Zipper Cap >>> High Priest Helmet

I showed the zipper cap to my assistant and she immediately said it looked like a bathing cap from the 1950's. I about died, because I knew she was spot on, and that wasn't the look I was after.


After a bit of thought I decided that if I added a military type neck guard it just might rescue the project from ignominy.

It was important that I kept with the non fastener method of assembly, and so I pondered how I could make the neck guard flaps interlock with the cap I already had. By repeating the lower edge and constructing mountain tabs to interlock I arrived at the pattern shown above.

I dyed the nine neck guard pieces in matching colors and assembled them in groups of three.

And here is the result. After assembly the entire helmet was antiqued black to give it an aged look.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and this model really gives it an other culture look.

Zipper Cap Construction

I really appreciate everyone's comments on this mystery project. Now it's time to reveal what I'm making. It's a cap, and totally a conceptual piece. I've been wanting to make a leather cap that was different and unusual, and I realized I could construct one that had no fasteners, and that struck me as a worthy project. Back in January 2009 when I first began my blog I built an experimental leather zipper, shown below.

It consists of two pieces of leather cut with interlocking teeth, which like a zipper will hold the two pieces together with sufficient force to allow it to function as a single piece. The tentacle endings are strictly ornamental.

I had never done anything with this "lipper" until now, when I realized it would work well with a six-panel cap. Shown below is a cap of a similar design that I made several years ago, and it consists of six identical symmetrical panels, each shaped like the bottom of an electric clothes iron (thanks to Craig for that insight).



I started with the six panel pattern, then added the interlocking teeth. I liked the tentacular extensions I had made on the experimental piece (reminiscent of Cthulhu) and so opted to keep them. The tight spiral is intended to provide the longest strip of leather in the smallest amount of space (leather is expensive and I don't want to waste it).

I dyed the panels different colors on the fronts and backs because as the spirals are extended and twisted into tentacles both colors are seen together. Likewise I added the "mountain" cuts so that the leather can be bent down revealing the contrasting inner color as well as providing ventilation. Above I have begun to "zip together" two of the panels.


Here you can see the two panels completely zipped together.


And finally, all six panels are shown zipped together.