16th century Polish Kolpak (hat)

A 16th century Polish man’s hat, worn by both soldiers and nobles, in red wool and fur.

Roman won my hat prize at Festival 2025 and asked for a typical Polish horseman’s hat, with fur brim and feathers. He sent me some initial pictures of reenactors wearing such hats – short brimmed, with a split fur brim, decorated with feathers and a jewel at the front.

My early research suggested that most of the historical versions were taller and since Roman was happy to go for a more authentic look, I dug deeper….

Research

It is clear there is some confusion about the right name for this hat. In her 2013 work on Men’s Russian headdress, Natalia Viktorovna Zhilina notes many examples of 16th century illustrations of the Kolpak with simple, soft, fabric versions. The brim had many variations, incluing a slanted open revers. Such hats might have a full fur lining, or just the brim turnback (see John Beebe’s translation).

The ‘kalpak’ (qalpaq, calpack) is also a Turkic high-crowned cap usually made of felt or sheepskin worn throughout Central Asia and the Caucasus, while in modern usage ‘kalpok’ means the onion-domed hat worn by Byzantine Catholic clergy. (Wikipedia)

Vercellio’s 1590 description of the headwear of the Hungarian, Croatians and Poles includes several references to these hat, in two forms: First a short version: “…they wear a small hat of fine wool, but thick like felt, coloured or black, with a feather above their forehead and a turned-up brim slashed at each side.” (Rosenthal & Jones, 2008). I found several examples of this style with a brim of wool, but not fur.

However, Roman wanted a version with a fur brim as well as feathers.

Vercellio also noted this variant: “Their hats are of fine red wool, lined with fur, with the brim turned back in a dashing way“. I did find contemporary illustrations, but they were all taller with either a stiff or soft crown, as shown in the van Bruyn engraings below. Although most examples show soldiers, the same styke can be seen worn by the nobility, as the Beck painting shows.

Roman prefered the slightly softer look of the first image, so I’ll go with that, but use pheasant feathers, which were also common in these images. Most of the 16th century artworks show this style of hat in red, with some in black – we went with red.

Looking at the examples, the soft version could be made by several methods, all in use in the 16th century: knitted and fulled; felt moulded over a hatblock; or sewn from wool fabric. I think the felt would be too stiff (although it would work for some other examples) and I don’t knit, so I’ll be sewing this hat from red woollen cloth.

Construction

I started the patterning process by padding up my headform to the right size. I took some measurements and made a quick version in paper to get the proportions of crown and brim – not bad, although the brim needs to slope to the back.

Then I made a more developed paper version, cut all in one piece, with the brim as a simple entension of the main hat, which worked well. This makes practical sense and is a style seen in other Polish hats.

Then I made a version in felt, which sits so differently to paper. Roman liked the green felt draft and I was happy with the pattern and proportions, so it’s on to the wool…

I was concerned my red wool fabric might not be stiff enough to give the right look. I could double it, but then the tip would be too stiff to squash nicely, and the brim might be clumsy (2 layers of wool, plus the lining and fur).

I ended up cutting a pair of overlapping pieces, with only the crown doubled – one brim and crown (underneath, with front seam), one crown and tip (on top, with CB seam). I basted around the brim line, so I could match them up. Not ideal and more work, but the best compromise for the materials I had.

Hats need to be built from the inside out to make sure they stay the right size. I sewed the base layer and basted the hems all around, then checked it on the form. It fit well, so I catch-stitched the hem around the brim and prick-stitched the seam to ensure it stays flat.

To check the sizing of the top layer, I basted a single hem along the base – this will give a neat finish, but will also add to the thickness of the top layer around the crown. With the top layer pinned over the base, I checked the seam at the back – I need to add 6mm each side at the base (I’d allowed extra).

I sewed the seams, matching the top point, then pressed them open, clipped and prick-stitched from the inside to ensure they stay flat. Then I pressed again on my tailor’s ham to set the curved seams. This makes a huge difference – minimising the seams and producing a smooth crown.

I basted the two layers together at the brim line and then slip-stitched in place. Then I turned the hat inside out and basted and catch-stitched along the top of the crown, being careful to sew into the back of the wool so the stitches are not visible outside. Back on the form to check – looks good.

