Yesterday I mixed and cast latex for my Montral. I need to gather a few more supplies, for supporting and maintaining the shapes nce out of the molds. i also cleaned some leather to back the armour pieces. I also made some card templates of the pieces that were curved too much to match in the chrome tanned leather.
Today I got some of the chrome tanned leather cut to match those templates and also took a pattern of my greaves.
I transferred the card template to the leather using tailors chalk. I extended the lines as a guide for findint eh perfect point. I leave a seam allowance on all edges so I can decide which is the better option once set up for curing.
I folded the leather so I could get perfectly matching left and right sides, and it ensured I got a left and right copy for each side!
I used the flattest piece for the only really flat piece in the armour. It is currently weighted to remain as flat as possible.
The greaves were the most complex to transfer, so I have taken a pattern from the pieces. I first cut along the known joins, then folded the widest pieces in half to fine room for an additional curve to be cut.
I had to label each panel as the pieces are not symmetric, reflecting the curves of a human leg. These line drawings will be scanned and tidied with paths in photoshop tomorrow. Right now thee lines are overly accurate.
Even the knee cap is curved.
The cap and upper decoration are also asymmetric so have to be labeled in a way to remember which side is which.
All these paneled pieces are for the linings, there will be contact adhesive between the outer and inner layers as well as a very open gauze for stability against stretching.