Feldmutze under construction...

[Mike1973]

Just knocking up a few feldmutze up for an up and coming Great War theatre production...

Spot the original...

And what they look like finished...

I've also got to make a few officers caps, thats next weeks job. I'm definatley not a tailor by trade, this is just a very occasional sideline I do in my spare time.
These are my mates who are supplying all the uniform for the production -
http://www.khakidevil.co.uk/Overview.html

Better get back to the sewing machine...

 

[deanglen]

Sweet!:eusa_clap Used to collect military headgear. Would again, but way overspent on it. Love the shots of your work. Great pics!

dean

 

[Mike1973]

Cheers Dean!

I come from a living history background, rather than a collector, so most of my kit gets a fair bit of use and abuse. (film jobs are worst for trashing kit ) Not fair wearing out original kit, so where possible we try and replicate it ourselves.

 

[DOUGLAS]

Fantastic work Mike!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Rob]

That's really nice work! Excellent! :eusa_clap

 

[Jerekson]

I can't wait to see the finished film! I'm working on a 30's film myself, at the moment.

 

[scotrace]

Can you tell us a little more about their origin and original use?

They look really terrific!

 

[deanglen]

I believe they are called "kratzchen". Worn on fatigue duty, non-combat situations. I always thought they lacked visors so that they would not be confused with officer's headgear, but that is most likely a doubtful theory of mine. I'll take an M43 Feldmutze anyday. Or one of the Camo jobs. Smart looking.

dean

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I believe they are called "kratzchen". Worn on fatigue duty, non-combat situations. I always thought they lacked visors so that they would not be confused with officer's headgear, but that is most likely a doubtful theory of mine. I'll take an M43 Feldmutze anyday. Or one of the Camo jobs. Smart looking.

dean

Some of the enlisted versions did have visors, field-made or private purchase most likely for private soldiers. The most likely reason for caps lacking a visor is because the pre-war officer's cap was stiff, with a stiff visor and would have been a problem for enlisted soldiers to pack in the field. Officers usually can have all sorts of extra baggage stored, however.

 

[BellyTank]

Nice work, Mike.

What's the grey wool cloth and where's it from?

I'm trying to make an AustroHungarian type Bergmutze.
I'm very keen on German caps- have a few.

Cool.

B
T

 

[Mike1973]

BT, the material gets sourced for me by Dickie Ingram, another Khaki Devil stalwart. The grey wool material is from old Swedish Army trousers. It's thick and pretty heavy duty. Too thick for the caps really, as the original I've got is more like a flannel material rather than the serge I'm using. But for film and theatre it's fine. You need some? I don't mind sending a leg panel over.

I know very little about German kit, but like Vlad, I always thought they were designed to be folded and stashed away in your kit somewhere... like the British Army soft cap that was introduced when they started wearing the Brodie helmet in 1916...

Jerekson, these are for a play, I think in the West End. If I can get hold of any stills later I'll post them up here...

 

[Speedster]

Fantastic work, Mike. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

 

[Jerekson]

I hope the play is a success! by the looks of the hats alone I would guess it is going to be great!

 

[BellyTank]

Thanks for the offer, Mike!:eusa_clap

I'll PM you-


B
T

 

[Mike1973]

Well these weren't so easy...

The officers hats were a lot trickier to get looking right, and I really struggled
Didn't quite get the right shape, but hopefully they'll pass muster...
(Main problem was they are all very large sizes, and I am small, so I can't try the hats on for style and shape along the way, like I would on a hat for myself...)

This site was invaluable for reference -
http://www.kaisersbunker.com/feldgrau/headgear/


And the production is called Warhorse -
http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/warhorse

BT, I haven't forgotten about the fabric! I'm doing a London/Brighton at the weekend, so am sorting the crate out for that, but I'll send some over next week, promise!

 

[fatwoul]

...The officers hats were a lot trickier to get looking right, and I really struggled
Didn't quite get the right shape, but hopefully they'll pass muster...
(Main problem was they are all very large sizes, and I am small, so I can't try the hats on for style and shape along the way, like I would on a hat for myself...)

Sounds to me like you're being your own worst critic. I looked at the sites you linked, and your work looks splendid. Anything you think is really obviously wrong with them is almost certainly much less obvious to anybody else - certainly me - if noticeable at all.

You've probably just been too close to them for too long. I get the same thing with my own work.

They look good, Mike. Really.

 

[Mike1973]

You've probably just been too close to them for too long

Cheers Fatwoul.
You're not wrong there, most evenings after a full days work for the past three weeks, and weekends... I'm looking forward to getting to bed before midnight tonight, and getting more than 6 hours sleep! lol

 

[Duck]

Nice work!! I really love the sewing machine I don't have a hand cranked machine in my collection,yet.

 

[deanglen]

They look fine. Very well done.

dean

 

[Mike1973]

The mutze in action!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/gallery/2007/oct/18/warhorse?picture=331011859