These people are south of Bonn. If you are near Koeln, they are not even far away.
I have to go to Bonn at some point soon. I went to university there.
These people are south of Bonn. If you are near Koeln, they are not even far away.
I have to go to Bonn at some point soon. I went to university there.
Once more for Helen, the subject of Trikot Stoff with the Fa. Arenz in the Westerwald.
Trikotage.
Cap making
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I have been visiting this site for some time now and found the threads extremely interesting. I have, however, not yet dared to register as I do not dispose of many original TR caps. This is due to the fact that, although I admire these caps because of their shape i.e. the ones that seem to have a particularly high crown, I simply couldn't and still can't afford them. I say seem to have, because, when measured, one will see that the front seam is not higher than app. 6,5 to 7 cm in most of these caps some of which look very elegant and „high“ and others rather flat. Exactly this is the secret of the different cap-makers. When you follow Hempe (thank you, Herr Friedrich-Berthold for this hint – it is the manual I was looking for for decades and, as I once studied too, wusste ich, wie ich ein Exemplar zumindest zum Kopieren bekommen könnte) then you'll get the „flat“ version. I tried that out.
This leads to my actual motivation to join this forum and this thread. As said above I do not own many original TR caps which is due to the fact that, when I started to develop an interest for uniform headgear (why do we develop such an interest, which makes us spend a lot of money - a question I have often asked myself) I simply didn't have the money to buy them – as cheap as they were some 30 years ago - neither did I have the knowledge where to get them.
This is why, and now we come to the point, I started trying to make them myself. Naive as a 16 year old will be I went ahead without any knowledge at all and – obviously - failed as I just had photos of such caps, no measures, no idea of the interior etc.
I then disassembled some post-war caps and thought to understand how the Schablonen as F.B. correctly calls the paper patterns were made but failed again. After many trials and errors (and as I did - and still do - not use my sewing machine regularly) I succeeded some 20 years ago at least to find the “high”-crown saddle shape (or should'nt we bettter say Klappmütze?) I had been looking for so long without, however, having solved many other problems.
To make the story shorter, over the years I tried to improve my skills, tried out many different styles of caps and ended up where I am now. That's why I admire Helen's efforts (perhaps we could exchange our knowledge and sources for cloth and, esp. badges which I lack almost entirely) and that's why I felt the need to finally join in as you did not ridicule her efforts so that you hopefully won't ridicule mine – experts that you are.
Just to make that clear – I am no faker in the sense of somebody who pretends his caps are original TR pieces (which is obvious - without the special sewing machines/cloth etc. it is almost impossible to get a similar quality) and I have not sold a single cap so far. By the way: sewing machines of this kind are still sold, they cost a fortune, unfortunately I lost the link, but can try to find the site again.
Sorry for the length of this text, but I couldn't help it!
Perhaps I may ask you some specific questions later on.
Last edited by ErWeSa; 12-09-2018 at 12:45 PM. Reason: grammar
Welcome and bravo ErWeSa...
The gentlemen assisting Helen (I'm just a cheerleader from the sidelines) are the best of the best!
Regards,
Michael
"Please", Thank You" and proper manners appreciated
My greatest fear is that one day I will die and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them
"Don't tell me these are investments if you never intend to sell anything" (Quote: Wife)
Thank you sir for your kind reply!
Servus nach Oesterreich!
Thanks ErWeSa, your work is very impressive. I will buy a cap from you, too.
Like Helen, you are a great craftsman.
I should scan my Hempe book for the use of all such persons, but I paid a fortune for it.
All these contemporary tailoring books are very complicated, with an archaic German.
Thanks for adding your nice things, and I am sure you will find takers among our readers.
Hempe makes the point that the key to all of this is the exact and efficient cutting of the textile to the pattern, and the consummate skill to make the perfect finished product.
Especially the crown piping was a very exacting task.
We are happy to share what we know with you, too.
The Hempe book and all the other tailoring books I own, are written for a person who is already a Meister, or surely, at the end of a long apprenticeship of a kind that no longer exists.
That is, the authors assume a level of knowledge and ability that is not a given in an amateur.
Which is not to say that an amateur can never learn these things, but the old caps of ours and the uniforms were the result of a highly specialized artisan and trade that no longer really exists
in central Europe, i.e. tailors focused solely on uniforms of this particular type. There are one or two of these in Germany with a Bundeswehr focus, and I do not know about Austria, but there must be there, too. In Vienna's 4th district is still some of the garment trade there. In the III. Reich the uniform trade journals themselves make clear how difficult it had been to recreate a uniform trade that
had existed in the old regime prior to 1918, and which ended with the revolutions and the establishment of the republics in Berlin and Vienna, as well as the disappearance of the old armies.
We salute our friends in Europe who recreate these objects, especially without the intention to trick the innocent. Most of the time we are struggling with the faker here.
There are many people, I am sure, who want reproductions at a modest price for their historical interest.
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