I built this armor over the course of multiple years, starting and stopping. It REALLY started when I came home from a job I did NOT like, angry as all hell, and started kicking my filing cabinet. I kicked and kicked, ultimately destroying any utility it may have had as a filing cabinet.

Months later, fraught with anxiety over other life events, I needed something to do. Something for my hands to work on. I can't explain why or how, but I found myself looking at armor again. I thought I could do it after seeing a video, probably. That's how it usually goes.

So I took the ball peen hammer and sheet metal shears my mom got for me when I was 13— funny how your past can seem to find you— and I went to town on the cabinet. I flattened it out with the hammer and cut off any dangly bits leftover with the shears.

Between the time I abused the cabinet and the time I repurposed it, lots of rain had fallen, giving the unpainted interior of the cabinet a gorgeous rusted patina. It was a brilliant orange and had wonderfully deep pitting. I found a pattern for some simple shoulders and figured that would be an easy start.

Some years before, as I go through a revolving cycle of interests, I had already made myself a sort of padded gambeson, a nearly knee length quilted coat normally intended for wear under the armor. I made the gambeson by cutting apart a dress shirt at the seams and tracing each piece onto a huge piece of blue fabric my grandma gave me (the past!). At this point I had still never sewn from an official pattern. I found sewing rather intuitive, or thought I did, so I was comfortable just kinda figuring stuff out. I didn't know it was my first foray into pattern drafting!

After modifying the pattern, lengthening the lower hem, mostly, I doubled it all up and quilted it all together with batting inside. It's a rather crude coat with no lining, but it certainly gets the job done with armor on top.

So, it was this coat onto which I attached my newly hammered shoulders.

This coat also served as the basis of the color scheme. Blue and white, feels very noble. As I kept adding more armor— I think helmet came next— a character started to form. After the helmet, which I absolutely adore, came the arms. The arms are when it started to really feel like armor. I sewed up a simple tabard to cover my unarmored chest and found a length of blue velvet at the thrift store for a cape. It was really coming together.

After finishing the arms I declared I was done. No more!

Well, as you can see, I made a liar of myself. A frequent occurrence.

I saw a pattern for chest armor, which turned out to also be one of the old Nadler patterns, and thought it looked simple enough, if not large. I picked up a new filing cabinet, one of a particular vintage. This cabinet turned out to be exceptionally thick, which was perfect for my new chest piece, if not a little harder to cut.

And of course, after finishing the chest, I was done!

Well, done until I found my legs lacking. So, I got back on and found some good patterns. That is where the above video series starts, with my entry into cuisses, or upper leg and knee armor. After my cuisses went so well, I wanted a little asymmetry and a little beef, so I opted for a horseman's pauldron on my left side. My brother was playing Dark Souls and Elden Ring all through this build, so I had much inspiration. The front crest of my Great Helm is inspired directly from a helmet in one of those games.

I have had so much fun building this armor. It's work, and at times hard, sweaty work, but it's a blast. A decent little workout and a good bit of fun. Not to mention, I love the way I look and feel in the armor. Always a hit at the Ren Faire!

And, in usual fashion, it's still not finished. Though by now I've come to accept that I'm never done with my projects. I love to let them continue to evolve and improve. I have beecome passionate about my craft.