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Main => The Armoury => The Workshop => Topic started by: Sir James A on 2011-12-27, 18:42:18
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What tools are required?
A seam ripper (if removing existing points)
A hole punch / awl
Leather for reinforcing points
Laces/Points (if you have none)
Why do this?
A common point of failure on arming clothes is "tear out" by the arming points. The leading causes of it are heavy plate legs or mail that is tied too tightly and pulls on the points when doing extended movement. To try to minimize this, reinforcing tabs are used. Sometimes they are sewn directly to the garment, sometimes they are held directly to the garment by the points. Typically the "two hole" points will be sewn directly to the garment, and the "four hole" points will be held on by the point.
Is it period / historically based?
Pointing is not only a highly adjustable and versatile way to attach armor, it is also a period method of attaching items to a "foundation garment". From "How a Man Shall Be Armed":
The doublet must be strongly built and the points must be set about the bend of the arms. And the breast before and behind and the gussets of mail must be sown unto the doublet in the bend of the arm. And under the arm the arming points must be made of fine twine, such as men make for crossbow strings and they must be trussed small and pointed as points
Shoe laces are not a period point (though they are cheap/convenient); for a more accurate point, I recommend the Historic Enterprises waxed points with metal aglets; the process for them is simple, and I will cover that in another tutorial. This tutorial shows the points the arming coat came with; they will be replaced.
How Do I Do This?
If you have existing points, remove them. Use a seam ripper to carefully break the thread holding the tab to the garment. I prefer to work from the "leather" side, as it is easy to differentiate the thread holding the leather on from the garment itself.
(http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/th_2011-12-26162431.jpg) (http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/2011-12-26162431.jpg)
If you had no points on the garment before, this is where you start. We have a clean slate. You will need a helper to position your armor on you so that the points will be in the most appropriate place. You can use a single arming coat for multiple sets of armor; to do so, there are two options: (1) ensure that your points are placed at the HIGHEST point necessary and use longer points, or (2) add multiple sets of points.
(http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/th_2011-12-26164220.jpg) (http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/2011-12-26164220.jpg)
Now, mark your 4 holes to attach the tabs with. Once the holes have been punched, we can attach the tab. Start by folding the lace in half, and lacing each half through one side of the tab (this part is underneath the tab in this picture). Then, pass the laces through the outside of the garment to the inside, and back outside again. The leather tab is sitting upside-down in this picture to clarify how the lacing sits.
(http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/th_2011-12-26165225.jpg) (http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/2011-12-26165225.jpg)
Now, simply flip the tab face-up and pull the laces through the 2 empty holes on the tab, like this.
(http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/th_2011-12-26165310.jpg) (http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/2011-12-26165310.jpg)
Repeat for any other necessary points, such as multiple leg points, chausse points, etc.
(http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/th_2011-12-26165603.jpg) (http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/2011-12-26165603.jpg)
To finish off the points, you can tie them so they do not loosen while armor isn't attached to them. When you tie them, tie them tight enough to hold them firmly in place, but not so tight that it folds the leather or fabric. I have dual points for my legs, points for my arms, and points for my shoulders. This is how the coat looks.
(http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/th_2011-12-26175114.jpg) (http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t8/jba3/medieval/arming-clothes/revival-clothing-arming-coat/2011-12-26175114.jpg)
Seeing the picture reinforces that my next project should be some sit-ups....
I've found the four-hole method to be much better. It allows the arming tabs to be removed for machine washing (IF your garment can be machine washed!!). It also spreads the load across four points of stress instead of two, and by the "loop" of the point being at the leather instead of the fabric, the majority of the load is carried on the leather, instead of the fabric - which is exactly what we want.
Final Notes
The leather tabs are from Historic Enterprises (http://historicenterprises.com/ (http://historicenterprises.com/)).
* If you want to make your own tabs, leather, leather punches, and a "pattern" for the leather tab can all be acquired from Brettuns Village Leather (http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/ (http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/)).
The arming coat is from Revival Clothing (http://revivalclothing.com/ (http://revivalclothing.com/)).
Period style waxed points can be bought at Historic Enterprises (http://historicenterprises.com/ (http://historicenterprises.com/)).
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very nice 8)
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Thanks for posting!
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Well done and thanks for adding this! I might be able to add a little bit of info onto this if you don't mind with adding arming points onto gambesons. I'm currently adding arming points to my new revival clothing linen gambeson for my MT shoulder cops. ;)
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Well done and thanks for adding this! I might be able to add a little bit of info onto this if you don't mind with adding arming points onto gambesons. I'm currently adding arming points to my new revival clothing linen gambeson for my MT shoulder cops. ;)
My wife went through several leather needles trying to sew points to the shoulders of the revival linen gambeson. It's extremely layered at the shoulder joint. We found it's best to go very slow and methodically or plan on breaking a few needles. Eventually we got it, but it's a test of patience. Well, who am I kidding, eventually she got it, lol. The thickness of the garment at the location where I neded the points really precluded hand sewing.
Sir James, great guide!
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My wife went through several leather needles trying to sew points to the shoulders of the revival linen gambeson. It's extremely layered at the shoulder joint.
Yes it is which is why I am sewing it by hand...Definitely is easier if you pre-punch the leather. ;)
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use a leather awl. it works miricles
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Adding arming points to a Gambeson
Here is a picture of the basic requirements:(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/PC280015.jpg)
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/PC280016.jpg)
~ Note that the eyelets for the lacing cord are an extra step I got into the habit of doing with leather to hopefully help extend the serviceability of the holes.
~ Using the leather punch tool to prep the leather arming swatch is a great time saver as well as easier on the hands!
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/PC280014.jpg)
~ Although stitching the arming swatch with the lacing cord already in place is convenient, it isn’t crucial as there will eventually come a day when you will have to replace the lacing cord.
