Make Knight Armor From a Floormat and Hot Glue!

As a child, it was my dream to be a knight. Or at the very least have a set of armour that I could dress up in and go on imaginary adventures. Sadly that never happened and the dream faded. Then, a few years ago, my son asked if he could be a knight for Halloween, and I was more than happy to make that happen! It worked out great, and that armor has been in our basement now for the last 5 years and has been put on by almost every child that has seen it:)

In this tutorial I am going to show you howe to make a movie worthy set of armor using cheap and accessible materials such as a foam mat, some hot glue, and a really sharp knife.... and some other stuff. I have a pattern for sale on my website that you can print off on your home printer. At the moment the template includes two different child sizes and one adult size. The armor is designed to be modular, so it is easy to add, change or remove pieces, as well as being very adjustable in its sizing. Have a look, I hope it helps you make some armor that will impress!!

• Pattern: You can find it on my website. When you print it, measure against the print guides to know the scale is correct. ** When printing, make sure scale is set to ACTUAL SIZE** Because I make my patterns to work on both A4 and U.S. letter paper, often Adobe Acrobat will try and shrink the pages a little bit. ( the helmet is included in the pattern, though I don't show how to make it in this intsructable)
• Silver Gel Pen or Paint Pen: Used for any markings on the foam. If you use a ballpoint pen or sharpie and then try to paint over it with a light colour, the pen ink will migrate through the paint and you will never be able to cover the lines!
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Very Sharp Knife: If it is not really sharp you will have a terrible time when you are cutting the foam. I use a surgical scalpel or utility knife. Use a brand new blade.
• Cutting Surface: Somewhere to cut where you won’t be destroying anything.
• 5-7 mm Thick Eva Foam Floor Mat: I used a mat that was 4ft x 8ft and had a little left over after
• making all the parts. (Not including the helmet)
• 2 mm Thick Eva Foam: You can often find rolls of this stuff at craft stores. A roll is handy because you can cut nice long strips from it. If you can find it in black, that’s the best- if a bit off paint gets rubbed off during use, there won’t be some random colour showing through.
• Hot Glue Gun: I highly suggest a glue gun that has adjustable temperature. If you use a temperature just a little bit higher than the melting point of the glue, you will have fewer burnt fingers, and not have to hold pieces together as long while they cool.
• Heat Gun or Blowdryer: Used for heating and forming the foam.
• Gluing Surface: A surface that you don’t mind getting glue on. A silicone baking sheet is great
• because hot glue doesn’t stick to it.
• Leather Punch: 4 mm diameter.
• Black Paint: Artists acrylics work reasonable well, though they can crack over time. If you want a really durable, long lasting finish, I would suggest using a flexible paint, such as Plaid FX paints.
• Metallic paint: I used DecoArt Americana Metallics “Silver” mixed with “Pewter” for the silver colour, and “Antique Brass” for the gold.
• Rubber Gloves: To wear while applying the metallic paints
• Water based contact cement: (optional) Used to glue fabric to strengthen the foam straps.
• 6mm (1/4”) Vinyl Tubing: 2 metres (78”)
• 2.5cm (1”) wide Webbing (1.7cm (3/4”) for child sizes): 82cm (32”) for the straps to attach tassets to breastplate.
• 1.5cm wide Webbing: 40cm (15”) for the straps attaching the arms to the breastplate.
• 2.5 cm (1 inch) elastic: Approx. 2metres (78”). Get a little more if you are a larger size.
•  5 cm (2”) wide Hook and Loop Tape: Used to for attaching parts together. I used 130cm (51”) 
•  Fabric: Just some scrap bits of lightweight cotton or polyester

• Wearing the armour limits your mobility. This increases the chances of falling injuries. Be very aware of the activities you are taking part in so that you do not get into a dangerous situation.
• Whenever you heat foam (with a heatgun or blowdryer) there is potential for the foam to release harmful gases, so use a respirator and do it somewhere with good ventilation.
• Some EVA foam contains a chemical called formamide. There are some people that say there isn't enough formamide in EVA mats to be harmful, and others that say there is. Do your research and come to your own conclusions. At the least, I would say it is a good idea to open your foam mat up and let it sit in the sun for a day or two, as most of the chemical will off-gas from the foam. Or buy foam that is labelled formamide free.
• Sharp knives and hot glue can cause injury. Be sure to use in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
• Disclaimer: If you rely on the information portrayed in these instructions, you do so at your own risk and you assume the responsibility for the results. You hereby release Lost Wax Designs from any and all actions, claims, or demands that you, your heirs, distributees, guardians, next of kin, spouse or legal representatives now have, or may have in the future, for injury, death, property damage, or any other liability that may result related to the information provided in these instructions.


One of the main goals of this pattern was to make an armour costume that would allow for various sizes of people to use one costume. That is why everything is quite adjustable. If you are making this for only one specific person, you may want to reduce the overlap in some places and glue it permanently rather than having quite as many Velcro fasteners.

