Working On a New Jerkin
Posted: Sun May 24, 2020 11:33 pm
I posted about this over on the Facebook group, but I wanted to put it up here too so the forum regulars who don’t frequent FB can have a look.
I decided to make myself a new Jerkin, and so far the project is coming along nicely! The bulk of the construction is nearly done - I just have to add binding to the sides and arm holes, then the hand-braided leather ties on the front (including some extra patches to reinforce the attachment points), and finally lacing on the sides and mid-back.
The design, overall, is based on Aragorn’s jerkin from the New Line movies, but I decided to embellish it a bit and make it my own (especially since I already made a very faithful replica of that one a few years back). The idea here was to try and craft a garment that was very utilitarian in its design, but also looked like it had been made with great care, and decorated in some small, simple ways. And just in general, I wanted something that had a bit more detailing than the very plain one Viggo wore.
With that in mind, I decided to include a contrasting yoke on the shoulder section (inspired loosely by some of the costumes in Vikings) because I liked that it broke up the visual silhouette slightly, and it also adds a little extra strength. I also decided to piece the whole thing together from slightly smaller sections than I had done on my Aragorn replica. Partially I did this for aesthetic value, but breaking up the main pattern pieces a bit also helped me lay the pattern out a little more economically on the piece of leather. After sewing the main sections together with extra-fine two-ply waxed linen thread (saddle-stitched, for strength), I glued the seam allowances down, and added some semi-decorative top-stitching to reinforce the seams, with a 4-strand heavy waxed linen thread in a contrasting color. This served to reinforce the seams quite a lot and also added a subtle stylistic embellishment. When I first posted about my intentions to split up the jerkin into smaller panels and add this “ladder†stitching (not the correct term, but I can’t seem to find what it’s actually called) over the top, I know Taurinor and a few others raised some debate as to its functionality, vs. just looking cool - but after deliberating on it for quite some time I decided to go forward with my original plan, and in the end I’m quite happy with how it’s turning out. There was some concern that this type of top-stitching would make the garment look too “Hollywood Fantasy,†and while some probably still feel this way, after doing the work on it I feel I can defend its practicality, because it really does reinforce the garment a great deal. Also, I deliberately kept my stitching extremely even and relatively small to avoid that “messy stitching†look that’s so common in modern fantasy.
On top of these details, I also decided to get a little creative with my thread work in other ways. For instance, I decided to add a braided trim made from three strands of contrasting waxed linen thread along the edge of all the binding. This was... probably a poor decision in retrospect (mostly due to the fact that it is EXTREMELY time-consuming), but I’m very fond of the finished look it gives all the edges. I also added some more reinforcement stitching in an X pattern along the edge of the yoke, which I feel gives that whole section a nicely finished look and also prevents the edge from peeling up even a little. Then I used a simple running stitch to tack down the yoke in a few strategic places, so it doesn’t bubble up (I may add some more in a few spots, but we’ll see), and finally, I decided to use two different colors of thread for the saddle-stitch I’m using to attach the binding to the garment itself, which I think just adds a final little visual detail that brings the whole thing together.
After construction is finished, I’m going to coat the whole thing liberally in a dubbin compound (in actual fact I‘ll probably use Aussie Wax from Tandy, even though it’s petroleum based, because it’s inexpensive, plentiful, and should do just as good a job of weeatherproofing the leather as natural dubbin), and probably do just a bit of artificial weathering to make the garment feel lived-in. I know there are many varied opinions regarding artificially weathering/distressing garments for use doing “Ranger stuff,†but my reasoning here is that I simply don’t wear my kit often enough and abuse it hard enough for it to naturally become as worn as an authentic garment of this type would be, so it feels more authentic if it’s deliberately broken down at least a little. I won’t be tattering and destroying it quite as much as I did with my movie replica Strider costume (the screen-used original was aged pretty excessively itself, in order to be seen on screen, naturally), but I just think a little natural-looking wear and tear will give it a more authentic feel, and aid in my own immersion.