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/PC280012.jpg)
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/PC280011.jpg)
~ Believe it or not but not all cops are created equal! That being said my shoulder cops had enough of a diameter difference between them that I had to ensure I marked each swatch to correspond to a specific cop so keep that in mind as you align your arming points for your armor.
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/PC280017.jpg)
~ Straight pins make stitching larger swatches a lot easier, I also typically use a very heavy nylon ‘outdoor’ type of thread for this sort of project.
(http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd251/Tah908/WIP/PC280010.jpg)
Halfway there! ;)
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Wow, cool- thanks for posting you guys!
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I'm not sure exactly "arming clothes" are. Are you talking about surcoats and shield? Those I make all myself.
Sir John
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I'm not sure exactly "arming clothes" are. Are you talking about surcoats and shield? Those I make all myself.
Hi there, Sir John!
Actually, the term "arming clothes" refers to the foundation garments worn under the armor. In the age of mail (13th Century and before), this would consist of a padded gambeson or aketon, which is a thick jacket-like garment that provides the padding that the mail armor itself does not. As you get into the 14th Century and later, the arming clothes were less padded, but instead had attachment points to tie the plate armor onto.
Having the right foundation garments can make all the difference when wearing armor. And sometimes, they are armor themselves, which can seem a little counter-intuitive at first.
The surcoats and tabbards provide a nice way to display heraldry, but usually weren't frequently functional as armor themselves. There are exceptions of course, such as external Coats of Plates that had the heraldry sewn right in.
But anyway, to summarize, the "arming clothes" are the foundation garments that you wear under the armor, as additional protection and/or a way to attach the armor.
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Thats a lot of GREAT information there you guys! Sir Ian, was your wife sewing by hand, or using a machine? My wife has a good machine and heavy needles that she thinks she can go through heavy materials with, i.e. leather, etc....
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Thats a lot of GREAT information there you guys! Sir Ian, was your wife sewing by hand, or using a machine? My wife has a good machine and heavy needles that she thinks she can go through heavy materials with, i.e. leather, etc....
Machine sewing with a leather needle. It was really more a fault of the gambeson being to thick, padded, and layered where the points needed to go than the leather being the actual problem.
As an aside, I'm having Revival Clothing do a custom linen pourpoint, since their off-the-racks don't fit me anymore, and they have agreed to sew on the leather reinforcement tabs for me that normally come on the agincourt arming cote.
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Ian, that's awesome that they'll do that for you. Save you a good bit of time, no?
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Ian, that's awesome that they'll do that for you. Save you a good bit of time, no?
...and frustration! :) Yeah, Nicole Allen et all are good people!
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I'll keep them in mind.
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Sir James, the photobucket pictures dont work! I am looking to start doing my gambeson and putting on points now and was looking forward to using this thread! :)
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Sir James, the photobucket pictures dont work! I am looking to start doing my gambeson and putting on points now and was looking forward to using this thread! :)
Ah, forgot about it when I moved stuff off photobucket, I'll get it fixed shortly. For now, use this:
http://www.james-anderson-iii.com/tutorials/pages/arming.points/ (http://www.james-anderson-iii.com/tutorials/pages/arming.points/)
I've also changed points again, if you can wait til the weekend, I'll put new pictures up.
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I guess I can wait ;-)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)
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OOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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This is how I reinforce arming points. I make 4 hand-sewn eyelets in a square pattern and then reinforce on the back with a square piece of scrap leather. Then weave your arming point through the 4 eyelets and corresponding holes on the leather. The more eyelets the less stress on any one individual eyelet. You have the option to sew the leather to the garment for a little more reinforcement, but it's way harder to replace.
This is the inside of my leg suspension points on my arming doublet:
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3730/8807139885_ffa920acd8_c.jpg)
This is what it looks like with the cuisse suspended:
(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5329/8817723710_7168d8ec80_c.jpg)
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Glad to see you up and about, Sir Ian- as for the arming points, I'm glad I saw this pic again...I was under the impression that the tabs were to be on the outside of the garment. Not that I have anything that I need to worry about w/regard to arming points, still, for the future...you know?
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Glad to see you up and about, Sir Ian- as for the arming points, I'm glad I saw this pic again...I was under the impression that the tabs were to be on the outside of the garment. Not that I have anything that I need to worry about w/regard to arming points, still, for the future...you know?
For arms, I would suspend from the outside. I only suspend from the inside for legs because the curvature of the upper cuisse would cause bunching of the material and make it less mobile if it was sitting on top of the quilted fabric.
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Sir Ian does his very similar to mine. Four holes, leather tab. I've punched holes around the perimeter of the leather and sewn it directly to my arming coat, though. I don't plan to wash it anyway; historical smells and all that. ;)
Also as Sir Ian said, legs, you can point from the inside, and I believe in most cases should, especially earlier arming garments. Mine are pointed on the outside, but sit at the bottom of my arming coat, as it's a later period style and shorter at the waist than Sir Ian's (ends slightly below where his points are, I believe). Back with the longer, poofy earlier gambesons, legs pointed on the outside had some serious "flop". I think this is why the pourpoint/gambeson combo is so prevalent with the earlier period guys; it moves much nicer and with less slop than a single gambeson with OUTER pointed legs. Everything else points on the outside - shoulders, arms, voiders, fauld, etc.
I need to finish the arms arming points on my arming coat. I've been lax in it since my arm harness hangs from the gorget since last year or so. I put steel eyelets in, and then sewed over them with thread to hide the steel, while hopefully making it a bit stronger. I didn't know how to sew eyelets at the time and just did punched/steel ones. :( It's on my "to do soon list" since the 1450s Italian armor I recently got points at both bicep and neck and it'll look silly with only one sleeve done.