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Materials:
This is very simple armor
to make. It's called Brigandine armor, or open-faced Brigandine. Basically what it is is a shirt of small square
plates. This armor got it's name because brigands would wear such plates
between two layers of fabric so that you could not tell they were wearing armor
until they got close. This armor will be open faced so you can see the plates.
Oh, this armor will not fit a woman correctly.
Leather Selection for Plates:
You can use any kind of
leather for the plates, but to meet SCA armor guidelines you'll want to use veg
tanned leather atleast 1/4th an inch thick, or wax hardened leather atleast
1/8th an inch thick. Or better yet 1/4th an inch thick that has been hardened
in wax. If you just want this for costuming you can use any kind of leather you
want, but the less thick and rigid it is the less it'll look like actual
functional armor.
Leather Selection for Shirt:
I usually recommend suede
to make the shirt (sleeveless) for this armor. You could use a thicker leather,
or you could use canvas. It comes down to preference. In my opinion though some
nice black suede will perform the best. A pigskin split like
across the shoulders. Tape the yoke pattern
and the back pattern into one piece. You'll notice that the back pattern is
wider than the yoke. This is because most shirts have a box pleat in the back
for extra room when you reach forward. Since this jerkin has no sleeves, it
does not need that extra room, so fold the back pattern until it matches the
yoke. Make the same marks for the waistline in the back as for the front.,
adding that ubiquitous seam allowance.
Here is an important
point about the pattern. The sleeve opening on the back pattern is deeper than
on the front. Leave it that way. It's the side seams that have to match in
length. So use the waistline to match the front and back, not the sleeve
opening.
Here is where we discuss
the skirting for the jerkin. Cut strips of fabric about as wide as your hand,
plus extra all around for the seam allowance, and a little longer than the
bottom of each bodice piece, to become the skirt. For the two front parts of
the skirt, if you want it to stand out a little, then cut it slightly
straighter than the bottom of the bodice, though still slightly curved. If you
want it to stand out dramatically, make it perfectly straight. You cut the
skirt longer that the hem of the bodice to compensate for that curve. But for
the back skirt, you have to cut it slightly more curved than the straight hem
of the back bodice piece, in order to get it to lay flat against your
posterior. Now pin the tops of the skirt pieces to the bottom of the bodice
pieces, with right sides together, to see exactly where the corners of the
bodice meet the skirt. IF you have more fabric beyond those marks, trim it off
evenly, so that you only have the required seam allowance left.
For
the piccadils. Basically these are squares that are sewn to the bottom hem. The
can overlap a bit, so there is no empty space between them. As with the
optional skirt above, make the squares about the width of your hand, plus 5/8
inch for a seam allowance. Clip the corners of each piccadil as shown. Fold the
seam allowances under, at about the halfway point, and press them down. Then
fold them under the rest of the way, and sew them down. This is a rolled hem
finish. Note: you can also zig-zag the edges, and then you don't need to do
anything more than fold the seam allowance all the way under and sew it down.
What we will use are the
patterns for the front of the shirt and the collar, and we will alter the
pattern for the back of the shirt.
Typically, a jerkin extended just below the
waistline, and on the pattern you will see where the waistline is marked. Here
is where we focus on the length of a jerkin. To do this, put on a shirt that
buttons all the way up the front, and measure down the center from just where
the collar joins the shirt, to your navel. The navel is the marker for the
waistline. Add about an inch to that measurement and compare it to the pattern.
If it matches the pattern, great. If it is longer or shorter than the pattern,
adjust the pattern accordingly. From this point, we determine the length of the
jerkin below the waist. The simplest jerkin,
fell to the tips of your fingers, if your arms are hanging down, and had
no piccadils. Not much else needs to be done if you want a real peasant look.
If you want piccadills, then mark the pattern about 3 inches below the
waistline.
As a side note, you'll
see 5/8 inch mentioned numerous times on this page. That's a seam allowance
added to whatever piece you are cutting. It's extra fabric beyond the actually
seam line. If you cut the altered patterns exactly at the line you draw,
without a seam allowance, it would end up being shorter or smaller than your
measured. So whenever necessary, special note will be made to add a seam
allowance of 5/8 or an inch.