Currently I have 3 sizes included in this pattern, two child sizes that should fit children from about age 4 to 10, and one adult size.

Unfortunately, due to covid, I haven’t been able to fully test the complete range for each size, but I have been able to test on my family:)

Kids Size S: Fits my 5 year old daughter at 3’ 7” tall.

Kids Size M: Fit my son when he was 9. It has been tried on kids 4’2” - 4’7” and it fits.

Adult Size M: Fits myself, my wife, and son. I am 5’11” tall and weigh about 165 lbs, my wife is 5’6” tall and 115 lbs, and my son is 5’8” and 125lbs. For my son and wife, I have the velcro on the sides as tight as it can go, and for myself, it overlaps 4 1/2 inches (12cm) on each side. So there is still room for larger people to fit this size. If you are a bit larger, it might be a good idea to lengthen the shoulder straps of the breastplate and backplate to allow a greater range. You can also remove one of the strips at the bottom of the breastplate if it is too long.

Print the appropriate pattern pages of the PDF for the size you are making. Make sure the scale is set to actual size or 100%. Many of the pattern pieces are larger than one sheet of paper. For these, line up the “+” marks and tape the sheets together. I find it is easier to line up the marks if I hold the papers up against a window or use a light box so that the light coming through the window allows me to see through to the lower registration marks.

**Make sure the scale is set to actual size in the settings when you print.** 

After printing, measure the print guides with a ruler to verify that they are the correct size.

Use scissors to cut out the paper pattern for armour, just barely leaving the black line visible.

You will notice the poleyn (piece 20) has a section with a dotted line. Don’t cut there yet, you will need to trace the piece twice first on the foam, and then cut along those lines for the other two pieces.

Once all the pattern pieces are cut out, you can lay them out on your foam mat to get an idea of how to make them fit as efficiently as possible. Each pattern piece has instructions on it as to how many times it will need to be traced and whether you will need to flip the pattern piece over for the second tracing. Whenever you trace a flipped pattern piece, it is helpful if you label it with a “B” so that you know which are which.

In the pictures shown, I have printed extra copies of all the pieces that need to be cut out more than once, so that I can lay out the entire pattern in the most efficient way on the foam.

Pieces 1 and 3 need to be traced, flipped along their centre line, and traced again, combining the two halves into one large piece. Make sure not to cut them out separately!

Carefully trace the pattern pieces onto the foam using either a light coloured gel pen or a paint pen. The reason for this is that standard sharpies or ball point pens seep through whatever paint goes over top of them, which isn’t bad if you are painting a dark colour, but if you are going to make your armour silver, you can be sure it will show through. Trust me, it’s almost impossible to cover over!

** It might be a good idea to start by only tracing the parts for the breastplate so you can make sure it fits before cutting everything else out**

Wherever there are alignment marks or centre lines in the pattern, transfer them onto the foam, and once you lift your paper off the foam, extend that line inward and mark the letter so that it will be included once you have cut out the foam piece. Where there are holes to be punched in the foam, push the tip of your pen or a skewer through the pattern into the foam to make a mark.

** Quick tip** If you trace right on top of the alignment marks while there is a sheet of foam under the pattern, it leaves an indentation in the paper. This is handy when you flip the paper, because then you know where your alignment points should go. You could also just hold the paper up to a window so you can see through it, and then transfer the marks to the back side.

Using your sharp knife, cut directly on the lines. If the cuts look rough, that means your knife is too dull. Either get a new blade or sharpen your knife. It’ll make a ton of difference. Also, you will get a better quality cut by cutting along the same line a few times with moderate pressure rather than trying to cut all the way through in one pass.

**Remember to watch where your fingers are at all times and make sure you don’t cut them!

I use hot glue for my projects now, as I am a bit leery of breathing the fumes that go along with contact cement. It takes a little more practice, but you can still get very good results. The choice really is up to you. If you use quality contact cement, you will end up with a slightly more durable costume, particularly if it will be in hot places where hot glue could melt.

One thing that can really make life easier is to use a hot glue gun with adjustable temperature. That way you can turn the temperature down so it is just above the melting point of the glue. You don’t need to hold things as long, there are less fumes, and you don’t get burned as easily!

I like to glue a section about 5 cm long and hold it together until the glue cools. This time can vary depending on how hot your glue gun is, but for me it is about 30 seconds. The number one reason people have problems with hot glue is that they are just not holding the parts together long enough, so, if in doubt, hold the parts a little longer.

If there is a long piece to glue, it is best to glue both ends so they line up properly first, then glue the rest of the seam in the centre. This reduces any errors due to the stretchable nature of the foam.

Hot glue sticks well to EVA foam, however foam that has a heat sealed texture is too smooth for the glue to grip, so, if you are using foam with a texture on one side, every time you want to glue to that textured surface, you will need to sand the foam with a coarse sandpaper- around 50 or 80 grit.

