Maille Armour

I've been making maille since 1998. This is where I started armouring. I'm currently working on my third shirt: a full hauberk in 17ga 1/4 ID links. To date, everything I've made has been butted links, but eventually I'd like to make a full suit in riveted links.

Long sleeved habergeon, coif, and chausses:

Coif

14ga 3/8" ID

This was my second shirt. The sleeve pattern is one I came up with, based on the raglan style. There are extra triangles worked into the shoulder area so that I can lift my arms completely without lifting the entire weight of the shirt. This is a life saver for the shoulders after a full day of wear. I've also made a matching coif and chausses for this suit. The chausses cover the full leg, from mid-thigh down to the ankle. In a standing position, the back is straight while the front is baggy at the knees. This allows for the full range of motion of my legs without having to sit on excess maille when I kneel. The legs are suspended from a leather belt.

Short sleeved habergeon and coif:

First suit Old picture

14ga 5/16" ID

This was my first maille project. It started out being loosely based off of an online pattern. I changed the pattern as soon as I got to the sleeves because I found I could hardly lift my arms past 60 degrees. I added in extra material and adjusted the sleeve openings so that I only had to lift the weight of the sleeves. At one point, this shirt had belt loops built into it to transfer weight to the hips. While this was comfortable, I cut them off for authenticity reasons and turned them into a keychain. The second picture shows them still attached. Can you tell which part I attached last?

Full Fingered glove:

Glove palm Glove fist

17ga 3/16" ID

This is probably the most complex item I've made from maille. It fits my left hand and just about no one else. The reason for the maille on the palm is to grab edged weapons securely. The sides of the fingers are laced with artificial sinew because maille does not easily flex sideways. For the same reason, the pinky and ring fingers are joined. I have a handmade buckle to tighten the glove at the wrist. I can get a fairly tight grip with this, but I wouldn't want to use one on my sword hand. There is no padding between the maille and the skin, so it's not as good a boxing glove as people like to think.

Mittens:

Mitten palm Mitten back Mitten fist

17ga 3/16" ID

These mittens are made from a soft pig suede backed with maille. The leather is the only part that touches the hand, so they are very comfortable. These allow a good grip on a handle and enough padding that the rings will not embed themselves if you hit something. They've been almost done for about a year. Eventually, they'll have handmade buckles at the wrist.

Non-armour related maille items are in the Misc. section