I got a Balmoral hat yesterday at the Scottish Festival yesterday. I have a few quest

[MacRobert's Reply]

Originally the ribbons at the back would have been tied in a bow as a means of adjusting the size. Now they are just for show but best tied if you wear it in windy conditions!

[Angela Kaye Bodine]

Thank you MacRobert's , I appreciate your answer and help.. Angie

[Angela Kaye Bodine]

Thank u Father Bill , its cool. I appreciate all on what you said... Angie ......pictures soon ... ...

[Angela Kaye Bodine]

Thank you Peter Crowe , definitely will not be in a rush, sometimes it happens when you buy stuff and when young kids have had enough lol..I will keep the Hackle safe, ... The long ribbons in back will definitely see which I like best.. I thank you again ... Angie

[BCAC]

My advice would be to not use the red hackle, Angie, like McMurdo and Father Bill stated it has particular associations with the Black Watch (3 SCOTS), and the Black Watch of Canada. As to the black ribbon cockade I would leave it bare until you find a badge/clan crest that you like or feel an affinity with. With Navy and Black bonnets I have tried tied ribbons and untied, I prefer them untied if the bonnet came that way but that is entirely a matter of personal choice.

Good advice, Peter. Mind you, I prefer the look of the balmoral ribbons untied too, I just don't like it when the wind whips them into my eye so I tend to tie them now!

[creagdhubh]

Good advice, Peter. Mind you, I prefer the look of the balmoral ribbons untied too, I just don't like it when the wind whips them into my eye so I tend to tie them now!

I do both! My Mackie Balmorals in Lovat green, Lovat blue, and fawn, all came with the ribbons tied and that's the way I like them. My darker coloured Mackie Balmorals in black and navy came with loose ribbons and are stiched together a few inches down in the same manner as a Glengarry bonnet. Of course being a wee bit OCD, I properly press the loose ribbon tails with a pressing cloth before wearing.

[James Hood]

A bit of confusion, here.

Napoleonic era British infantry shakos (stovepipe hats, later with a bill as the "Waterloo" pattern) had plumes / pompoms / hackles in front which designated the man's role.

The battalion's Grenadier company's were white, the Light company's geeen, the Line companies' red and white. Vendors at Chicago festival last year were selling all of the above, plus parti-coloured yellow, orage, red, blue.

They appeared to be sold as hat devices for brimmed hats or Balmorals.

H E L P...

[Nathan]

Ribbons in the back - tied in a neat bow and, if necessary, a small, discreet stitch to keep the bow in place.

Kilt pins go on your kilt. Wear your chief's crest encircled in a buckle. If you don't have a clan, xmarksthescot.com has a very nice clan badge for sale and you are certainly a member of this family. It is also perfectly acceptable to wear no badge at all on your bonnet.


http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...710#post902710


If you place the ribbons directly at the back of your head, the bonnet badge will be in the correct spot. On me it's no directly over the left eye, but more between the left eye and left ear as opposed to a beret which is directly over the left eye.

[Pleater]

Yes - the weight of the badge is such that it slides down, pulling the 'jaunt' of the cap down with it. By placing a piece of stiff fabric or something which resists the folding inside the cap and pinning the badge through it, or attaching stiffener to cap some other way, it usually stays where it ought to be and the cap retains its jaunty angle.

I have used various ploys, safety pins, sewing, lacing through punched holes - not glue - not yet - to keep the layers from moving out of alignment.

Military berets have a strip of leather sewn into the brim, a tongue pointing upwards, for the same purpose.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: