I have been dreaming of this project for a while and I am finally making it happen!
Years ago, I bought a Yakkay helmet from my local bike shop for a fantastic deal (70% off). It comes with a replaceable cloth cover, and looks like a cool hat rather than a dorky helmet. This thing became part of my identity, and I wore it for +/- 15 years.
You're supposed to replace a helmet every three years. Oops.
Anyway it was time to replace it, and obviously I wanted another Yakkay.
Trying to find a place to buy one (I'm in Canada, they're from Denmark) I found this gorgeous straw cover and fell in love! But €119 + shipping + customs/duties + the actual helmet is far out of my price range.
So I didn't get it. But I didn't give up.
I got a helmet with a different cover (the Tokyo black rain cover) from Green Street, a bike shop in Peterborough (not exactly local, but as local as I could get).
Next was searching for millinery suppliers that had what I needed at a price I could handle with reasonable shipping costs. Found what I was looking for at the Petersham's Etsy store. I think it was $14 for the capeline and another $14 for the shipping.
Then I had to figure out the engineering required to keep the cover on the helmet. The cover has a sturdy band attached to wide elastic and a mesh liner. I got a yard of mesh for $10 at a local fabric store, and had wide black elastic and nylon webbing in my stash from previous projects (snowpants and a Hallowe'en costume).
I drafted a pattern from the existing covers, which was quite tricky, because what keeps it all together is tension. Fit has to be perfect, and the helmet is hard and slippery, so not like a dressform where you can drape and pin. I started with wide seam allowance and adjusted down as necessary, and it was necessary multiple times, because it seemed pretty good until I added the band, and then it seemed pretty good until I added the elastic.
Anyway I am finally happy with the base! It stays on!
Next step: shaping the straw capeline with steam, and figure out how to attach to the liner...