** If you do use hot glue to make your armour, be careful not to leave it in a hot car because the glue will melt, leaving you with a hot mess! **

If you have problems getting clean seams with hot glue, one thing you can do is wait until the seam is cool and them rub along the seam with a piece of scrap foam. This softens the glue and allows you to rub away the excess.

You will also see me sometimes wipe the hot glue off the foam seam before it completely cools. I am able to do this without burning my fingers because my glue gun is set to a low temperature and I have a fair bit of experience knowing how long to wait. I think it produces the best results, but do so at your own risk!

I have a helpful video about how to use hot glue for foam here.

Place paper pattern piece 3 over the foam and use something sharp to mark along the dotted line through the paper into the foam. Remove the paper pattern and trace the marks you made on the foam with your pen. This line will help in aligning the pieces later. Do this for both piece 3’s.

Glue one piece 3 partially overlapping the other piece 3, lining up the bottom edge of the overlapping piece with the line you just drew on the other piece. Start by gluing just one place in the centre first and letting it cool.

While the pieces are lying flat on the table, the outside edges probably won’t line up, however once you add some curve to the pieces, they will. Glue the strips together on each end, lining up the outside edges of the two strips.

Now that you have the centre and the two ends attached, go back along the entire overlapping area and glue in there as well. As the glue cools, hold the “belt” of foam in a curved shape. This will help the foam piece keep that shape and curve around your body better.

Place piece 1 over top of the belt, lining up the bottom edge of piece 1 with the line drawn on the top piece 3. Glue piece 1 to the belt in the same way you just did the two piece 3’s, starting in the centre, then lining up and gluing the ends and then holding it all curved while you glue the rest of the overlap.

This assembly will now be called the Breastplate

Flip the breastplate over and you will see “steps” made by the overlapping layers of foam. Use a sharp knife at an angle to cut away the corner along the top edge of the two piece 3’s. This helps to smooth the transition between the layers and make for a more comfortable armour wearing experience.

Glue the two halves of the backplate together, lining up the alignment points as you go along.

Using a blowdryer on its hottest setting or a heat gun, heat up the sides of the backplate and curve them inwards with your hands. In order to get the foam to hold its shape, it’s important not to stop forming while the foam is still warm - hold it curved until it cools. Also, keep the heat away from the centre seam or the hot glue will remelt and you’ll have to re-glue it.

Use the heat to curve the shoulder straps of both the breastplate and backplate.

The sides of the breastplate should already be curved a bit due to how you glued the layers. Don’t heat them with the heat gun or they may come apart, however you can still bend them a bit more without any heat if they need more forming.

Cut some 7 mm wide strips of 2 mm thick EVA foam. The longer the strips are, the better as they will be glued all around the edges of the breastplate. (If you are making one of the child sizes, these strips should be 5mm wide)

Glue strips along the “steps” on the lower half of the breastplate. You will use 2 strips for each step, joining them at the centre. The tricky part is getting them to go around the sharp corners. Start with a little extra length to your strip, then mark where the corner will be on the strip. Make a V shaped cutout with the point right where you marked the corner, cutting almost all the way through the strip but not quite. Now you can bend the strip so the V cutout closes up. Check if it can close enough to match the angle of the edge, and if not, cut the V a little bit wider until it works.

Glue the strips, starting at the corner you just cut and then work to the edge one way and the centre the other way.

At the centre point, cut the strip vertically, and then when you do the strip on the other side you can cut it at the point to match the first one.

Cut any excess that is sticking out the side of the breastplate.

Glue strips around the inside of the arms and the neck band as well.

** When you are gluing strips down next to an edge, if you press them down starting on the inside edge and applying pressure outwards, you will force any excess glue out the edge rather than to the inside. This is a much easier location to clean glue from the outside than if it squeezed inwards.**

** A quick note about gluing hook and loop tape with hot glue: Depending on the hook and loop tape used, some adheres well with hot glue and some does not, so before you start, test to make sure that the glue will stick. If not, you can sand the back of the hook and loop tape to roughen it up and this is usually enough to get a good bond.

I used a roll of 5 cm (2”) wide hook and loop fastener for everything in this project. I’m just going to call it Velcro from here on in, because it’s a lot quicker to type:)

Glue a strip of the fuzzy Velcro to the inside of the shoulder straps on the breastplate. You can use two like I did in the video if you want the sizing to be a bit more adjustable for smaller size people. Make sure to maintain the curve of the shoulder straps while the glue cools, Velcro doesn’t stretch, so if you glue it flat and then try to curve the shoulder in, the Velcro will buckle.

Glue a strip of the hook side of the Velcro on the outside of the shoulder strap on the backplate. Glue a strip of the hook side of the Velcro vertically along the side edges on the interior of the breastplate. (For the child sizes, you can use a thinner 2.5 cm (1”) wide strip)

Try on the breastplate and backplate with the shoulders Velcroed together. Hold the sides together where it feels comfortable for you. Get an assistant to mark lines where the edges of the breastplate overlap the backplate. You can use those lines to determine the length of Velcro strips you will need to glue to the backplate.

