Maille Tailor

[SirNathanQ]

Does anyone know who tailors maille? Preferably at affordable pricing.
I got my GDFB maille yesterday, and I'm quite happy with it, though tailoring the sleeves will be a bigger challenge then I thought.
Turns out the tube sleeve isn't the big issue. The armpit extends too deeply. And from what I've heard, armpits are a big scary thing with maille. So I think I'll just get the stuff tailored. Anyone know anyone who does this?

[Sir Brian]

Congratulations on your new addition!
I am a little perplexed though by your description of the issue with your armpits?

The armpit extends too deeply.

Can you take a picture and post it or expand a little of what you are talking about? 

Do you mean you have too much excess under your arms which actually limits you from lowering them all the way? 

[Sir William]

Unfortunately, no...it would be a costly and painstaking process...which might end up costing more than the hauberk itself did, depending on what you needed done.  If it were easy, we could do it ourselves!

Now, I know both Sir James' tailor their own mail as does Sirs Brian and Edward, but of them all, he (James Anderson) seems to be the most dedicated to doing it- at least his own mail.  Worth a shot to ask him if he'd help out.

[SirNathanQ]

Too much excess under the arms. The mobility isn't a big issue. If you can imagine they made it for a grandma with a raging case of Bingo wings

I think I'll simply cut a seam down the bottom of the sleeve, and use butted links to sew it up when I've removed all I want

[Sir Edward]

Unfortunately I don't know anyone who customizes mail for others. Most of us who've done some tailoring have grudgingly done it just to make it fit better on ourselves, and probably couldn't be paid enough to do it for any other reason.

Having said that, there are some small-time mail vendors at some of the local faires. One of them from VARF is in my facebook friends list. I could shoot him a note and ask if he does that sort of thing. Or put you in contact with him.

Like Sir Brian, I'd love to see what you're talking about. Do you mean the armpit of the sleeve is too low on the torso, because of how wide the sleeve tube is? I've found that with the new GDFB haubergeon I got, when I clamp the 14th C. plate arms over it, it's slightly awkward because of how large the sleeves are at the armpit. I'm wondering if that's what you're running into? (EDIT: You posted while I was typing this. Yes, this is the problem.)

The armpits can be a little scary to work with, yes, but it doesn't need to be too bad. I made an exceedingly simple design on my aluminum hauberk. I never closed the seam there, just so I can raise my arms over my head without it pulling (this can be mitigated with a diamond-shaped expansion, or some-such), but if I hold my arms straight out, the seams line up real nicely. And all I did was leave some diagonal edges on both the sleeve and the torso.

Somewhere I have a diagram. I'll have to look for it.

[SirNathanQ]

Yeah. It's not horrid, but rather annoying.
I think I'll either try the standard seam along bottom, and cut excess maille method, or some long cords through the maille at elbow and bicep, with excess removed along inside of lower arms and a cord lacing it shut.

[Sir Edward]

The armpits can be a little scary to work with, yes, but it doesn't need to be too bad. I made an exceedingly simple design on my aluminum hauberk. I never closed the seam there, just so I can raise my arms over my head without it pulling (this can be mitigated with a diamond-shaped expansion, or some-such), but if I hold my arms straight out, the seams line up real nicely. And all I did was leave some diagonal edges on both the sleeve and the torso.

Somewhere I have a diagram. I'll have to look for it.

What I did when I made my hauberk was to make the sleeve and the torso both as simple tubes, but with diagonal edges. When laid flat without connecting the seam, those edges overlap:

[SirNathanQ]

Ahhh.....Sneaky!   

[Sir William]

Wait, did you say 'Bingo wings'?  I almost shot iced tea from my nostrils after reading that...I must've missed it the first time around!  lol

[SirNathanQ]

Yeah, Bingo Wings. 
A personal favorite phrase of mine....

Familiar with the term are we?

[Sir Edward]

I think I first heard that in a semi-recent comedy film. Like Superhero Movie or something. I think the scene was an X-men rip-off if I remember.

The phrase is just so... descriptive.

[Sir William]

Yeah, Bingo Wings. 
A personal favorite phrase of mine....

Familiar with the term are we?

No, first I've heard of it...but the term is so descriptive, I just envisioned these little old biddies jumping up and down when they hit Bingo- and there I had it.  Hilarious!

[Sir Ulrich]

Got a pic of the maille? I am curious to how it looks cause I almost bought the GDFB stuff myself. I would assume the sleeves are tailored differently.

[SirNathanQ]

I'll get pics once I'm done tailoring. Sorry, the camera is in high demand around the home 

[Sir James A]

Unfortunately I don't know anyone who customizes mail for others. Most of us who've done some tailoring have grudgingly done it just to make it fit better on ourselves, and probably couldn't be paid enough to do it for any other reason.

Indeed! Ser William, I appreciate the mention, but I've got a solid 15 hours or more into just expanding an existing mail skirt, and it's nearly driven me to madness being rivited. Butted mail is cake in comparison now.

Sir Nathan, it was suggested by Sir Edward to lace through the arms to know where to tailor at. I *cannot* stress the importance of this. I tailored the 3/4 arms on my butted mail shirt without realizing that my measurements were off - I did some math and figured out how many rings to remove based on the excess "flop" I had - but I forgot to account for the overlap in the rings, and I removed too much! After a solid 10ish hours of spreading, removing, and re-closing the entire sleeve, it wouldn't fit over my forearm.

It's been sitting on the floor of my home office since the last weekend of VARF. I'd be more inclined to finish it if I had done it right the first time through, and if I hadn't transitioned to rivited... but the old "measure twice, cut once" adage couldn't be more important with rivited mail.

EDIT: I'm more than happy to give any advice or motivation if you want to try it yourself. It's not hard, it's just time consuming. Really, really time consuming. All you need for tools is a pair or two of needle/generic pliers, and the riviting pliers (~$20).