Custom-made M-1 Helmets

Following the 70th anniversary of the Normandy Landings, here's something a bit off the beaten path for this vintage blog.  You can now get custom-created M-1 helmets refurbished to WW2 standards at the Houndstooth Kid Haberdashery.  These are perfect for reenactors or if you are just looking for an attractive display piece.

click images to enlarge

What does this mean exactly?   I can recreate either WW2 U.S. infantry or airborne helmet shells. These postwar shells are refurbished to plain-jane, standard as-issued helmets and you can add on any markings, camo, etc. that you wish.  Airborne markings? MP markings? Medic markings? Camo? 'Follow me' bars? No problem.  These are individually hand-crafted to your specifications.

I take a postwar shell, strip off the awful silica texture and apple green paint, paint it with correct extra-flat OD paint and texture it with cork, and then bar tack the repro chinstraps onto the shell.  I then hand paint any markings and/or camo you want.

A before and after shot of an M1C helmet for a fellow reenactor.

The liner is a decent repro made of shiny plastic, so I also paint the outside of the liner with flat OD paint to make it look more correct.  I can provide either infantry or airborne liners.  These liners have OD7 webbing and are green inside, so not the most accurate, however most non-reenacting folks don't know the difference and most likely won't even see the inside of the liner. These fit both WW2 and postwar shells but fit a tad tight. Overall, I'm happy with them seeing how expensive USGI liners are becoming these days.  I don't yet have liners up for sale on the Etsy site but should soon.


These helmets are strictly for reenacting and/or display purposes. If you're a WW2 reenactor or just want a nice display piece, these are for you.  They look great as the photos below can attest to.

The M1C from the comparison photo above.

An infantry helmet I created for my 41st Armored Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Division impression.  The 2nd Armored emblem was hand painted and the entire helmet lightly aged to give it that combat-used look.

Photos of the above helmet in use, along with another one of my infantry helmets being worn by a fellow reenactor at an airsoft game.

Here's an M1C airborne helmet I created for myself out of a rusted late-WW2 shell.  Detail shots are included, as well as shots of the airborne liner.

Showing the airborne chinstraps.

Detail shot of the corking and the chinstrap bar tack.

The repro airborne liner.  The scuffs are from being in the shell.

Interior shot.  The exterior was also shiny plastic until painted.

How I intend to use it: with a piece of camo parachute material, as was occasionally done by paratroopers and infantrymen alike.

Some comparison shots of my M1C (left) and an early-war infantry M-1 (right).  Note that the paint color of original shells often differed depending upon manufacturer and the period of the war they were made, just like original webgear and uniforms throughout the war.  There was no perfect standard.  While different, both the reproduction and original helmets shown in the photos below are accurate for the Second World War.

Detail of the corking.

Liners.  Repro on the left, original on the right.

So, if you're interested either go to the Houndstooth Haberdashery and check out your options and pricing or contact me at houndstoothkid@hotmail.com.  I look forward to being able to recreate a piece of history for you to wear and display.

Project: Old-Fashioned Tailoring Meets Modern 'Combat' Jacket

Years ago for paintball I bought a "Tru-Spec" jacket in a civilian variant of woodland MARPAT. Well, for some reason I bought it in a large size (42R-45R) even though I'm a medium (39R). Because of this I never used the jacket and threw it in the closet. 

Well, I'm getting into airsoft and decided to check out the jacket again. Yup, still too large; actually it looked like a balloon on me. So rather than put it away and never use it I decided to try a fun little sewing project. Check it out below.

Here's the jacket front just to give you an idea (pardon the pics, they don't show colors very accurately).

click images to enlarge

While I didn't get any "before" pics of the back, my jacket had just a plain back like any other shirt or jacket you might own. It looked like this:

Well, on each back seam I took in about 1 1/4", making the jacket fit me a lot better. I pinned and then sewed the pleats just under the armpit where I then opened it up, did some interesting pressing, pinning and sewing, and gave the jacket a bi-swing back with a gusset at each shoulder as well as open gussets on the jacket skirt. 

Here's the straight-on view of the back: 

What is a bi-swing back? Below is a WW2 service jacket with bi-swing gussets and belted back. These are old-fashioned features rarely seen on suits or coats today but were pretty commonplace back in the 1930s-1940s.

The bi-swing gussets were hidden 'boxes' of extra material and were there to allow the wearer to move further and more comfortably, especially considering the M39 service jacket shown was meant to be used in combat. 

I added these gussets to my jacket. Here is the left gusset during the pinning stage while at rest:

And here is the gusset in use and extended:

 I took some more inspiration from the WW2 service jacket I posted up above.

It has a piece of elastic connecting the two inner pieces of the shoulder gussets together, keeping them organized, flat, and pulled in while at rest: 

I added a piece of elastic between the two internal 'blades' of my jacket's gussets, producing the same result as the WW2 jacket.  Without elastic the fairly flimsy fabric of the MARPAT jacket renders the gussets pretty much useless: there isn't enough 'weight' in the fabric to push the gussets back in.  Hence the need for it in this garment.

Now, with just a plain seam below the shoulder gussets the bottom of the jacket back would have been a tad tighter than I like and I wanted better mobility so I opened it up from just below the shoulder gussets all the way to the bottom of the jacket skirt. What previously would have been just a seam is now pleated just like the shoulder gusset. At rest it just lays flat while in use it can expand, giving me extra mobility and room to move.

Here's an illustration of a similar gusset in use on the black overcoat: 

My jacket's right side gusset at rest: 

And expanded:

Here are a couple more shots of the finished product, well fitted yet with enough features to give me extra mobility.

There are a few minor things I'd do differently if I had another chance and a couple areas of pulling/wrinkling that could be fixed but I'm quite happy with how it turned out.  It will serve me well for the intended purpose and I look forward to using it in the future.  

It's always fun combining old and new techniques and technologies to produce something new and better.  That's true innovation.