Anyway, that about covers it! I’ll be sure to add another update in a little while here, probably when the actual construction is totally finished.
I decided to make myself a new Jerkin, and so far the project is coming along nicely! The bulk of the construction is nearly done - I just have to add binding to the sides and arm holes, then the hand-braided leather ties on the front (including some extra patches to reinforce the attachment points), and finally lacing on the sides and mid-back.
The design, overall, is based on Aragorn’s jerkin from the New Line movies, but I decided to embellish it a bit and make it my own (especially since I already made a very faithful replica of that one a few years back). The idea here was to try and craft a garment that was very utilitarian in its design, but also looked like it had been made with great care, and decorated in some small, simple ways. And just in general, I wanted something that had a bit more detailing than the very plain one Viggo wore.
With that in mind, I decided to include a contrasting yoke on the shoulder section (inspired loosely by some of the costumes in Vikings) because I liked that it broke up the visual silhouette slightly, and it also adds a little extra strength. I also decided to piece the whole thing together from slightly smaller sections than I had done on my Aragorn replica. Partially I did this for aesthetic value, but breaking up the main pattern pieces a bit also helped me lay the pattern out a little more economically on the piece of leather. After sewing the main sections together with extra-fine two-ply waxed linen thread (saddle-stitched, for strength), I glued the seam allowances down, and added some semi-decorative top-stitching to reinforce the seams, with a 4-strand heavy waxed linen thread in a contrasting color. This served to reinforce the seams quite a lot and also added a subtle stylistic embellishment. When I first posted about my intentions to split up the jerkin into smaller panels and add this “ladder†stitching (not the correct term, but I can’t seem to find what it’s actually called) over the top, I know Taurinor and a few others raised some debate as to its functionality, vs. just looking cool - but after deliberating on it for quite some time I decided to go forward with my original plan, and in the end I’m quite happy with how it’s turning out. There was some concern that this type of top-stitching would make the garment look too “Hollywood Fantasy,†and while some probably still feel this way, after doing the work on it I feel I can defend its practicality, because it really does reinforce the garment a great deal. Also, I deliberately kept my stitching extremely even and relatively small to avoid that “messy stitching†look that’s so common in modern fantasy.
On top of these details, I also decided to get a little creative with my thread work in other ways. For instance, I decided to add a braided trim made from three strands of contrasting waxed linen thread along the edge of all the binding. This was... probably a poor decision in retrospect (mostly due to the fact that it is EXTREMELY time-consuming), but I’m very fond of the finished look it gives all the edges. I also added some more reinforcement stitching in an X pattern along the edge of the yoke, which I feel gives that whole section a nicely finished look and also prevents the edge from peeling up even a little. Then I used a simple running stitch to tack down the yoke in a few strategic places, so it doesn’t bubble up (I may add some more in a few spots, but we’ll see), and finally, I decided to use two different colors of thread for the saddle-stitch I’m using to attach the binding to the garment itself, which I think just adds a final little visual detail that brings the whole thing together.
After construction is finished, I’m going to coat the whole thing liberally in a dubbin compound (in actual fact I‘ll probably use Aussie Wax from Tandy, even though it’s petroleum based, because it’s inexpensive, plentiful, and should do just as good a job of weeatherproofing the leather as natural dubbin), and probably do just a bit of artificial weathering to make the garment feel lived-in. I know there are many varied opinions regarding artificially weathering/distressing garments for use doing “Ranger stuff,†but my reasoning here is that I simply don’t wear my kit often enough and abuse it hard enough for it to naturally become as worn as an authentic garment of this type would be, so it feels more authentic if it’s deliberately broken down at least a little. I won’t be tattering and destroying it quite as much as I did with my movie replica Strider costume (the screen-used original was aged pretty excessively itself, in order to be seen on screen, naturally), but I just think a little natural-looking wear and tear will give it a more authentic feel, and aid in my own immersion.
Anyway, that about covers it! I’ll be sure to add another update in a little while here, probably when the actual construction is totally finished.