Middle Earth Ranger Forum

I haven't been able to get this idea out of my head since Elleth mentioned it in this thread: https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... f=3&t=4246 last year:

Elleth wrote:Offhand, I think an open-front, short sleeve tunic / long vest such as Ringulf has here might work:
http://middleearthrangers.org/forum/vie ... 447#p42447
Perhaps with tablet-woven trim rather than fur?

I didn't have any tablet-woven trim, and my usual method for edging seems to work so I used that, also the houndstooth wool ran out, so I used the same fabric as the surcoat I made for my dad:



I actually made this quite a while ago, but it's only just got cold enough to test it out, one day I'll probably add embroidery to the edges



I did wonder if this would prove to be one of those less functional/looks cool in movies items of kit, although so far I've been surprised by how useful it is. It's not as weatherproof as a cloak but it has advantages:
- it doesn't restrict movement as much as as a cloak, or as much as a long sleeved coat would when worn over a thick wool tunic
- the sleeves almost meet my vambraces so most of my arm is protected from rain
- it offers the "breaking up the silhouette effect" for camouflage
and it has pockets, I don't know if it should have pockets? but they're useful

That looks lovely! Awesome!

That’s a fantastic look! The whole kit is really coming together beautifully!

Thank you both

Looks great !

Nicely done!

I like it. And pockets definitely seem like something a dwarf would find useful.

Looks great to me Iodo, I like how the contrasting shoulder gores break the colour up.
And if pockets were good enough for Bilbo then they're good enough for you!

I really like the simple pattern on the main material, and the contrasting grey parts. Very reminiscent of Thorin’s coat in the films.

Iodo wrote: I did wonder if this would prove to be one of those less functional/looks cool in movies items of kit, although so far I've been surprised by how useful it is. It's not as weatherproof as a cloak but it has advantages:
[...]
and it has pockets, I don't know if it should have pockets? but they're useful

I'm surprised you weren't sure if it'd be functional; it seems like a great design!
And pocketses are entirely canon.

Also, just wanted to pop back in and mention that the short sleeves are great! To me the overall shape is slightly reminiscent of a short-sleeved gambeson or a Viking jacket/super-tunic with short sleeves. It therefore feels vaguely “medieval-ish” without being directly tied down to any real-world culture (the toggle closures help with this as well). And since the whole thing is cut with extremely straight lines and square corners, it gives a really great boxy, dwarvish silhouette when worn without feeling too over-the-top “fantasy dwarf.”

10/10, very impressive!

Thank you everyone and you've all reinforced my choice of having pockets, I wasn't sure because there isn't much reference to pockets in clothing historically, but this is middle earth after all

Eofor wrote:Looks great to me Iodo, I like how the contrasting shoulder gores break the colour up.

I guess they do have that effect, the only reason I include that on the design is because by making my shoulders look wider it makes me look shorter, a cosplay trick

The Riff Wizard wrote:Very reminiscent of Thorin’s coat in the films.

actually, apart from it being a little shorter, it's almost exactly patterned from Kili's coat in The Hobbit, with splits front and back but not at the sides, I just didn't do the extra piece of fabric over the shoulders, if I had it would probably be more waterproof but it looks a bit to modern to my eye so instead I settled for wearing a hood over it

SierraStrider wrote:

Iodo wrote: I did wonder if this would prove to be one of those less functional/looks cool in movies items of kit, although so far I've been surprised by how useful it is. It's not as weatherproof as a cloak but it has advantages:
[...]
and it has pockets, I don't know if it should have pockets? but they're useful

I'm surprised you weren't sure if it'd be functional; it seems like a great design!
And pocketses are entirely canon.

The main thing I wasn't sure about until I tried it was short sleeves on a coat, now I've tried it I think it's a great idea, and I'm interested to find out how much better it is for archery

thats a quality coat buddy

RangerofAngmar wrote:thats a quality coat buddy

Thank you

Turned out great, Iodo! Seems every time I turn around you've cranked out another major garment...makes me feel like I have some work to do!