The strips of fuzzy Velcro that go on the backplate will be glued on horizontally to give a range of size adjustability. The length of strips you choose will determine how far your armour can adjust. Use 3 strips of Velcro glued horizontally, at least as far as to the mark your assistant made when you tried on the breastplate/backplate. I cut my 2’ Velcro down the centre to make 1” wide strips for this purpose. That still gives plenty of holding power. Remember to keep the foam curved while gluing the Velcro on so that it maintains its shape. (You can use only two 1” wide strips if you are making one of the child sizes)

To add some contours to the breastplate, you can use your knee to stretch the foam right where the pectoral muscles would be. To get the foam to stretch a decent amount, you need to be able to apply heat to it with a hot blowdryer or a heat gun. Hold the breastplate with one hand on the side of the armpit and one hand at the centre of the neck and pull it down over your knee so that your knee only stretches in the pec area. Repeat for the other side of the chest.

You can also form the foam about where the abs would be. Hold the breastplate over your legs and then press down in the centre of the lower edge, right about where the upside down V’s are.

The breastplate feels a little bit plain on its own, and it is the perfect spot to inject your own personality into your armour. You can design your own crest to glue in the centre, or if you are looking for the ultimate iconic symbol of knightlyness, I have included a drawing of a winged uni-lion in the adult sized pattern and a winged narwhal for the kids size. Regardless of what you choose, the process is the same....

If you have a digital copy of your design and an inkjet printer, you can print the image on a sheet of paper and lay the paper upside down on a sheet of 2 mm craft foam. Wet the paper from the back to transfer the ink from the paper to the foam, being careful not to move the paper during the process. Once the paper is nice and wet, but not too wet, peel it up carefully, and you should be able to see the pattern on the foam. Just keep in mind that this will produce a mirror image of your original.

Trace the lines of the image with a ballpoint pen. I am not worried about the ink from the ballpoint pen bleeding through the paint at the end here, because we will want the recesses in the image to remain dark when we paint it anyways.

Once you have traced the design, go over it again with your ball-point pen, this time pressing down quite firmly and going over each line repeatedly so that the foam compresses along the lines and stays compressed.

Cut out your majestic uni-lion (or whatever else your splendid imagination came up with) and glue it down in the centre of the breastplate. If it is large, you will probably want to glue it a section at a time until it’s all glued down.

Use a 4 mm leather punch to punch holes in the marked locations on pieces 9 and 9b. 

Glue piece 9 to piece 9b (the flipped piece 9) along the centre line, lining up the alignment marks as you go. The very top and bottom are a little tricky as they involve gluing two concave sections together, so start with short glue seams and make sure to hold them really well until you are sure the glue has cooled. Once one end is secure, work your way down the pauldron, gluing a section at a time.  

Once the centre seam is complete, glue the V shaped cutouts on each side. 

If you are gluing the pieces together with the smooth side facing up, you will likely end up with an inside out pauldron. Once it is all together and the glue is cool, you can turn it right side out. This is also a good test of how strong your glue seams are!

Glue some 7 mm wide (5mm wide for child sizes) strips of 2 mm thick EVA foam around the outside edges of the pauldron, one on each side and meeting at the points on the top and bottom of the pauldron. Cut the strips in line with the centre seam so they form a nice point.

Cut two of piece 21 and one piece 22 from 2 mm thick foam.

Piece 22 should stretch from the top to the bottom of the pauldron with the curls touching the edge rim. The great thing about these design pieces is that they cover up most of the glue seams on the pauldron. 

The two piece 21s will cover the side seams, with the flat base butting up right against the outside rim and the curls centred on the points of the centre diamond.

Punch 4 mm holes in piece 10 in their marked locations.

Heat the foam and curve it. Hold an exaggerated curve until the foam cools. 

Glue 7 mm wide (5mm wide for child sizes) strips of foam around the outside edges, but don’t apply it along the top concave curve, that would just get in the way of it moving properly on its hinges.

The flappy bit needs to be able to….flap, so you need to make some simple hinge rivets out of cheap clear vinyl tubing. I have a video demonstrating this technique, which I encourage you to watch here. It does take some practice, but you end up with some really nice pivoting rivets! 

Heat one end of the tubing with your glue gun until it is soft. 

Press that end down on a flat surface to flare the tubing. 

Wait until the tubing cools so it holds the flared shape.

Thread tubing through the hole in the pauldron and corresponding flappy bit hole.

Cut off tubing just a couple of millimetres above the foam.

Heat the end of the tubing you just cut with your glue gun.

Use a slightly rounded surface, such as the end of a pen or drumstick, to flare the other end of the tubing while it is still hot. 

Hold the pen in place until the tubing cools. 

**For easier painting, don't trim and flare the second end of the rivets until after the armor is painted**

Cut a strip of fuzzy Velcro and a strip of scratchy Velcro for each pauldron. Use the following dimensions for the correct lengths for each size. 

