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[B3TH]

Just added another light coat of the rust color- we'll see what it looks like when it cures.

[B3TH]

I painted the horns a gunmetal grey and fixed the ear caps.



Working more on shoulder bells and boot covers later today.

[Bryn Cin'Prudii]

Excellent work and changes here! I cant wait to see the rest of it together - it feels like it is coming along rather quickly

[B3TH]

Excellent work and changes here! I cant wait to see the rest of it together - it feels like it is coming along rather quickly

Thank you!! I'm feeling super motivated right now- I want to join the Mercs really bad and start trooping ASAP.

[B3TH]

Working on the pleated calf bands for the boot covers:
I downloaded a Armorer-inspired boot cover pattern from Sionnach Studios https://shop.sionnachstudios.com/collections/patterns/products/blacksmith-boot-cover-gaiter-spats-pattern-inspired-by-the-armorer-from-the-mandalorian and I am altering it to fit and look better.
Per the pattern, I measured my calf circumference and multiplied it by 3 to get the length in inches to cut the strips for the main body.  I am using reddish-brown leather.  I cut 2 strips the length I need x 3" wide and per the pattern instructions I marked the edges of the strips every 1.5".  I made 1/2" box pleats along the length of the main body strips and temporarily secured the edges with quilter's clips as not to make unnecessary holes in the leather.  I will run a basting stitch along both long edges to keep everything in place when I am ready to attach the trim strips along the long sides.  For the trim strips I cut 4 strips of 1.5" x 20" of the reddish brown leather.



I noticed that upon first folding/pleating the leather, the pleats are very raised.  Looking at the costume that was on display at The Mandalorian Experience last year, the pleats look much flatter.  To make them flatten out more, I layed a 2" wide yard stick on top of the pleated band and weighted down with some wooden blocks, a brick, and 10lb dumbells.  I left them there overnight and will post a pic of the results.  It's looking good!  The pleating took quite a bit of dexterity and determination but I did it!

[B3TH]

I decided to clarify with the Apps team that it's ok to use the reddish-brown leather for my calf bands as well as if I should add some reddish-brown color to the pleats of my apron to further match the visual references (the costume on display last year during The Mandalorian Experience at Celebration Anaheim):

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have a question about:

Hello all!  I am working on an Armorer to get approval and was wondering if I should add mahogany/reddish-brown details to the edge of each pleat or if I should leave my apron as-is.  Looking at the pictures from the Mandalorian Experience from Dented Helmet, the apron pleats as well as the calf bands (the box pleated ones) look to have a mahogany or reddish-brown color.  I have attached a photo of the screen-worn costume from The Mandalorian Experience as well as a photo of the apron that I have.    The apron that I have is one brown shade of distressed leather.  I hate to add details I can't remove just to find out it isn't approvable.
Thanks all!
-Beth-

Hi B3th,

Adding the mahogany/reddish-brown details to the edge of each pleat would not be something you would need to remove for approval.
The added details on the trim of the apron would be fine to add on, those extra details on canon builds is what the canon team appreciates from builders.

Hope that answers, your question, feel free to message me for further guidance.

-Raquel


Hello!  Just so I'm clear- for Armorer approval it would be ok for me to add reddish-brown/mahogany edges to the pleats and also make the calf bands out of reddish-brown leather?  This is my first time attempting Mercs approval so I want to do everything right 

Thank you!!
-Beth-

Hi B3th,

Yes that would be fine.
-Raquel
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This was very helpful- I am glad I asked the App team and I am VERY excited to add more detail!! I did some experimenting with Angelus leather paints and found that mixing the colors Chocolate and Autumn Red make a great color for the details on the skirt.  I'll be painting that on soon.

[Geila Alo]

Great updates! I think the armored plate covering the toe of the boots looks more closer to the referencepics now. The same for the color on the horns.

[B3TH]

I worked on the calf bands this weekend.



I was able to sew them with my home sewing machine using upholstery thread, a teflon machine foot, leather sewing machine needles, and lots of patience.  I'm glad I bought a whole pack of leather needles because I managed to break 3 of them.

I made one with box pleats as most costumers have done up until recently and was not pleased with the results.  I weighed the strip down with weights to flatten the pleats but upon removing the weights the pleats popped back up again.  As much as I clipped the edges with strong clips, The pleats shifted in the machine as I sewed, and they did not come out even.



There has been some chatter on the Facebook building boards about the pleats.  Some argue that the pleats must be knife pleats as opposed to box pleats because a few keen eyes spotted lines of stiching on one side of each pleat on the costume that was displayed at Celebration Anaheim 2022.



I decided to make a calf band with knife pleats to compare the two methods.
Let me tell you- making the calf band with the knife pleats made a WORLD of difference.  The pleats are much flatter without extra effort (although I did use a clothing iron on low to give them one final press), and they stayed put and stayed evenly spaced.   
To make each calf band I cut 3 strips of leather: one 3" wide for the center, and two 1.5" wide for the edges.
To make the pleats, I marked my center leather strip at 1.5" increments and folded wrong sides together at each mark and clipped them in place with quilter's clips.



