Pantless Saturday / new bonnet

[Nathan]

Just for the record, I'd like to see you post pictures and remarks about your new bonnet in the beret thread in the How to Accessorize forum. It might help someone looking for info in the future.

Funnily enough, I completely agree with you on this point. That picture could be very helpful for someone on a shoestring budget, especially if there was a place others could get a wool kangol for $5 outside of the thrift shop lottery.

There are berets and there are berets. The kangol beret pictured is a very different style than the military beret and Dale chose an excellent one to do a DIY conversion to bonnet. My old leather banded military beret wouldn't do the job but this one works quite well. Adding the toorie helps a great deal. It also helps that this civilian beret has no hard backing for a bonnet badge in the wrong place.

Dale: you're already looking quite smart, but if the spirit ever moves you, you can pick up some ribbon at Fabricland and make a cockade and trim the band. If you did, you'd have a unique, traditional, and bespoke looking Balmoral for a fraction of the retail price. The ribbon band will also help the hat keep its shape as you wear it and sweat on it.

[Dale-of-Cedars]

Funnily enough, I completely agree with you on this point. That picture could be very helpful for someone on a shoestring budget, especially if there was a place others could get a wool kangol for $5 outside of the thrift shop lottery.

Will do. It was fun and didn't take long.

There are berets and there are berets. The kangol beret pictured is a very different style than the military beret and Dale chose an excellent one to do a DIY conversion to bonnet. My old leather banded military beret wouldn't do the job but this one works quite well. Adding the toorie helps a great deal. It also helps that this civilian beret has no hard backing for a bonnet badge in the wrong place.

I actually stitched in a backing of some semi-flexible plastic with punched holes for the badge pin. The Kangol is unlined and very soft, so the badge (heavy pewter) wanted to flip forward and hang down by my ear without support.

Dale: you're already looking quite smart, but if the spirit ever moves you, you can pick up some ribbon at Fabricland and make a cockade and trim the band. If you did, you'd have a unique, traditional, and bespoke looking Balmoral for a fraction of the retail price. The ribbon band will also help the hat keep its shape as you wear it and sweat on it.

LOL, I actually bought the 1.5" ribbon at Fabricland for a cockade based on the original Crawford arms; red (Gules) and white (Argent or Ermine), 2 days before the games. But with my better half grand-mothering down in California this month I didn't have time to sew it up.
Hmm, I hadn't thought of trimming the band; it's soft and nicely elastic as it is. Like the diced curling tam I also got second-hand. Do knit bands tend to loosen with age?

[David Thorpe]

I have a few of these already made up. PM me your shipping address if you'd like one.
NewCockade.jpg

[briansbarkery]

David, What do the ribbons represent on your clan badge?

[TheOfficialBren]

Dale, I really like your two-toned toorie. Talented you are, sir.

[KentuckyCeltophile]

Dale,
A health to you, friend. I admire any person that makes a statement. Nothing like showing up kilted to the nines to a party to show you are THE MAN. Nice beard, too.

[DyerStraits]

Dale,
A health to you, friend. I admire any person that makes a statement. Nothing like showing up kilted to the nines to a party to show you are THE MAN. Nice beard, too.

Aye to that. You look absolutely fantastic. And it is indeed ALWAYS better to be over-dressed than under-dressed. It's a great way to passively "one-up" the Beach Sandals/Faded Polo Shirt/Rumpled Khakis Crowd/Who Gives A Damn crowd--AND The Ladies never fail to notice.....

[Jack Daw]

I VERY much like your sporrans!

[Dale-of-Cedars]

I VERY much like your sporrans!

The brown is a What Price Glory reproduction of the standard DoD daywear sporran. The fur one is a Lythgoe Sporrans coyote (and boy did I have trouble getting that across the border; they temporarily impounded it as wolf.) I got both from KiltedCarver here via the For Sale forum.

[Nathan]

Do knit bands tend to loosen with age?

They can. Interestingly, the primary difference between the Balmoral Bonnets and the "Beret Tams" on Robert Mackie's website is the grosgrain ribbon trim, bow and cockade seems to be what makes the bonnet a Balmoral.

In the army, our bonnets lacked these features and were called Tam O Shanters, although there is a very small vestigial bow at the back of mine.

This inspiring thread and the other thread about Berets, coupled with my thrifty nature has me in the middle of doing my own DIY beret to Balmoral project. I'll post a thread when I'm happy with the outcome.