Projection Run and Play week 3 – Signature Style

Everyday Adventures - Signature style

So I made it through to the final week – hoorah. Thanks so much to those who voted for us. The boys are very excited about getting through to the last week.

The final theme was Signature Style – it didn’t take me long to consider my title concept. Most of my pattern designs are built around having fantastical adventures but also clothing that can be worn everyday. 

My boys come home from school and straight away put on a Knights top for chilling out or playing in the garden. Dragons roar around the garden flapping wings and wizards collect precious stones and treasures and put them in pockets for taking home. So it was obvious that my signature style should be Everyday adventures.

The boys are very keen on playing with their bows and arrows (they’ve even made some at forest school), so I decided it was time to add to their wardrobe with an Archery themed outfit. And who better than Robin Hood and his cousin Will Scarlet!

If you would like to vote for my entry – please do so here 

 

I looked at traditional medieval archers outfits (and more fantastical elf versions) for inspiration. Archers need to dress lightly for movement purposes so would usually have armour in leather and chainmail hauberks (tunic undertop). I decided Robin Hood as the chief outlaw and the best archer in the land, would have a ornate ‘leather’ jacket, with matching gaunlets, and, a chainmail hauberk, over a laced up shirt with hood. 

I took my Gawain, Mystic and new pattern from last week and blended them all together.

 I used chainmail fabric from 42 fabric group with printed leather belts, added the laceup shirt element to the top and made sure the split in the hauberk at the bottom matched with the belt element on the chainmail top.

 I added the jacket elements as a normal blocked top on the sides and back but then sewed the front jacket overlap into the blocking so it would be one top but look like 3 tops altogether. 

I put decorative stitching on to the ‘leather’ parts of the outfit, this being on the jacket and the shoulder spaulders and gauntlets as often these would be highly ornate pieces of armour and showed status. 

The sleeves are also in chainmail fabric as the hauberk is long sleeved and I’ve added thumbholes to make the gaunlet gloves more authentic. The gaunlet shape has also been changed to resemble proper archers gloves. 

The green and brown colours are Lillestoff organics from Splashings and were chosen to help blend into the forest background. This made photos in situation slightly difficult!

Will Scarlets armour is slightly different. Again he is an archer, but he was also known as the most skilled swordsman of the troope. With this in mind I’ve given him a more armoured look, with a chainmail hauberk but with a ‘leather’ overtop with hood and matching gaunlets. This means he can still move quickly but has more protection from swordplay.

 The front crest is made from vinyl to give a more leathered look to the armour. Again I matched up the hauberk split to be in line with printed belt fabric and the hauberk sleeves are chainmail.

 The gaunlets again are decorated with cuffs and the shape is different because Will Scarlet liked to be slightly more flamboyant than the rest of the band. This is also reflected in his choice of clothing colouring – rather than the green/browns favoured by his friends. 

However I did find that this colour red did blend fairly well into the background for photos so perhaps he knew what he was doing!

These outfits should have been completed with cloaks but sadly due to illness I wasn’t able to get those done in time.

The trousers on both outfits are lightly padded in the knee area as archers need to spend time kneeling etc and have some leg protection. Robin Hood’s has been quilted with a fleece and cl backing and Will Scarlet’s has been pin tucked and again backed with cl. 

I also made some proper medieval style undershirts (my own pattern – based on a Viking style shirt their father has) – so these are designed to be worn tunic length with a belt. These have been sewn with French seams to prevent irritation and have eyelets, have side splits and a lace up front finish.

I made the belts from vinyl leather and I had to use clasp fasteners as the proper ringed belt hardware was lost in the post. These have been sewn and riveted. However these are easier for the boys to get on and off so I will leave the ‘proper’ style for another time.

The quivers were also made from vinyl leather and the boys picked a theme each – Will Scarlet’s is stars and moon and Robin has of course gone for leaves and berries. These have been sewn together and riveted – and are adjustable with quick release clasps in the front. The arrow feathers are cut out out and glued on to sticks.

Lastly, for a bit of fun, I had to make some ‘proper’ Merry men hats. I found a couple of DIY guides on Pinterest, measured for size and then sewed them together out of felt with matching feathers.

These outfits have been a great hit with the boys and have been worn daily since making,(to the sounds of Robin Hood, Robin Hood riding through the glen) – which of course is the most important thing when making an outfit for anyone.

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MotherGrimm
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