How to Make Suit of Armor

A suit of armor can mean heavy leather shirts and trousers sewn with metal rings by early Germanic tribes, full body shirts of plate-mail as worn by the Crusaders, and breast plates and helmets as worn by Christopher Columbus. There were Mithra shirts in the "Lord of the Rings" movies and thick leather padding in "Gladiator." Making any of these forms of body armor requires heavy equipment, more knowledge than the adage "measure twice, cut once" and fortitude. If you seriously desire historically accurate armor, there are many resources happy to sell it. For a costume, be easy on yourself.

Things You'll Need

• Pattern paper
• Tracing pencil
• Soft leather
• Leather glue
• Leather scissors
• Silver spray paint
• Spray starch

Instructions

1. Research the different types of armor from over the last 2,000 years in England, Europe and Asia. For a fantasy costume, sketch a drawing of what you want to look like, using all the influences you want to borrow from to create a unique suit of armor. Chain mail was most often used by the lower classes because it cost less, but it is also more laborious to make. Plate mail is easier to represent.

2. 

   Draw a sketch of the suit of armor.

   Draw a pattern based on either the sketch you have made or the picture of an actual suit of armor. To keep it proportionate to your size, take long underwear as your base and trace around it to make sure you give yourself enough room. Chain mail can just be a long tunic.

3. 

   Cut the pattern and lay it out on the inside of the leather to trace with the soft tracing pencil. Lay the leather and the paper flat; use tape or pins to keep the paper from moving, if need be. Allow an extra ½ inch margin for gluing the seams of the suit of armor.

4. 

   Cut the leather pieces, giving more space rather than less. You can always trim a piece of the pattern back to fit better--it is much more difficult to add, even if possible, especially for plate mail.

5. 

   Accessories

   Tape the pieces together and try them on to make sure they fit. The same can be done with gloves and socks for the total suit of armor.

6. 

   Glue.

   Glue the appropriate pieces together. Start with the breast plate and add the arms if they are a part of your costume, then do the trousers.

7. 

   Spray armor silver.

   Spray-paint the entire suit inside and out to make it look like plate mail. Wait for it to dry and apply a second coat and third coat if needed, for optimal results. For a chain mail effect, use plastic link curtains and spray them with the silver spray paint. Leave the leather tunic in its natural color.

8. 

   Stiffen your suit of armor.

   Spray the outside of the suit of armor with the starch to add more stiffness to the leather. The paint will also have helped to stiffen the leather.

Tips & Warnings

• Gauge the weight of the leather to make sure you will be able to cut it. The stiffer the better, as long as you can cut it.

• Unless this is a specific assignment you must do, let the many companies and people who love to do this work make an authentic, historic suit of mail for you.

References

• How to Make a Real Suit of Armor
• Suit of Armor Patterns
• Suits of Armor

Resources

• Boys' Life