The brim will be covered in fur so I could have simply lined the crown, but a full lining will add a little more body. I used my original pattern to cut a one piece lining in raw linen, adding some extra to the brim hem – this will be turned outward, so it might use a little more fabric.

I sewed it up, clipped and pressed. I put the lining into the crown, securing at the top with a few stitches to ensure it stays in place. Then I flipped up the brim and basted around to keep the lining in place. I trimmed the excess, then basted and slip-stitched the lining in place. The basic hat is done!

Now for the fur brim.

I made a copy of the brim pattern on translucent patterning fabric and tested it on the hat. As expected, the front needs to be adjusted to match the final form.

Now to decide fur direction. My reference images look like the fur is going ‘up’ on the brim, so that’s what I’ll be doing. On my reference image, the fur runs parallel to the front split on both sides. Since the ends flare out, I’ll need to piece the fur to achieve this.. I marked my fur directions on both ends of the pattern as a reminder.

Many images show a dark brown fur, and I have several suitable pieces. My first choice was a recycled fur coat with a long, coarse, dark brown fur. I have no idea what it is, but the skin was in good condition, although very solid. However, folding a test piece showed it was just too stiff to work on such a small piece as a brim. Plan B – a softer, finer brown fur.

First step is to lay my pattern on the front of the fur, looking for the best pieces, with the right fur direction and avoiding any problems (common on recycled fur).

Then I marked the corners with pins, turned the piece over and checked – all good, so I laid the pattern in place (flipped!) and marked with a chinagraph/glassochrome pencil. Then I added hem allowance to the top and base, and some extra on the front ends – the fur may need extra to wrap around. No seam alowance on the piecing at the back, since this is a butt joint.

This skin is a bit dry, which makes it more likely to tear, so I treated my marked sections with Fat Liquor to rehydrate the skins. Better to do this before cutting the pieces out, to avoid getting it on the fur. I covered the pieces and rested overnight to absorb it the dressing.

I’m using a single-sided razorblade to cut – just the leather, not the fur – pulling gently apart (also a good idea when cutting fake fur!). I dry-fit the CB seam to check – looks good, so I added some cross-marks to help line up the edges.

Pins are a bad idea for fur, so I tacked the pieces together with single stitches to keep them aligned. Then I sewed the seam using waxed silk, with a whip stitch – a fine sharp needle works well for this soft fur. (You can use a sewing machine on zig-zag, but I prefer the control of handsewing.)

Next, the long facings, which can be done by machine.

I laid woven black tape along the top and bottom edges on the fur side and basted in place (essential to keep back the fur tide), then zig-zag over the edges. Then I turned the edges in along the marked line and tacked the facing down to the back of the skin with long stitches in silk thread. The stitches will be hidden by the fur.

With the long edges finished, I pinned the fur to the brim through the tape facings, then checked the fronts and marked them. Then I took the fur off, turned and finished these edges the same way.

I pinned the brim back on, then basted the brim in place along the top and fronts. Then I sewed the cotton tape to the red wool along these edges.

Finally, I sewed the base of the brim to the lining – the brim is done!

FInally, the cockade.

These hats are usually dressed with 1-3 feathers at the front (often ostrich or pheasant), held in place with a cornet or jewel of some sort. Roman has requested a ‘jewel’ and had found a lovely pair of ring-necked pheasant feathers.

I found a piece of costume jewellery with the right feel, even if not as elaborate as the one in the inspiration images. It was silver, but since all the examples I’ve seen were gold/brass, I changed the colour with gold wax (Rub’n’buff).

I inserted the feathers into a decorative aglet, which I squashed flat and glued to the back. I considered using fine wire through holes, but it would have detracted too much. Finally, I sewed the cockade to the hat with waxed silk thread – done!

I’m glad Roman opted for the taller, softer style rather than the typical short reenactor version of this hat – I really like how it looks!

Afterthoughts

If I was making this again, I would look for a heavier wool, so I could make it in one piece, with a centre front seam – more historic and much less work!

If the hat was being used in a colder climate, it would also be easier just to line the whole thing in fur and then flip up the brim. In this case, I’d start with the fur lining and once this was finished (and fitted), make the wool outer layer (allowing for the extra bulk of the fur).