Armour

This is something of a counterpart to my last post where I was applying a textile technique - knitting - to metal. Today I've taken a construction method normally used on metal and applied it to textiles. The end result is armour made out of felt.


The white patches on the felt are Paverpol, a textile hardener. When I took these photographs the Paverpol was still wet, but it should disappear once it dries and the pieces of felt should harden into these shapes.


Prior to making this I spent two afternoons sketching in the Wallace Collection. This amazing, (and free!), museum has over two thousand objects in its European and Oriental Armoury collections. What's really striking about the items in these collections is how decorative they are; there's very little that looks purely functional. Based on what I've seen there I'm planning on embellishing this piece once it's dry by embroidering it with wire.


I'm really pleased with how this turned out, but I now want to make one on a bigger scale. Unfortunately, I think that might have to wait until after Christmas, as I'm going to be printing for the next few weeks. I'll be continuing along a similar theme with the printing and making something based around heraldry and coats of arms. Hopefully, I'll be able to combine both projects in the new year.