The Armour Archive

I attended a great event this past week in AnTir-Sport of Kings. Sport of Kings is an acadamy for various fighting stuff from Roundshields and Greatweapons to How to care for your body after injury. One of the classes I took was Fighting Clothes for Norse Personas. The primary focus was on a good pair of fighting pants for the early period folk and good gambesons. The gambeson pattern we were taught was very similar to a side-split kyrtle. Its quilted and split up the front but a lot of the important details of a period gament were included in the gambeson design.

Armed with this knowledge, and very ill yesterday morning, I started in on my gambeson. I wanted a nice subdued color: either natural linen for periodness or black. But Bright AnTir yellow was on sale so I got that!

I managed to do the bulk of construction and I hope to have pics up soon. But if you're in AnTir and see a guy in an almost knee-length yellow gambeson, it just might be me.

Actual useful info:
Measure twice cut once. I made this mistake and had to add some on the bottom.
A good gambeson has many dollars of material in it, get a good fabric pencil for marking your lines.

Chris

[This message has been edited by Leofwine (edited 08-05-2003).]

Good luck on you endevor. I completed mine Saturday and I have fought in it twice and now it is going through the washing machine test. Unfortunately I over padded the torso area and I can not feel a blow. I must have taken a really good shot across the chest because it left tape, damn I didn't call it either. anyway looking forward to the pics

Has anybody got suggestions of what color to trim yellow with? I wanted red, but started thinking that it would probably run, leaving me with an Orange gambeson and spoil my effect.

Chris

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Leofwine:
<B>Has anybody got suggestions of what color to trim yellow with? I wanted red, but started thinking that it would probably run, leaving me with an Orange gambeson and spoil my effect.

Chris</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Maybe wash the trim a few times before sewing it to your gambeson? That might take the excess dye out of it.

Wash the trim in salt water. It's worked for me in the past.

Here's the pic of me in the gambeson.

Chris

You mentioned in the original post about fighting pants. All my attempts at fighting pants have split out in the crotch. (I even split my gi once!) Do you have patterns and/or instructions for putting the gusset in the crotch to help prevent this?

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"Do or do not. There is no try."

i wear fighting pants with a gusset, i was always blowing out the crotch in mine, ill question my wife as she is hte seemstress in the house

I'm not currently using a gusset, but it was gone over in the class. It was described as a plain rectangle of cloth, several inches wide, that goes the full length of the crotch.

Appearantly the authentic saxon/viking gusset is complex and very sturdy, virtually guranteed not to blow out throughout all of your vikinging needs, but I have never seen an actual pattern for it.

Chris

I'd apreciate any info on this, WMA. I've blown out three sets of fighting pants and one gi. All three were a medium wieght denim. The only thing I can wear, it seems, it sweat pants but they are too mundane looking for my taste. Being as we are a fantasy group I can get away with it, but I'd rather have something better.

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"Do or do not. There is no try."

Let me suggest the period way... Braies and Chausses! Every pair of braies I've bought/seen have been huge with more than enough material in the crotch to prevent the aforementioned split. I swear by the ones sold by Historic Enterprises. More comfortable than you might think and you can't get more period!



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Ld. David de Clermont
"Esse Quam Videri"
Squire to Ivar Rhidri Eithr Drenger
Haus Kriegsturm
Barony of Sternfeld
Middle Kingdom
House Kriegsturm Home Page

Leofwine,
That's a nice looking garment. Would you be able to share the pattern or instructions on it?


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The artisan formerly known as Willing Pell, then Juan Santell and then Willing Pell again. Hey, Prince could do it, why not me?

Ld. David de Clermont, can you point me to a good pattern for Braies and Chausses? I tend to make my stuff rather than buy it.

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"Do or do not. There is no try."

Its a really basic T. I used the full width of 60" linen to go cuff to cuff. I went 39" from the shoulders to the hem. The woman I got the pattern from ended up there by trial and error, but its very close to a side split kyrtle:

http://www.viking-experience.co.uk/authenticity/basickit/kit-fig2.htm

Make sure to include "I" and "E" from the viking experience pattern. I didn't use additional pieces, but instead just inculded them when I drew the basic garment.

I'll get more pictures of details for everybody. Make sure not to make the neck hole too big.

Chris

Hmmm... do you recall who gave the class? Was her name Inga?

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<I>Wulfgar Davinsson inn Gerpir af Ey-vist
Squired to Duke Davin Steingrimmson </I>

No, it was Asa.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a title or two, but I think I'm lucky when I can even remember a first name.

Chris

[This message has been edited by Leofwine (edited 08-21-2003).]

Very nice, how will you close the front, ties or buttons?

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The artisan formerly known as Willing Pell, then Juan Santell and then Willing Pell again. Hey, Prince could do it, why not me?

I close the front with one button, and then a belt.

Chris

Two more pics. The first is just the gambeson laid flat. The sleeves are 20" from fold to seam. The width of the gambeson proper seems to be (whatever you want it to end up +2").


The second one is me in full kit less helm. There is rigid under there.



Chris