Hand-sewing a pourpoint and aketon, some lessons learnt
Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2010 5:18 am
Introduction
So I got fed up with the bulk and ill fit of my GDFB gambeson under armour and decided I needed a slimmer option with greater range of movement. In the end I settled for a sleeveless pourpoint, to which I will point the leg armour, and a sleeved, long, aketon that provides the foundation for the armour. My hard-kit will fit the style of Western Germany/Northeastern France 1345-1355. For my soft kit I decided to go a more speculative route and deviate a bit from the more exact dating of the hard-kit. I did this as I want the solution that I feel work best, while at the same time I’m not building my kit for re-enactment but for WMA/HEMA. From my perspective that means I have more leeway in experimenting with the hidden parts of the kit.
I’m not sewing by hand to be historically accurate -- its just that I’m really bad at using sewing machines. It went faster for me to just sew everything by hand than to borrow a machine and try to learn how to use it.
Pourpoint
The sleeveless pourpoint is made of two layers of linen that I patterned to be really tight around the waist to help pulling in the stomach and alleviate some weight from the shoulders when pointing leg armour. To facilitate that I also used the type of seam used for tents or jeans on the shoulders. Don’t know how historical that is but it gives a flat and strong seam. I haven’t done the holes for the points as that will wait until I’ve finished my leg armour.
Aketon
Over the pourpoint goes the aketon with “grandes assiettesâ€
So I got fed up with the bulk and ill fit of my GDFB gambeson under armour and decided I needed a slimmer option with greater range of movement. In the end I settled for a sleeveless pourpoint, to which I will point the leg armour, and a sleeved, long, aketon that provides the foundation for the armour. My hard-kit will fit the style of Western Germany/Northeastern France 1345-1355. For my soft kit I decided to go a more speculative route and deviate a bit from the more exact dating of the hard-kit. I did this as I want the solution that I feel work best, while at the same time I’m not building my kit for re-enactment but for WMA/HEMA. From my perspective that means I have more leeway in experimenting with the hidden parts of the kit.
I’m not sewing by hand to be historically accurate -- its just that I’m really bad at using sewing machines. It went faster for me to just sew everything by hand than to borrow a machine and try to learn how to use it.
Pourpoint
The sleeveless pourpoint is made of two layers of linen that I patterned to be really tight around the waist to help pulling in the stomach and alleviate some weight from the shoulders when pointing leg armour. To facilitate that I also used the type of seam used for tents or jeans on the shoulders. Don’t know how historical that is but it gives a flat and strong seam. I haven’t done the holes for the points as that will wait until I’ve finished my leg armour.
Aketon
Over the pourpoint goes the aketon with “grandes assiettesâ€