad way, I washed it with diluted bleach to kill the mould, then scrubbed it to remove the staining. The hat survived the harsh treatment and has remained in good condition since.

Hooded Man

The hood is a soft covering of the head that covers all sides, even the face sometimes and goes around the neck.

They commonly form part the garments often attached to a cloak or coat, they are designed to keep your head warm and dry, they can be easily pulled back and not lost like a hat might.

 In the Picture above we have the 4 Dwarves Wappy, Cappy, Dappy and Zappy.

 Commonly made of wool, this Hood however is made some lightweight hemp like fabric, so not that warm and certainly not water resistant, its therefore more of theatre piece than a practical hood

This is a typical medieval style hood, independent of any garment, it as one button at the front which keeps it tighter around the neck and wide base (Mantle) covering the shoulders.

 Hoods covering the sides of the face don't make it easy to see the axe coming towards your head but the do hide the face, so ideal criminal headgear.

Hat Shopping at Tewkesbury

I have visited Tewkesbury Medieval Festival since they started in 1980's.

Originally it was bit crap, more of dark ages hippy fun day out, but over time it got less a less Arthurian legend and medieval olympics and more about a re-enactment of the 1471 wars of the roses battle.

The quality of event, scale, authenticity and attention to detail has improved vastly.

One thing didn't change much and that is fair and market that runs alongside the battle which is still a mixture of new age crystal healing sellers, re-enactment kit merchants and hog roast.

I last went to the battle as a medieval re-enactor in 2006, but I have still visited almost every year since, but I now sit back and enjoy the spectacle and do a bit of hat shopping. 

This year I bought a bycocket, a reversible acorn hat, and tall straw hat which you will see me wear on this blog at some point in the future.