Adult Medium: Fuzzy Velcro- 1.5cm x 20cm. Scratchy Velcro- 1.5cm x 9cm

Child Medium: Fuzzy Velcro- 1cm x 15cm. Scratchy Velcro- 1cm x 5cm

Child Small: Fuzzy Velcro- 1cm x 10cm. Scratchy Velcro- 1cm x 3.5cm 

Glue the two strips of Velcro back to back with the shorter, scratchy strip at one end of the longer, fuzzy strip.

Line up this strip inside the pauldron, along the centre line, and extending out past the top edge. The scratchy section of the strip should be facing up and end (15 mm below the tip of the pauldron -adult Size M) (10mm child size M) (5mm child size S) 

Glue the strip along the centre line, but stop gluing when you get to (2.5 cm -adult size M) ( 2cm Child size M) (1.5cm Child size S) away from the tip of the pauldron. This gives a short section of single thickness Velcro to allow the Velcro to twist and move along with your arm motions. 

The point where the Velcro strip attaches to the pauldron is going to get a ton of stress so it needs reinforcing. Glue a 9 cm long strip of webbing, crossing over the Velcro strip at right angles.

In order to keep your pauldrons in place when you move around, you need some straps to go around your arms. There are lots of options available for straps, and if you want to look really great, it’s hard to beat leather straps. However, to keep things simple and supplies down, I am going to make the straps using EVA foam. Depending on the density of EVA foam you’re using, it may or may not be strong enough to use as straps without reinforcement, so I am going to show you one way you can strengthen EVA foam straps.

I will be using water-based contact cement. Water-based has much reduced fumes, which means a healthier working environment. The great thing about contact cement is that when it dries, it feels rubbery and flexible, and for straps, flexibility is important. 

Get some cloth, preferably with a fairly open weave, but pretty much anything will work as long as the glue can soak through it.

Spread some contact cement on the foam sheet.

Lay your cloth on the glue covered foam sheet.

Add more contact cement over the fabric.

Using a gift card, squeegee the glue to spread it evenly through the fabric.

Let it dry. It will probably take longer to dry than you would like, depending how thick the glue is. Be patient. If you rush it, things will just get messy! 

Once totally dry, you can cut whatever strips you need from your sheet of reinforced foam.

**Remember, this is contact cement, so if you let two pieces of your reinforced foam touch each other while the glue is still reactive, they will bond together!**

For each pauldron, cut one foam strip according to the dimensions in the following section. Glue one end of the foam strip to the flappy bit of the pauldron, overlapping the edge by the amount shown. Once glued, the strip should protrude out at right angles to the side edge. Locate it just above where the flappy bit starts to curve. Glue a piece of scratchy velcro to the other end of the strip, facing outward.

Adult Medium: Strip Length- 2.3cm x 9cm. Velcro- 2.3cm x 2cm. Overlap onto Pauldron- 4cm

Child Medium: Strip Length- 1.5cm x 8cm. Velcro- 1.5cm x 2cm. Overlap onto Pauldron- 3cm

Child Small: Strip Length- 1.5cm x 7cm. Velcro- 1.5cm x 2cm. Overlap onto Pauldron- 3cm

Cut one longer strip of foam for each pauldron. The length of the longer strip will depend on the size of your arm as well as whether you are planning to make the full arm armour, because that will add significantly to the circumference of your arm. The table below is a good starting point, but you may need to lengthen or shorten the strip according to your needs. Glue the longer foam strip to the other side of the pauldron, overlapping the same amount as you did for the shorter strip. Glue a strip of fuzzy Velcro to the inside of the strap, according to the dimensions in the table. 

Adult Medium: Strip Length for bare arms- 2.3cm x 26cm. Strip Length for armoured arms- 2.3cm x 30cm.Velcro- 2.3cm x 10cm. Overlap onto Pauldron- 4cm

Child Medium: Strip Length for bare arms- 1.5cm x 18cm. Strip Length for armoured arms- 1.5cm x 22cm. Velcro- 1.5cm x 9cm. Overlap onto Pauldron- 3cm

Child Small: Strip Length for bare arms- 1.5cm x 14cm. Strip Length for armoured arms- 1.5cm x 17cm. Velcro- 1.5cm x 8cm. Overlap onto Pauldron- 3cm

Before the glue cools, make sure to curve the strap the way it needs to be to go around your arm. 

If you’d like, you can round off the ends of the strap with some scissors.

Make sure when you put the straps on the second pauldron, that you make it as a mirror image. That way when you put them on, both straps look the same.

To attach the pauldrons to the breastplate, refer to the breastplate pattern, and mark the cut lines on the top of the breastplate shoulder straps. 

Cut on the cut lines, cutting all the way through the Velcro on the back side of the shoulder strap as well as the foam. 

** The placement of the cut line is just a guide, so depending on your size, it may be perfect or you may need to adjust where you cut**

Use a slightly thicker object to widen the slot you just cut - the back of a scalpel or the handle of a spoon works well. This is just to make it easier to feed the pauldron strap through the slot.

