I was doing pretty good about posting new projects here. Then I switched jobs twice and moved to a different state. Now I'm trying to get myself back into the swing of posting some things. Here goes!
Last weekend I went to a new LARP, Dammerung . It's a Saga LARP based on Nordic cultures and myths. It was the perfect place for me to use all of the Swedish and Viking knowledge I've amassed for the SCA in a new way. AND I already had most of the things I needed. Well, clothes and armor wise. The lamellar armor I had made for the SCA 5 years ago was perfect for this. I love being able to use costume/garb/kit things at more than one venue. The game was pretty awesome. It's in it's initial phases, and I can't wait to see what becomes of it. Also, LOTS of people loved my armor. It was odd and wonderful at the same time to get some admiration for something I had made in 2013 that the "new" feeling was gone from. A couple people asked me where I got it and when I said I made it, they were envious and curious. This seems like a perfect excuse to write a new post.
This is my costume for that game. I'm really very happy how it turned out. Especially because it was a bit thrown together. Though I didn't make the dresses I'm wearing, I've made other similar dresses. I'll be making some more for nest game. These were borrowed. The shield was a borrowed one. (There might be a future post about how I'm making my LARP safe shield.) The ax was custom made by Corvidae Cordis. He's such an amazing foamsmith! Mad props to him. Everything else was my work.
Back to the armor.
In 2013, 3 SCA brothers and I decided we wanted to have more period and persona correct armor. We each had coat of plates or Kydex armor in some way, shape, or form. But, we all have Norse personas. After some research and pricing things out, we ended up going with pre-cut and stained lames. We got them here. Viking Leather Crafts . The guy from the shop I emailed with was very nice and I'd absolutely recommend anything he sells. Some of the LARP folks also got shoes from him that were pretty great too. Between the 4 of us, I ordered 1200 plates. 2 of my buddies are big guys (read 6' and 250-300lbs) and me and the other guy are 5"11" and closer to 200lb. 1200 lames was more than enough. I think we all ended up with some extra. We got a giant spool of 550 cord. Something like 1000 yards. It was more than enough. I think some is still floating around years later.
My armor took 175 lames. It was a mix of their medium and chocolate brown. More medium than chocolate. It looks like the site only sells black now.
My bigger friend used 236 (thank you gmail for keeping old emails).
And now for some close up photos, armor styled by my pillow.
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| Back of armor |
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| Front of armor |
It's mostly the same pattern as the back.
1 row 7
1 row 7 complete lames + 2 3/4 lames
1 row 13
3 rows 11
The front I made of a design so that it fit my bust a little better and more flatteringly.
At 2 spots on the front, I added some space. There are 2 lames laced regularly at the top, but the bottoms overlap, in the blue circle. The green dots are the lacing points I used. The middle row of lacing points don't line up exactly, but they still lace.
On the edges of the center front, I used some incomplete lames to cover the arm hole better.
The red outline is the general shape of the lame. It's missing just the corner. The green dots are the lacing holes I used. I made it up as I want. When you cut leather, you can help smooth out the cut edge by rubbing the edge on a block of wood.
You can adjust those as needed to fit you. Or, if you don't need the front to have that extra space, the back will be the same general style as the back.
Some of the others used metal belt buckles for the sides. I decided that might mean I would need a buddy to get in and out of my armor, which I'm not a fan of. I choose this design.
The back has the leather strips. They are sliced with a hole at the front end of the slice (in orange). The entire opening, not only the circle, needs to be large enough for the button. The front hole only needs to be as large as the 550 cord, and NOT the size of the button. If it's too large, the button will pull through.
I used 550 cord to make knots. Specifically, Celtic button knots. I followed this video.
I like this design because it has cord on both sides of the button. One end to lace into the armor, and the other to help pull the button through the leather strips.
The shoulder and upper arms are a basic pattern.
2 rows of 4
2 rows of 6
I have a single piece of 550 cord that joins the edges together under my arm that I just pull tight and loosely bow tie to keep it tight around my arm. The tops are joined to the front and back at the points. I like the shoulders flexible so I can throw those SCA spear shots more easily.
Now that we've gone over the general design, lets jump to how to lace the lames together.
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| lacing pattern. Photo from Wikipedia |
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| Outside lacing pattern |
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| Inside lacing pattern |
550 cord easily heats and melts. For each piece of cord, I cut a piece (longer than I thoughts I would need) and melted the ends. While the melty part was still soft, I used some pliers to form a bit of a point. Please don't use your finger. It will hurt. At the ends of the lacing, I made tight knots right up against the lames and then melted the cord VERY SLIGHTLY to help prevent the knots coming undone from use. Mostly, that melting was to make the cord less slick against itself. Not to attach 2 pieces together. If you melt it too much, it will degrade the strength of the cord and might fall apart.
Because I also use it for the SCA, I have my kidney protection woven in. I also put some plates under the shoulders because I like my collarbone to stay intact and Kydex and foam are cheap. I had thought about putting some Kydex on the sides over my ribs, but I haven't gotten too many shots there, knock on wood, so I don't have that for now.
I made the Kydex pieces, then had a buddy hold them against the outside while I was wearing it, and mark the right points. Then, I laced them in. I love that they are part of my armor and are therefore always in the right spot. I hated wearing weight belts.
One of the things I love about lamellar is that you can custom it to your body very easily. Lace a portion and try it on that part of your body. Add and remove pieces as you need. I preferred to lace each line independently then lace the lines together. That made it much easier to add or remove lames as needed. And, if I decide later, I can much more easily make fitting changes.
In grand total, I paid $150 for everything. Shipping of parts included. I have extra of everything. I have plans to make a new skirt of lamellar. But, it's been 5 years and that hasn't happened. Maybe one day.
I think that's it. I can't remember how long it took me to make this. It's the perfect excuse to marathon some series and lace. It's held up pretty darn well after 5 years of use. I hadn't noticed how many little marks there were until I took these photos. They are probably from rubbing up against other folks armor. I haven't needed to treat the leather at all. I've worn it in the rain because sometimes it rains at Pennsic War. Then I just made sure to hang it up and let the dry or else it'll mold. Between events, I hang it in my closet.
Tack så mycket for reading!
