Middle Earth Ranger Forum

I finally have the clothing component of my kit at a point where I feel like it is worth posting here. It is heavily influenced by 14th century English clothing. A few of my weapons also make an appearance; I hope that's okay.

Undergarments - Shirt and Braies



The shirt is based on the remnants of an extant shirt believed to be owned by St. Louis. It is made out of a relatively thick unbleached linen. The braies as based on numerous illustrations from the 13th-14th centuries and made using a pattern from “The Medieval Tailor’s Assistant” by Sarah Thursfield. They are effectively a linen cylinder with a gusseted waistband with a drawstring sewn in the middle so that the leg openings are perpendicular to the waist opening. This makes them very baggy in the seat and front, which is great for movement. I’ve tried making braies more in the shape of modern boxers, but they were more restricting than I liked.

Cotes and Chausses



My cote is light green and made from a drape that I bought from Goodwill. I think it was something like 75% linen, 25% synthetics. I need to replace it with one made from 100% linen or worsted wool, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. The chausses are made from a lightweight dark brown wool, and are tied to the braies through eyelets at the top. Currently, I’m just using leather cording to tie them; I need to replace that with proper points. My fear of making closely tailored garments is pretty evident in this picture, since both the cote and chausses should probably be more fitted. I tend to cut large to try to be cautious, then never go back and take the garment in appropriately.

Surcote and Boots



Mine is effectively a rectangle with a hole for my head stitch closed at the sides My boots began life as generic Ren-faire boots - knee high with a cuff. They were a pain to put on and take off, so I pretty much stopped wearing them until I decided to try to adapt them to something more appropriate looking. I cut off the cuffs and used the leather to make side gussets and straps so they would look more like something resembling 14th century buckled boots, but they still have a modern sole. I’ll be replacing them with these turnshoes from Boots by Bohemond. I’ve already bought them, but they are my Christmas present so I can’t play with them yet. The pieces of fabric at my knees are my makeshift garters. They hold my chausses tighter to my knee, since that is where they are the most loose due to the straight back-seam I used to construct them. I bought the pouch for $20 at a Ren-faire, so while I can’t say that it is correct for the period I'm going for, it was inexpensive and doesn’t especially call attention to itself. The belt is a modern one I had around, and I hope to replace it with something more appropriate soon.

Hood, Gloves, and Sword



My hood is a fairly generic medieval hood made from wool. The gloves are rose gardening gauntlets. They were very, very green when I got them, so I put a coat of saddle tan leather dye on them, which has toned them down a bit. The sword is the Norwich Falchion by Valiant Armory, and I love it. It appears to have been heavily inspired by the Thorpe Falchion, which is on display in Norwich Castle. The sword belt is very basic, just leather straps stitched in two loops around the sheath. I like the set-up, but I’ll be replacing it with something a little longer with a more appropriate buckle and a strap end.

Cloak and Bow



The cloak is just a rectangle of wool pinned at my shoulder with an iron penannular brooch. The bow was made by Joshua Albanese at Bowskins.com. It is hickory with horn nocks, and has a draw weight of 54 pounds at 28”. I still need to make/buy some arrows to go with it; I’m currently using modern aluminum arrows since I seem to be losing them fairly often.

So, that’s the clothing component (and a couple weapons) from my kit so far. Constructive criticism is always appreciated!

Nice kit- maybe over the winter break I can get my wife to photograph me in my garb. I've gotten and made a few pieces since my Ranger hike last spring.

Very nice outfit. I hear a lot of good things about the Norwich. I have a Malatista and a lot of memebers here have either the Castile or the Bristol.

Excellent stuff here. Very well put together, and a few very creative re-purposed items. I particularly like the constant "...but I've got something better in the works" comments. Nothing about what you have is in any way shape or form bad, but you're still not content. There's always room for improvement (myself being nowhere close to settled, either) and I'm glad you're motivated.

It all looks great! We've just gotta get you out into the woods now.

What Greg said.

I literally have zero criticism of this, constructive or otherwise. It looks great. You have obviously put a lot of hard work and attention to detail into your kit, and it really really shows. Very nice.

What a high quality, well thought out and authentic kit!
You could do far worse and very little better than you have done already my friend!
Though it is always wise to leave room for improvement, you should feel quite a sense of accomplishment at your efforts thus far indeed!

Looks great.

Great kit, you should be very proud of your work! I really like the falchion, I have thought about getting a single edged sword when I can manage one.

gear looks great

wulfgar wrote:I really like the falchion, I have thought about getting a single edged sword when I can manage one.

I like using a falchion for my ranger kit because single-edged swords make me think of archers and hunters,. Since rangers are archers and woodsman, among other things, it fits well in my mind.

That being said, I've seen lots of other weapons on this forum that fit the rangers that use them just as well!

I made a new sword belt. It's the same style as my previous one, but quite a bit longer.




It might look black in the pictures, but it's a dark brown to match the grip of the sword. The buckle and strap end are pewter. I got them from Revival Clothing. I don't have much in the way of leatherworking tools, so I made the line along the sides of the belt strap with the tines of a fork.

Finally took a picture of my kit out at the shooting range.



I think the browns work pretty well with the surroundings, but I think the tunic needs to be a little more green. I may try to dye it, or I might not bother since I plan on replacing it.

very nice!

I love how you've gone all the way down to the linens!

Did you line your hood? Or is it a single thickness of wool?

Elleth wrote:Did you line your hood? Or is it a single thickness of wool?

It's a single thickness. I was going for a three-season sort of garment, so I'll probably need to make a heavier winter one or make a wool arming cap to swap out with my linen one.

Looking better with every post. Solid craftsmanship all around. Still love that hat.

The hood I'm working on is unlined linen from the neck down, and lined with a thin wool for the actual portion that covers the head. Should keep the excess warmth from making me sweat constantly while hiking about with the hood down, and I figure my wool shirt and body linens can keep my shoulders plenty warm enough, yet pulling the hood up can do the job for warmth still well enough for cold nights. At least...that's the plan, for what it's worth. Time will tell.