LOTR Faramir Full Costume WIP - Pic Heavy

[Nibenon]

Boots done! The piping on the heels and top cuffs is actually chrome-free pigskin dyed (with Waterstains, naturally) to match the Huntington leather. That’s currently one of my proudest dye-matches yet.

All that’s left is the scabbard, which has to wait until the commissioned sword is forged. I may even redo the belt to match.

Next time: I’ll showcase the quiver.

 

[Wonder Knight]

It's really impressive, congratulations, I can't wait to see more

 

[Dr Jones Sr]

That is all superb! The leatherwork is amazing especially the vambraces.

I bow to your skill and ingenuity

 

[Nibenon]

Had to browse through my IG feed to find old WIP pictures, but here’s the quiver. I basically made a paper pattern, traced out the body, and cut the trim pieces off the pattern.

Dyed the pieces individually, glued the trim in place before punching holes and hand-stitching everything together, and made sure the green fabric bag was sewn to the quiver along the bottom edge.

There was some guesswork about where to position the shoulder strap, but it almost looks vertical in references. Prior to dyeing and assembly, you also want to fold the wet leather billet and hit it with a mallet to add the appropriate rippled texture.

The buckle is from Shapeways, and I’m very happy with it. My only qualm with the overall quiver is that my trim is more orange than gold, but it’s not impossible to change in the future.

I don’t have the orange or green-fletched arrows that the rangers of Ithilien use, but yellow is a safe placeholder, especially since arrows are wood, not synthetic.

And... that’s it. Comparing this final picture to the one from last year (see an earlier quarantine post), I can really see how the new boots really keep the overall color scheme from being too reddish. Now it’s simultaneously warm, but dull.

That’s really all until the sword completes the ensemble, so if anyone has any questions, I’ll always be happy to add more info. Thanks for following along!

 

[Cbstudios]

The work you've put into this costume is absolutely gorgeous. Absolutely stunning in every detail!

 

[Foolishmortal42]

Incredible work. It looks fantastic. I am in awe of your skills.

 

[joberg]

Pro-Job all the way

 

[colinjreed]

I usually tend towards the Star Wars sections on here, but just browsed around a different section and I am so glad I did! I can’t wait to see the sword and scabbard with this. I am envious of your leather working skills.

excellent work!

 

[altromi]

25 eyelets per sleeve side, 50 a sleeve, 100 for the shirt.

View attachment 1090171View attachment 1090172

The next layer is deceptively simple: the sleeveless tunic. I've spoken on other builds about my preference for twill fabric for its thickness/drape, and here I found a fantastic, rich olive-forest twill.

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It appears that every edge has trimming, or at least rolled seams, so I cut 1-1/4" strips of twill. Plenty of width for sewing a 1/2" french binding:
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EXTRA DETAIL TIME: The front edges ONLY are sewn with a zigzag. It was worth the time spent measuring, marking, and slowly sewing 'em:
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Lastly, because there's already 112 small eyelets on this costume, I added 32 large ones:

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And that's most of the fabric done! Tomorrow: Front ties, and the start of the leatherwork.

I'm trying to wrap my head around making something similar to this tunic/surcoat piece. I don't suppose you have a pattern or any advice on the shape/fitting? Much appreciated!

 

[Nibenon]

I'm trying to wrap my head around making something similar to this tunic/surcoat piece. I don't suppose you have a pattern or any advice on the shape/fitting? Much appreciated!

If you're talking about the sleeveless tunic, it's a very simple pattern. You're basically taking a very long shirt, cutting off the sleeves, and splitting it up the sides, front, and back to make 4 evenly-divided sections.

Making it more professionally was another matter. I can offer some of my sketches from the build, if that would help. I'd just need to find them!

 

[iKillGiants]

You have shown your quality, sir - the very highest.

 

[Onii]

Would there be any possibility to seeing the pattern you made for the shoes? In order to not get a seam on the side. Since the main body of the shoe seems to be one big piece

 

[Nibenon]

Would there be any possibility to seeing the pattern you made for the shoes? In order to not get a seam on the side. Since the main body of the shoe seems to be one big piece

In fact, there needs to be a seam on the inner side of each boot, both for accuracy and for the pattern to be functional!

I still have the rough pattern, which needs follow-up as it’s sewn, but here’s a rough idea of the steps:

 

[Nibenon]

More cuirasses out every few weeks, and while these documented steps haven’t changed, the process gets more consistent each time, including more accurate patterns, custom leather stamps, and little tweaks to help keep the pieces removable, like snaps on the padded sleeves instead of stitching it irrevocably to the cuirass.

This must be the 7th or 8th full set I’ve taken on!