Hamata assembly to achieve a shirt

[Hamata]

I am making an 8mm riveted chain mail shirt and now that I am finally achieving some significant sections I am confronted with the problem of making them into a shirt. I have made a pattern for my shoulders with a hole for my head. My plan is to make sections of chain mail for the undersides of the armholes. I am making a strip of mail to go around my chest and feel that once the shoulders are complete attaching it to this would be next.

I realize that not many people are making riveted chainmail, but I want to be smart enough to utilize other peoples successes.

Will Henricks
Overland Park, Kansas

[Robert Vermaat]

Hi Will, I moved your post to the re-enactment section.

[Matthew Amt]

Well, I guess the next step is basically just "Keep going"! Remembering long ago when I made my hauberk (butted, but same general concept), I also started by making a head hole. I deliberately made it rather generous, knowing I could fill in later if necessary. That's the beauty of mail! Same thing with closing up under the arms, once my shoulder section got long enough--make the openings a little large at first, just in case. Just don't make the body itself too baggy--that's unnecessary weight!

Once you have front connected to back under the arms, it's simple, just keep going down row by row until you get it as long as you need. You can go back and fill in the holes to a good size any time along the way.

Many folks build up separate pieces of mail and then attach them to the shirt as they go, but I usually just kept adding directly to the shirt itself. Making smaller pieces is certainly a more portable method, though--I used to cut rings at night and assemble them on the bus to work the next day.

That help? Good luck!

Matthew

[Kevin J. Aschenmeier]

I made a butted hauberk a few years back. I followed the tailoring in www.weylea.demon.co.uk/farisles/armour/ ... e/mail.htm

I do not know if the site is still there. The hauberk is based on one in the Wallace Collection. It was kind of a bother to go through the many contractions and expansions. But the end result was probably worth it. It fits well. There is no real binding,even when doing overhead work.

I think you could make a good hamata by following this same pattern, just skip the sleeves.

Kevin

[AntonivsMarivsCongianocvs]

Salve,

If you want to make your maile more like a shirt, here's a pretty good pattern to go by:
[url:q0jssnqw]http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/4200/hauberk.html[/url]

Hope that helps!

This is the shirt David Heirtzler made from the pattern on the link above:

[Matthew Amt]

There shouldn't be much tailoring needed for a hamata, if any. Certainly it won't need those diagonal seams for the sleeves, since there aren't any sleeves. (And no evidence for any feature like that!) All you need is basically a straight tube with the top closed, and gaps left for head and arms. Why complicate it? I've seen all kinds of guys with hamatae made that way, and none have had any problems.

Matthew

[Marcus Mummius]

There shouldn't be much tailoring needed for a hamata, if any. Certainly it won't need those diagonal seams for the sleeves, since there aren't any sleeves. (And no evidence for any feature like that!) All you need is basically a straight tube with the top closed, and gaps left for head and arms. Why complicate it? I've seen all kinds of guys with hamatae made that way, and none have had any problems.

Matthew

Just the same pattern as an early Imperial tunic, as simple as that. Although a bit smaller:-)

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Did the later hamatas not have a sleeve on it?

[Chuck Russell]

not that kinda sleeve anyways. i always hated my 45 degree sleeve. it was way heavier and i could never get my arms up high enough in them