Feed the pauldron strap through the slot. If all your Velcro was put on in the right orientation, you should be able to press the Velcro of the pauldron strap up against the Velcro on the breastplate shoulder strap and have a nice strong connection, with the backside of the pauldron strap still able to connect to the backplate shoulder strap Velcro. 

The slot for the pauldron strap allows for variable positioning of the pauldron backwards and forwards as well as in and out. 

The tassets are the pieces that cover your upper thighs.

Using a hot blowdryer or heatgun, heat up the foam and curve the tassets by holding them in an exaggerated curve until they cool.

The pattern pieces for all the tassets have a centre line marked, and pieces 5 and 6 also have a “bottom edge” line marked. If you cut a little slot along those lines on the paper pattern, you can lay them over the corresponding foam piece and mark those lines onto the foam. 

Glue piece 5 overlapping piece 6, with the bottom edge of piece 5 aligning with the “bottom edge” mark you just made. Start by gluing a small section in the centre, and once cool, glue the rest of the overlap, making sure to maintain the curved shape of the tasset until the glue cools.

Glue piece 4 on top of piece 5 in the same manner.

Glue 7 mm wide (5mm wide for child sizes) strips of 2 mm thick foam all the way around all the edges of the tassets.

It can be tricky to glue the strips because there are multiple corner sections that all need to line up. In order to get the corner of the strip to line up with the corner of the tasset, I stop gluing about 5 cm before I reach the corner. That way, due to the compressible and stretchable nature of foam, If I get the corner cut slightly wrong, I have 5 cm of foam that I can either pull or squish to make the corners line up perfectly. 

To make the corner, mark where the corner will be on the strip by pressing in with your fingernail or mark it with a pen. Then using quality scissors, cut a V shape into the foam strip with the point of the V ending at the mark you made, and not quite cutting through the foam. Bend the strip to close the gap made by the V and check to see if the angle matches the angle of the corner you are going around. If not, cut the V a little wider and check again. It is a good idea to start with the V a little too narrow and trim it wider, rather than cutting it too large at the beginning, because you can’t really make it smaller if you’ve cut too much.

When you glue the corner, put a little blob of glue right under the V cutout. As you lower the strip onto the foam, start with the V open, and close it with a little hot glue trapped in the opening of the V. This ensures that the two thin inside edges of the V get glued to each other as well as getting glued to the foam behind it. 

I am not sure what this piece is called, but it hangs down in the front of the breastplate for extra protection. 

This piece needs to be able to hinge outward to allow for sitting, so we are going to make a fabric hinge. 

Find a piece of thin fabric. 

Hold pieces 7 and 8 together with the smooth sides facing each other and the top cut edges aligned.

Spread hot glue along the top edges of both pieces at the same time.

Place the fabric down on the hot glue on those top edges. It’s fine if it overlaps and sticks out all around the top. Press it down as best you can, but be careful not to burn your fingers. You can use the tip of your glue gun on top of the fabric to reheat the glue and get it to soak into the fabric. You really want only the minimum of glue needed to soak the fabric and attach it to the foam. If you have too much, the hinge won’t be able to fully close, leaving you with this piece sticking out at an awkward angle. 

Open up pieces 7 and 8 flat on a table with the smooth side up. There should be just a thin strip of the fabric visible along the seam between the two pieces. Heat up that strip of fabric with the tip of your glue gun, applying just a little bit of glue at the same time. 

Hold the piece down flat while the glue cools.

Trim any extra fabric that is sticking out past the edges. 

Add some 7 mm wide (5mm wide for child sizes) strips of 2 mm thick foam on the two sides of piece 8 only.

Glue a short strip of scratchy Velcro on each outside edge of piece 7.

Line up piece 7 with the centre of the breastplate and glue two strips of fuzzy Velcro to the inside of the breastplate to match up with the Velcro on piece 7.

The pattern piece for the top tasset layer has a couple dotted line marks showing where to glue the webbing straps you will use to attach the tassets to the breastplate. Transfer these marks to the back side of the tasset. I recommend 2.5 cm (1”) webbing for adult sizes and 1.7cm (3/4”) webbing for the child sizes. Glue a (17 cm long- adult size M) (13cm child size M) (12cm child size small) strip of webbing at each of those marks. The webbing should overlap the foam of the tasset by 5 cm 

Reinforce the glue bond of the webbing by gluing around the edges and overtop of the webbing.

Decide where to locate the tasset on the breastplate. I positioned mine so that the front edge of the tasset just barely overlapped the edge of piece 8. The tasset should sit on top of the lowest level of the breastplate ridges, with the top of the tasset about halfway up that section.

Mark where the straps for the tasset line up on the bottom segment of the breastplate. Mark horizontal lines where you will cut slots to allow the webbing to pass through. These should be about in the middle of that bottom segment on the breastplate. 

Cut the slots. 

Slide the tasset straps into the slots.

Glue a 5 cm strip of scratchy Velcro to the end of the straps on the side that faces inward to the breastplate.