I sewed a vertical line 1/2" from each fold, then laid all the pleats to one side and clipped them in place with the quilter's clips again.  I sewed a running stitch 1/4" from each side to keep everything in place. 



I then used leather shears to cut the sides as close to that running stich line as possible.  I then clipped the edging strips to each side with right sides together and sewed them in place 1/4" seam allowance. 



I pressed open the side seams so that I could fold the edging strips over the top and bottom to the back. 



I ran strips of double-sided tanner's bond tape on the wrong side of the edge pieces and wrapped them around the sides, thoroughly pressing them on the back side of the calf bands.





Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two.  The top one has the box pleats, the bottom one has the knife pleats.  I can tell a huge difference not only in quality but in time (the knife pleat method took 2 hours less time, plus I didn't have to weigh the strip down overnight with bricks and weights!)

[Geila Alo]

Excellent work!

[B3TH]

Excellent work!

Thank you so much!


Last night I worked on the gaitors/boot covers.  I took the pattern I made from wrapping the cellophane and clear packing tape around the leg form and cut the necessary pieces out of scrap vinyl to make a test fit.  The test fit worked so I then cut the pieces out of leather.  I couldn't find suede the right shade so I'm using the rough side of a piece of chrome tan leather.  I used a rolling sewing machine foot and brown upholstry thread and was able to use my home sewing machine to sew the toe and leg pieces together.  I held the seams together temporarily with double-sided tanner's bond tape and quilter's clips.  I think the base boot covers turned out beautifully.  I will sit the resin cast toe cap on top of the toe of the base boot cover and will make a topper that attaches to the top of the toe cap out of another piece of leather which I will stitch with light color golden thread to match the reference photos of the costume from Celebration Anaheim.  The topper will velcro on the side just like the base boot covers.

[B3TH]

Attended my first Armor Party today!
I did some more painting on the toe caps and want to.post side by side pictures of my helmet and toe caps next to the ones from the screen-worn costume that was on display at Celebration Anaheim 2022.

 

 

[B3TH]

I worked on my gaitors the other day.  I just need to attach the calf bands now.




I had purchased a skirt / apron on Etsy from NRWEARSCOLLECTIONS, and ultimately, I am not happy with it.  It does not fit my curvy hips and also the pleats are not individual layers- the skirt is one layer that has pleat edges sewn in.  It is also made of a very low-quality leather and I found that the surface was already starting to wear off just from trying it on and handling it briefly a few times.
I also decided to make my own skirt / apron using the Sionnach Studios pattern and altering it to fit my body and more closely match the one that was on display at Celebration 2022.  Here is my roommate, CATsian Andor, helping me piece together the pattern.

[Raquel91]

B3th,


You are doing such a great job, I love your attention to detail.

Thank you for sharing your WIP diligently, boards like these will help future armorer builders.

Also thank you for the information regarding NRWEARSCOLLECTIONS, that is good to know for anyone wanting to build this cosplay with Brigades in mind.

[B3TH]

B3th,


You are doing such a great job, I love your attention to detail.

Thank you for sharing your WIP diligently, boards like these will help future armorer builders.

Also thank you for the information regarding NRWEARSCOLLECTIONS, that is good to know for anyone wanting to build this cosplay with Brigades in mind.

Thank you so much!!  After taking a hard look, it is my opinion that none of the ready-made aprons available on Etsy are screen accurate.

[B3TH]

More work on the skirt:
I decided to make the tail for the back first, since that doesn't really need adjusting.  To make the apron more accurately resemble the one that was on display at Celebration 2022, I added a layer of reddish/brown leather to the accents on the tail.  Altering the pattern for that wasn't difficult-  first of all, the pattern has the arrow on the tail as 2 separate pieces (the straight line down the center and the V at the bottom).  The skirt shown at Celebration 2022 has the back arrow as one solid piece.  I taped the two pattern pieces together and cut the result out of brown leather for the top layer.  I then cut out a 2nd piece 1/8" larger all the way arround to form the 2nd layer.  I also added reddish brown leather to the bottom and the edges of the tail.
Here I am cutting out pieces of reddish/brown leather for the accents.


Although I was able to make my calf bands and the gaitors on a cheap Kenmore brand plastic home sewing machine, The skirt and especially the tail will have sections that are too thick for that little machine to tackle.  Luckily, my fiancé reminded me of a vintage console sewing machine that we had acquired from a friend long ago and ever since was acting as a table for my 3D printer.  She's a vintage Universal Deluxe brand from the 40s or 50s and solid as a rock.  Luckily, she started right up!!








Now to figure out the shingle pleats for the front!
I needed help figuring out the pattern instructions as they aren't super clear.  Fortunately the folks on Facebook on the Armorer Builder's Group as well as Sionnach Studios Patreon Discord servicer were very helpful in showing me photos of skirts they had done from the same pattern.  I was also able to find this youtube video: