Cap Maker

In the chapter “The Future” from the book *Kasketmager*, Silas Skram has spoken with a number of figures who are helping to steer the hat in a new and exciting direction. Some take an avant-garde, first-mover approach, while others adopt a backward-looking, conservative attitude. Perhaps the headwear of the future lies hidden in the past’s approach to quality and craftsmanship. To be perfectly honest—with the hat on the block, so to speak—this chapter will bring a smile to the lips of even the most conservative hat wearer.

When Vibskov sets out to design headwear, he has to create something that isn’t traditional, because there’s plenty of that out there. (2021)

Frida’s creations are well-suited for stage performances, theater productions, and exhibitions, but may seem a bit impractical for everyday headwear needs. (2022)

A large-format book with lots of pictures,

poems,

articles,

interesting stories,

“behind-the-scenes” photos,

Cap-making in practice,

Here’s how to wear your hat,

Overview of cap styles,

materials science,

cap geography,

hat geekery,

Inspiration and knowledge from a long career in the hat-making trade.

As a modern craftsman, one strives to combine precision with speed. These two conflicting goals define a person who is skilled with their hands. Thoroughness and a certain degree of meticulousness also characterize good craftsmanship. When it comes to making a cap, craftsmanship really comes into its own and separates the wheat from the chaff.

Good taste and beautiful fabric are a matter of personality. That is the view of one of Germany’s four apparel textile mills. (2022)

Mr. Serdar believes that understanding sewing machines is an art in itself. The true innovations came with the refinement of the mechanical parts and, later, when sewing machines became motorized. (2021)

Meet Maximillian Mehler, the 12th generation of the Mehler family at the German textile mill, which dates all the way back to 1644. See how wool fibers are transformed into premium loden fabric. (2021)

The book features a diverse array of people for whom the craft of hat-making is a living profession. Its pages are filled with anecdotes and insights into the lives of hatmakers, craft enthusiasts, cultural figures, and fashion designers. *Kasketmager* is an aesthetically pleasing illustrated book and reference work on design, craftsmanship, and lifestyle. It’s a reference guide containing everything you need to know—and all the latest trends—in the world of headwear.

The book provides a thorough overview of cap styles: the flatcap, baseball cap, sailor cap, eight-piece cap, fedora, one-piece crown, captain’s cap, and patrol cap. Read in the book about where the styles originated, who wore them, and why they’re popular today.

For this book, we asked the Danish Technological Institute to provide images of our fabrics taken under a microscope. Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of various natural fibers used in caps and hats. Read the book’s analysis of “cap geography” to get an overview of where the materials come from, as well as the complete photographic guide to the tools needed to start a cap-making business in 2026.

How do you wear a cap, where can you get one, and how should it be cared for? The section on lifestyle describes how to wear a cap. The book’s goal is to help Danes make better use of headwear. The book therefore includes a comprehensive style guide with countless photos to inspire readers in their choice of headwear.

In the early 20th century, hats were commonplace. People would be noticed—and perhaps even frowned upon—if they went out in public without headwear. Today, hats and caps offer a sought-after opportunity to stand out. Among the masses, hats have now become an optional accessory, which offers a new perspective on the very meaning of wearing headwear.

A short video showing how to make a handmade baseball cap in the hat shop’s own sewing workshop in Nørrebro. (2025)

Gloves go hand in hand with hats and are often sold in the same stores. Meet Rina Hansen, who will lead Randers Handsker into its next phase. (2021)

“Film director Erik Balling knew it. Even though the hat was on its way out as a required accessory in the 1960s, he insisted that the three gang members in *The Olsen Gang*, his new film project in the summer of 1967, wear a hat. Egon wore a serious English bowler hat, Benny a casual, soft hat, and Keld a trusty cap.” Torsten Grunwald in Kasketmager

Many linguistic expressions revolve around the hat. “Hattrick,” for example, was first described during a cricket match in 1858 near Sheffield, England. According to the description, a player who takes three wickets in three consecutive balls is rewarded with a genuine felt hat as a prize. A feather in one’s cap means that one has truly achieved something valuable or earned a significant title.

The English term “pin money” (pocket money) dates back to the time when people wore hatpins. Women rarely had control over their own finances back then, so they received what was called “pin money” from their breadwinner to buy a new hatpin.

In 16th-century England, wearing the flatcap on Sundays and holidays became mandatory by law. This led to a boom in the growing English textile industry and helped popularize the flatcap. But this wasn’t the last time a cap would be credited with driving growth and prosperity: A few hundred years later, as the concept of trademarks gained traction, one of the best places to display a logo was, of course, the cap.

That’s why, starting in the 1960s, the baseball cap became a staple for everyone from large bank branches to small consumer cooperatives. High-end fashion houses sold ordinary baseball caps with their logos plastered on the front, and everything from bike races to breakfast food brands handed out free caps featuring their logos—and the quality of them all was pretty much the same.

But Wilgart intends to put an end to that. The carelessness that has plagued the Danes has gone on for at least a decade too long.

During my early days with the master, I spent a long time standing at the steam iron with fogged-up glasses and sweat running down my cheek. Later, I was allowed to learn, little by little, how to sew a cap. That was in 2010, and since then I’ve been pursuing my dream of making a living as Denmark’s—and perhaps the Nordic region’s—only cap maker.

That is how Silas Skram, after completing his apprenticeship in Germany, started his first cap-making workshop in a small basement in Copenhagen’s Nordvestkvarter neighborhood. (2015)

A POV video from the cap factory back when I’d been working there for a few years, and before the company later changed its name to Wilgart. (2014)

The book is published in Danish and is available in a standard hardcover edition and an exclusive, limited-edition cloth-bound edition featuring a blend of wool, silk, and linen. *Kasketmager* is also sold wholesale to lifestyle shops, bookstores, and clothing stores. Contact Wilgart directly by email or phone if you’d like to resell the book, possibly along with a selection of our caps.

Pages: 336
Publication date: 10/24/2026
Language: Danish
ISBN: 978-87-7623-305-1
Publisher: Frydenlund
Format: 25 x 29 cm / Hardcover, half-leather binding
Weight: approx. 2 kg