Armour version 1.2

I came home from the larp at the start of the month with a list of repairs as long as my arm. In good time, the bracers were shortened, the helm rivets replaced, then re-hammered, then cussed at some, before I finally got some luck in setting the damn things. Snap-fasteners were replaced in my trouser-skirt and the sewing was completed.So it makes perfect sense that I leave the biggest job, that of replacing the fastenings on my bodice, to the last minute. Completed it just a couple of hours ago in fact.

My original armour, since I have consumate skill at avoiding cameras on the larp field, can be seen here. I've made a few corsets in my time, so my original plan was to go with what I knew, but with the thickness of the leather, this didn't work so well. The second attempt, which I didn't get picks of, involved replacing the busk with swing hooks. This worked well initially, but as the leather began to soften to my shape, it lost the rigidity it needed for the damn things to stay closed on their own. It's really just as well I didn't see much combat last time.

Time for another change. This time I decided to go with good, reliable buckles. But I had to remove the riveted swing hooks first. A bit of reading told me that I would have to drill through the back of the rivet to remove it. If only it were that simple. I did the drilling, but had to beg the brute strength of a friend to remove them, who swiftly discovered for me that the actual trick was to drill then use an appropriately sized, as in, about the size of the rivet head itself, to cut the rivets off. Noted for future projects that.

Oh, and that last buckle? The way it looks like it's on backwards? Totally deliberate. *nods*

And now the packing is complete. I'm sure, as usual, that I've forgotten something. Tis time to pamper. Why pamper before going to spend four days in cold and mud you might ask? Well, with the weather being for cold and drizzle, if I'm going to get wet and miserable, I'm going to smell of jasmine while I do it.

Leather helm

Twas the night before Moot, 

And all through the house,

There was bluster and panic, 

And kit strewn about...

Sometimes, you can't wait for motivation, you have to just kick yourself and get going. Other times you need to wait because the inspiration just isn't there. Such was the case with my new larp armour helm. I played with cardboard pieces for two weeks, and it wasn't until tuesday that the design finally came together in my head. 

When I had all the pieces assembled, I maked out where they overlapped and transferred these markings to the leather.The centre of each piece also has a strip of leather runing down the centre to help the pieces hold their shape. And if you're going to add in a functional piece, may as well make it pretty. 

So a bit of fussing around and it's complete! There's a couple of pieces that aren't quite right, I think I wasn't holding them steady when I set the rivets, but I'm delighted to have it ready to try out over the weekend. The helm is held in place by a piece of elastic that sit under the leather going back from the strap at the temples - anything I could do to avoid using a chin strap.

Now, here's hoping with getting this done last minute, I don't bring on the curse...

Armouring up

With the best part of a year to do the work in, I have waited, once again, until two weeks before the event to work on the remainder of my larp armour.

Firstly, I finally made my bracers. I had originally planned to make these in the same fashion as my torso/body armour, but when I went to put the pieces together, these pre-prepared and previously rejected bracer blanks caught my eye and with some burgundy leather straps, turned out to be just right for what I wanted.

They're plain at the moment, but I like the classic look. And it fits with my character currently being a cadet. When I get promoted, I can doll them up a little.

The helm is coming along, but a good deal more slowly. Bracers I've made before, but I'm fussing quite a bit about the helm, because I want it to look right. And given how short I am, I want to make sure if looks good from all angles.

So when you're making a clothing mock up, you use a cheap cotton or similar, something that will imitate the final fabric. When making a mock up for a leather project, you use cardboard.

I feel like a kid again, getting to play with coloured cardboard, cutting it up into pretty shapes.  The styrofoam head is essential for this mock up. I'm pinning cardboard pieces to it until the shape is right, then I should be able to transfer them directly to the leather. And if luck is with me, it'll be ready for next weekend!

"You have nothing to be worried about. I'm here to help."

And the plague doctor mask is finished!

It's not perfect, but for my first attempt at leather mask making, I'm quite pleased with it. It fits my face nicely and I think it will lend itself well to being modified for future incarnations.

I've sewn up a simple muslin cone to hold the flowers and spices that will form the very last part of the mask. I've decided on a mix of carnations with cinnamon, cloves, and possibly some nutmeg, but I won't be mixing that up until a day or two before the event, because I want the flowers to be as fresh as possible and the event is still four weeks away.

And now to write up my documentation... ugh, the curse of the blank page....

I know now why I was putting off the next step of the plague doctor mask. It was the part that was intimidating me the most - setting the glass lens.

I shaped a piece of leather in the manner of 14th century glasses and soaked it overnight to make it more pliable. I could believe the difference the soaking made, it was so easy to shape the leather around the purchased glass discs. It's just a shame I procrastinated while sewing, meaning the second eye piece, the one on the right, had mostly dried out by the time I sewed it down. The eye pieces I think will need a little more shaping to finish them off, though I'm wary of trimming too much and having the lens fall out of their settings.


So now the mask is mostly done! I'll need to apply straps and buckle to secure the mask around my head, possibly with another across the top of the head for comfort. Plague doctors of the 14th century believed in the strong scents of flowers like roses and carnations, herbs and spices, or even vinegar soaked sponges to keep at bay the miasma or bad air that was believe to cause disease. The nose will need a muslin bag I think, as I don't want to end up with cinammon scented rose petals trapped for all time at the end of the nose.

And now it's time for me to get in a little quick baking, because home baking always makes long car journeys go quicker. Especially when they involve getting up at stupid-o-clock in the morning on a saturday.

This week I had that most frustrating of experiences - a dead end interwebs search. I was searching for an Edwardian era walking skirt or corset skirt of a particular style, but despite bringing to bear my personal researcher and asking a community of dressmakers: no joy. It's forced me to realise the internet does not have everything. It lied to me. 

So I took the only resonable course of action and bought more fabric than I strictly need right now. Some people buy comfort food. I buy comfort craft. And ice-cream.
The purple brocade is a stretch fabric, but I plan on using it for a sew-along I'll be starting at the end of the month. The green fabric is taffeta, my absolute fabric fabric. At 4 metres for only €20 I couldn't pass it up.

In the mean time, work on the plague doctor mask has been progressing nicely. I have the beak assembled and have learned not to store arkward shapes like spools of thread there anymore. The glass circles have arrived, so all that's left is the shaping of the last face piece. I've been reassured that the stitching I've been using is period (pre 17th century), so very shortly I'll have to start putting together my documentation.

The rest of the weekend passed and I did indeed manage to start on my A&S project. A leather plague doctor mask.

Behold my elite leather working set up with high tech binder clips.

I used a cream leather from my stash and an imitation sinew that I've been looking to use for a while which goes beautifully well with the tone of the leather. I pre-pierced the sewing holes with an awl and have been sewing the seams in what I could best describe as a variation of a butt seam.

The first part of the nose seam was hard going, but after a completely necessary ice-cream break, my hands remembered what they were doing and got properly into the swing of the stitch. I should be able to complete the lower part of the nose and hopefully the glass circles I've ordered for the eye pieces won't be too much longer about arriving.




This mask may well end up being a prototype so I can learn the method before I remake it, this time paying proper attention to the historical methods.