On slightly upscale
jerkins, the main portion of the jerkin, called the bodice, would have the
lowest point in front end just below the bottom of your belt buckle, and the
sides would be at the waistline making a curved hem. Then a skirt would be
added that flared out a bit to lay flat against the hips and act as backing for
the piccadils (the flower-petal-looking things you see below.) The skirt could
be any width from two inches to as wide as your hand. So decide before you cut
whether you want a skirt or not, and then how wide you want the skirt.
The back of the jerkin will use the back of
the shirt pattern combining it with the yoke. You'll notice the back of a shirt
has two pieces, one that stretches across the shoulders, and one that makes up
the rest of the back. The yoke is the part that runs
mentioned above will cost you around $18,
though depending on your size you may need 2 of them.
Measurements:
You will have 16 total plates making up the
front and back of your armor (and 4 on each side). Measure the width of your
chest (just the front armpit to armpit) and from the base of your neck (collar
bone) to your waist. Divide each number by 4. The 2 numbers you end up with are
the dimensions of your plates. Cut 40 plates of those dimensions out of your
thick leather. Then if you aren't waxing your plates punch one hole in each
corner of each plate approx 1/4th an inch from the edge and skip the next
section.
Hardening Leather
First of all you can only
harden vegetable tanned leather. That being said you need to first soak all
your plates and then dry them. If you do not have a whitney punch then punch
holes as described above in them while they are wet, it's easier. Once they are
completely dry, and I mean completely (give it a day), you can wax them.
Waxing leather can be
dangerous since wax can ignite into flame. What you can do is stick your candle
wax in a disposable roasting pan in a double-boiler setup in your oven at 250
degrees or so until it melts. Then put it on the stove and stick a burner on
low to keep it heater. Using tongs that you don't care if they get waxy dip
each plate in the leather for a couple of minutes and let it absorb. Then
simply pull it out, let the excess drip off, and wipe it with a paper towel.
When it dries it'll be as hard as wood and as durable as leather. A great
material. If you have a whitney punch you can now punch holes in it. I find its
easier to use a whitney than a leather punch so that's why I recommend waiting
and using a whitney if you have it. Now
some people will recommend paraffin wax instead of candle wax because it is
cheaper. Well I've found that candle wax is easier to find, and was pretty
cheap. You can get all the wax you need for a couple of bucks. Check at a local
craft store like "Michaels."
Laying Things Out
In the diagram to the
left the black squares are your plates and the red bars are where you will be
putting grommets, you will need two identical pieces that look like this.
Layout your plates on the suede as shown to get a pattern and then cut out the
suede. Once your suede is cut lay the plates out again to make sure everything
looks okay. Then stick a pen or pencil down each hole in each plate to mark
where holes need to be made in the suede. You can make such holes using a punch
or an awl or other sharp sticking device. Note: the drawing leaves the
shoulders out. You can make the shoulders in a variety of ways. If your suede
is big enough you can simply make straps coming out of the shoulders that are
about 3 inches wide and a foot long. If the suede is bigger still you can make
your entire set of armor out of one piece of suede by laying everything out as
if your armor were laying face up and unlaced. If not you can cut out the
pieces as shown and later make 2 shoulder straps that you can either rivet or
sew on.
Putting it all together:
Now its time to do
rivets. Follow the instructions that can with your rivet setter and put in
those nearly 200 rivets. You'll also now attach shoulder straps if you need to,
and finally make holes and attach grommets on the sides so you can lace your
armor up.
Variations and Accessories
You armor is now done!
You can add accessories to it in the form of any shiny piece of metal you can
get your hands on. Additionally you can make the suede a little longer and
include a spot to wear a belt and a built in armor skirt.
If you have a chain mail shirt this armor is
the perfect accessory for it. It not only looks great over chain mail, but also
it is added protection.
- Approx 7 Sq feet of leather for plates.