Glue a 10 cm strip of fuzzy Velcro to the inside of the breastplate above the straps.

Now you can Velcro the straps to the breastplate to hold the tassets in place, but they are also easy to remove.

The legs are made up of 5 parts. From the top of the leg down, there is the greave, a poleyn hinge, the poleyn, another poleyn hinge, and the cuisse.

Use a 4 mm leather punch to punch holes in the marked locations.

Heat the centre of the poleyn (piece 13) and use your knee to stretch it in the centre. You want to kind of dome it a little bit so it follows the contours of your knees a little better. 

Glue the v shaped cutouts on each side together.

Heat and bend back the points at the top and bottom to flare them out and add some interesting contours. 

The cuisse (piece 11), the greave (piece 12), and the pollen hinges (piece 14) need to be curved to a more cylindrical shape, so heat them and roll them into a tight roll and hold in that form until cooled.

Temporarily assemble the leg to check for fit using pivoting hinges like you used earlier on the pauldron. Since they are temporary, cut them a bit long and only flare one side. Stick them through the holes in the leg pieces from the inside out so that you can put the leg on. 

The pieces stack up with the poleyn at the highest level and then the top and bottom poleyn hinges (pieces 14) on the next level down, and the greave and the cuisse as the lowest level. 

Test the fit of the leg, holding the poleyn against your knee. If the bottom edge of the greave rests on the top of your foot, you will want to cut away some foam there, using the dotted guide lines on the pattern piece. If you leave the greave too long, when you walk, the upward force on the bottom of the greave will put too much stress on the knee rivets and there is a good chance of them popping out. 

Once you are happy with the fit, remove the temporary rivets and add strips of 7 mm wide (5mm wide for child sizes) craft foam around the edges of all the pieces. The only edges you don’t want to add strips to are the ones that get overlapped by another piece when assembled. 

Now you can reassemble the legs and make the rivets permanent, or wait until you’ve painted the pieces separately.

** I would highly advise painting the parts before making the rivets permanent, as it will be soooo much easier!** 

Use some 2.5 cm (1”) elastic to make straps for the legs (use 1.8cm elastic for Child sizes). They will be located near the bottom of the greave, at the centre of the poleyn, and near the top of the cuisse. Each elastic gets a strip of Velcro glued or sewn to the end of it. The other end gets glued to the leg piece. 

The elastic lengths will vary according to your leg measurements, you can figure out what lengths you will need just by holding the armour against your leg and seeing what is comfortable. I made a list of the lengths I used to give a starting point. 

The lengths I used were:

Cuisse:

Adult Medium: 16cm elastic with 5cm fuzzy velcro, 22cm elastic with 7cm Scratchy Velcro

Child Medium: 16cm elastic with 7cm fuzzy velcro, 15.5cm elastic with 7cm Scratchy Velcro

Child Small: 14cm elastic with 5cm fuzzy velcro, 11cm elastic with 5cm Scratchy Velcro

Poleyn:

Adult Medium: 11cm elastic with 4cm fuzzy velcro, 16cm elastic with 8cm Scratchy Velcro

Child Medium: 14cm elastic with 7cm fuzzy velcro, 12.5cm elastic with 5cm Scratchy Velcro

Child Small: 13cm elastic with 5cm fuzzy velcro, 7cm elastic with 5cm Scratchy Velcro

Greave:

Adult Medium: 10cm elastic with 5cm fuzzy velcro, 10cm elastic with 5cm Scratchy Velcro

Child Medium: 10cm elastic with 5cm fuzzy velcro, 10cm elastic with 5cm Scratchy Velcro

Child Small: 10cm elastic with 5cm fuzzy velcro, 10cm elastic with 5cm Scratchy Velcro

On all of these, glue the elastic so that the scratchy Velcro will face away from your leg, and the fuzzy Velcro faces the inside. Overlap the elastic 3cm when you glue it to the leg pieces. Reinforce the Velcro with lots of glue as these connections will get a lot of stress!

The arm is made of 3 parts from top to bottom: The rerebrace, the couter, and the vambrace,

Cut the parts from 5-7 mm EVA foam.

The pattern for the couter (piece 20) has a dotted line on it. That’s because one half of the couter has a fan to protect the inside elbow joint. Trace and cut two couter pieces with the fan (if you are making for two arms) and then cut along the dotted line before tracing and cutting the two pieces without the fan.

Use a 4 mm leather punch to punch holes in the marked locations.

Glue the two couter pieces together along the centre lines, lining up the alignment points.

Once glued, flip the couter right side out.

Heat the fan section on the one side of the couter, being careful not to heat the centre seam

Press in with your thumb at the centre of the fan to create a little indentation there.

Use your fingers to stretch the foam in the centre of each side of the couter.

Form the outside edge of the couter so it flips up a little bit, especially at the two points. 

Glue pieces 18 and 19 together to make the front half of the rerebrace, lining up the alignment points as you go.

