Lubrinijan guard cap Model z Roku 1947

My replica of a Lubrinijan čepice lívanec issued from shortly after World War II.  The peaked cap was adopted by Lubrinijan guards and Provincian vigils in the 1830s, and instantly became a favorite because, unlike the shako that it replaced, its low crown didn't give away the soldier's location and wasn't easily knocked off when struggling through dense foliage.  Although issued caps were wool before WWII, soldiers often wore leather ones instead because of their greater durability and ability to be rainproofed.  The Lubrinijan Guard was completely destroyed during the war.  While rebuilding it afterward, dictator General Bogdan promulgated a new uniform with a leather cap, which, apart from being all-black, was identical to its Provincian equivalent.

Closeup of the fleur de lis button used on uniforms on both sides of the border at Carlo's Tavern since long before the two countries were formally separated.  Bogdan, an outsider himself, understood the importance of maintaining a veneer of tradition as Lubrinija's ruler; thus the Guard uniforms included many nods to those used before the war.

I made this one with a slightly modified fisherman's cap pattern (cutting down the crown top by about 1/4 inch all around and the top edges of the crown sides by the same amount, using the back crown side pattern for both the back and front, and increasing the height of the band to 2 full inches to make up for the leather being less flexible than fabric).  The visor is one from my limited remaining stock of old blacksmith side from Crazy Crow (I recently bought some new pieces, but they're much more flexible and grainy and seem to be chrome-tanned).  The slide is from Buckleguy, the buttons from Benno's Buttons (I suspect they may have been cast in the same molds that the originals used because they're amazingly similar), secured with 24ga stainless steel wire to prevent rust (the copper wire I've used in previous projects, while easier to work with, also produced verdigris that stained anything it touched), the chin cord is a 1/2-inch Realeather chrome-tanned strip, the inside of the band is 2-inch lightweight polypropylene, the front of the inside of the band is lined with hot-glued polarfleece, and all the stitching is done with black artificial sinew.