- 200 Rivets and Rivet Setting Tool
- One large suede pigskin split (approx 8
sq feet) - Leather Punch
- Ruler, Scissors
- Grommets, approx 20
- White Candle Wax (big chunk)
This is very simple armorto make. It's called Brigandine armor, or open-faced Brigandine. Basically what it is is a shirt of small square
plates. This armor got it's name because brigands would wear such plates
between two layers of fabric so that you could not tell they were wearing armor
until they got close. This armor will be open faced so you can see the plates.
Oh, this armor will not fit a woman correctly.
Leather Selection for Plates:
You can use any kind of
leather for the plates, but to meet SCA armor guidelines you'll want to use veg
tanned leather atleast 1/4th an inch thick, or wax hardened leather atleast
1/8th an inch thick. Or better yet 1/4th an inch thick that has been hardened
in wax. If you just want this for costuming you can use any kind of leather you
want, but the less thick and rigid it is the less it'll look like actual
functional armor.
Leather Selection for Shirt:
I usually recommend suede
to make the shirt (sleeveless) for this armor. You could use a thicker leather,
or you could use canvas. It comes down to preference. In my opinion though some
nice black suede will perform the best. A pigskin split like
across the shoulders. Tape the yoke pattern
and the back pattern into one piece. You'll notice that the back pattern is
wider than the yoke. This is because most shirts have a box pleat in the back
for extra room when you reach forward. Since this jerkin has no sleeves, it
does not need that extra room, so fold the back pattern until it matches the
yoke. Make the same marks for the waistline in the back as for the front.,
adding that ubiquitous seam allowance.
Here is an important
point about the pattern. The sleeve opening on the back pattern is deeper than
on the front. Leave it that way. It's the side seams that have to match in
length. So use the waistline to match the front and back, not the sleeve
opening.
Here is where we discuss
the skirting for the jerkin. Cut strips of fabric about as wide as your hand,
plus extra all around for the seam allowance, and a little longer than the
bottom of each bodice piece, to become the skirt. For the two front parts of
the skirt, if you want it to stand out a little, then cut it slightly
straighter than the bottom of the bodice, though still slightly curved. If you
want it to stand out dramatically, make it perfectly straight. You cut the
skirt longer that the hem of the bodice to compensate for that curve. But for
the back skirt, you have to cut it slightly more curved than the straight hem
of the back bodice piece, in order to get it to lay flat against your
posterior. Now pin the tops of the skirt pieces to the bottom of the bodice
pieces, with right sides together, to see exactly where the corners of the
bodice meet the skirt. IF you have more fabric beyond those marks, trim it off
evenly, so that you only have the required seam allowance left.
For
the piccadils. Basically these are squares that are sewn to the bottom hem. The
can overlap a bit, so there is no empty space between them. As with the
optional skirt above, make the squares about the width of your hand, plus 5/8
inch for a seam allowance. Clip the corners of each piccadil as shown. Fold the
seam allowances under, at about the halfway point, and press them down. Then
fold them under the rest of the way, and sew them down. This is a rolled hem
finish. Note: you can also zig-zag the edges, and then you don't need to do
anything more than fold the seam allowance all the way under and sew it down.
What we will use are the
patterns for the front of the shirt and the collar, and we will alter the
pattern for the back of the shirt.
Typically, a jerkin extended just below the
waistline, and on the pattern you will see where the waistline is marked. Here
is where we focus on the length of a jerkin. To do this, put on a shirt that
buttons all the way up the front, and measure down the center from just where
the collar joins the shirt, to your navel. The navel is the marker for the
waistline. Add about an inch to that measurement and compare it to the pattern.
If it matches the pattern, great. If it is longer or shorter than the pattern,
adjust the pattern accordingly. From this point, we determine the length of the
jerkin below the waist. The simplest jerkin,
fell to the tips of your fingers, if your arms are hanging down, and had
no piccadils. Not much else needs to be done if you want a real peasant look.
If you want piccadills, then mark the pattern about 3 inches below the
waistline.