Glue one side of piece 17 to the the front of the rerebrace, lining up marks O, P, and Q. You might need to stretch piece 17 a little as you glue to get everything to line up, especially between marks P and Q.

Turn the rerebrace right side out and glue the other edge, lining up the alignment points.

To make the vambrace, glue piece 15 and 16 together lining up the alignment points. Glue one edge first, and then the other to make a tube.

Glue 7 mm wide (5mm wide for child sizes) strip of craft foam around the outside edge of the couter.

Glue a 7 mm wide (5mm wide for child sizes) strip around the cuff of the vambrace. Start the strip at the centre bottom of the vambrace rather than at one of the seams. This helps to reinforce the ends of the seams of the vambrace.

Use pivoting hinge rivets through the holes to assemble the arm.

You may find that the back edges of the rerebrace and vambrace rub on the inside of the couter. If that happens, you can either heat those edges and bend them inward, or cut away some of that back edge. 

In order to keep the arm from falling down, we need to add a strap that will attach the top of the arm to the shoulder of the breastplate. 

Get a strip of webbing and glue a 5 cm (3cm for child sizes) long piece of scratchy Velcro on one side and a 5 cm (3cm for child sizes) long strip of fuzzy Velcro to the other side, sandwiching the webbing between the Velcro. This will be at one end of the webbing.

You can open the Velcro on the shoulder straps of the breastplate and insert the webbing strap so that it hangs down over your shoulder.

Put on the arm and get a helper to mark where the strap overlaps the top edge of the arm piece when it is in the right position.

Cut the webbing 5 cm longer than that mark.

Glue a 5 cm strip of scratchy Velcro to the outside of the arm starting at the top edge.

Glue a 5 cm strip of fuzzy Velcro to the end of the webbing, on the opposite side of where you helper marked the line. 

All that’s left to do is paint your costume!

There are many different ways to paint. The technique that follows is one I have found gives good results for an antiqued metallic finish. I will warn you, it is quite time consuming on such a large project as this so if you don’t have a lot of time you might want to try something different. 

If I am going to be applying a metallic finish, I always give a dark base coat first. In this case I will use black artists acrylic paints. I find artists acrylics to be more flexible than some other water based paints (like house paint), yet they are not so expensive as some high tech paints that are made to be flexible. Of course, if you want the longest lasting costume and have the budget, go for the better paints! Some brands to look for would be Hexflex, Flexbond and Plaid FX. 

I don’t use any primer on my foam, but I do encourage putting at least 3 good coats of paint to seal all the pores. Another important reason for the 3 coats is that it builds up a slight texture, which makes it easier when you apply the metallic paint- as your finger comes in to contact with the surface, metallic paint is rubbed onto the higher surfaces of the texture, but doesn’t completely go into the slightly lower parts. Without that, it is hard to apply the metallics without getting “finger marks” everywhere that your finger first comes in to contact with the surface after dipping your finger in the metallic paint. 

My favourite metallic paints tend to change over time, but right now I am liking DecoArt Americana Decor Metallics Vintage Brass for the gold colour, and a 50/50 mixture of DecoArt Americana Decor Metallics Pewter and Silver for the silver colour.

My technique for creating an antique metal look is as follows:

Put on a tight fitting rubber glove. This keeps your hands clean as well as preventing fingerprint smears in your metallic coating. 

Put a small blob of metallic paint onto a piece of scrap cardboard.

Dip your fingertip lightly into the paint and then rub it onto a clean section of cardboard. Rub in a circular motion until almost all the paint is off your finger. It is especially important to watch the tip of your finger because paint can build up there, so you want to rub off any accumulation that occurs.

Rub your finger on the foam that you want to paint. Slowly build up the metallic colour, repeatedly going back and getting more paint on your finger. 

If there are places your finger can’t reach, you can use a small, dry paintbrush. Dip the brush in the paint and then dab most of it off on the cardboard. Then use a vertical dabbing motion to apply the paint, again building it up slowly. It is good to stay away from inside edges as the antique look requires sections that would get less wear to look darker. 

You will end up getting metallic paint on places that you want to have a different colour. That’s fine, just go back over them with some black paint before using the next colour. 

Once the painting is done, you can permanently rivet all the leg, arm and pauldron pieces together!

It's time to put on your new armor! It is definitely easiest if you have a helper, but it is still possible to do yourself. Either way, the order is the same.

Put the legs on first because bending over gets a little trickier once the breastplate is on. Then put on the breastplate. The pauldrons and tassets are already attached to the breastplate so all you need to do is open the Velcro on one of the sides and then slip it all over your head. Do up the Velcro on the side. Slide the arms on, and try to get ahold of the arm strap that is hanging from your shoulder. This is tricky and you might need a helper. Attach the strap to the arms to hold them up. Lastly do up the pauldron straps around the arms. 

You did it!! Now you can enjoy an awesome costume you made yourself:)

Just so you know, the knight armor pattern also includes a helmet template, in case you were wondering:)

Thanks for hanging out with me!

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