As a side note, you'll
see 5/8 inch mentioned numerous times on this page. That's a seam allowance
added to whatever piece you are cutting. It's extra fabric beyond the actually
seam line. If you cut the altered patterns exactly at the line you draw,
without a seam allowance, it would end up being shorter or smaller than your
measured. So whenever necessary, special note will be made to add a seam
allowance of 5/8 or an inch.
On slightly upscale
jerkins, the main portion of the jerkin, called the bodice, would have the
lowest point in front end just below the bottom of your belt buckle, and the
sides would be at the waistline making a curved hem. Then a skirt would be
added that flared out a bit to lay flat against the hips and act as backing for
the piccadils (the flower-petal-looking things you see below.) The skirt could
be any width from two inches to as wide as your hand. So decide before you cut
whether you want a skirt or not, and then how wide you want the skirt.
The back of the jerkin will use the back of
the shirt pattern combining it with the yoke. You'll notice the back of a shirt
has two pieces, one that stretches across the shoulders, and one that makes up
the rest of the back. The yoke is the part that runs
mentioned above will cost you around $18,
though depending on your size you may need 2 of them.
Measurements:
You will have 16 total plates making up the
front and back of your armor (and 4 on each side). Measure the width of your
chest (just the front armpit to armpit) and from the base of your neck (collar
bone) to your waist. Divide each number by 4. The 2 numbers you end up with are
the dimensions of your plates. Cut 40 plates of those dimensions out of your
thick leather. Then if you aren't waxing your plates punch one hole in each
corner of each plate approx 1/4th an inch from the edge and skip the next
section.
Hardening Leather
First of all you can only
harden vegetable tanned leather. That being said you need to first soak all
your plates and then dry them. If you do not have a whitney punch then punch
holes as described above in them while they are wet, it's easier. Once they are
completely dry, and I mean completely (give it a day), you can wax them.
Waxing leather can be
dangerous since wax can ignite into flame. What you can do is stick your candle
wax in a disposable roasting pan in a double-boiler setup in your oven at 250
degrees or so until it melts. Then put it on the stove and stick a burner on
low to keep it heater. Using tongs that you don't care if they get waxy dip
each plate in the leather for a couple of minutes and let it absorb. Then
simply pull it out, let the excess drip off, and wipe it with a paper towel.
When it dries it'll be as hard as wood and as durable as leather. A great
material. If you have a whitney punch you can now punch holes in it. I find its
easier to use a whitney than a leather punch so that's why I recommend waiting
and using a whitney if you have it. Now
some people will recommend paraffin wax instead of candle wax because it is
cheaper. Well I've found that candle wax is easier to find, and was pretty
cheap. You can get all the wax you need for a couple of bucks. Check at a local
craft store like "Michaels."
Laying Things Out
In the diagram to theleft the black squares are your plates and the red bars are where you will be
putting grommets, you will need two identical pieces that look like this.
Layout your plates on the suede as shown to get a pattern and then cut out the
suede. Once your suede is cut lay the plates out again to make sure everything
looks okay. Then stick a pen or pencil down each hole in each plate to mark
where holes need to be made in the suede. You can make such holes using a punch
or an awl or other sharp sticking device. Note: the drawing leaves the
shoulders out. You can make the shoulders in a variety of ways. If your suede
is big enough you can simply make straps coming out of the shoulders that are
about 3 inches wide and a foot long. If the suede is bigger still you can make
your entire set of armor out of one piece of suede by laying everything out as
if your armor were laying face up and unlaced. If not you can cut out the
pieces as shown and later make 2 shoulder straps that you can either rivet or
sew on.
Putting it all together:
Now its time to do
rivets. Follow the instructions that can with your rivet setter and put in
those nearly 200 rivets. You'll also now attach shoulder straps if you need to,
and finally make holes and attach grommets on the sides so you can lace your
armor up.
Variations and Accessories
You armor is now done!
You can add accessories to it in the form of any shiny piece of metal you can
get your hands on. Additionally you can make the suede a little longer and
include a spot to wear a belt and a built in armor skirt.
If you have a chain mail shirt this armor is
the perfect accessory for it. It not only looks great over chain mail, but also
it is added protection.