General summary of the 2017 gambeson project and its 2020 conversion into a coaching jacket

Pictures have been cropping up on my social media “memories” feature to remind me that the gambeson project I undertook in 2017 is now five years old. It was originally an attempt to provide a tutorial for Indonesian DIY-ers in making their own protective gear, especially for the armed disciplines of HEMA (historical European martial arts), but it has been spectacularly unsuccessful in that respect so I guess I’ll just console myself by writing down an English version of the project diary instead. But if you’re interested in reading the original Indonesian version anyway, here are the five parts in all their (dubious) glory: (part 1: front body piece) (part 2: rear body piece) (part 3: right sleeve) (part 4: left sleeve and the whole thing) (part 5: cut up and converted).

And before we dive into the details, here’s a sneak peek at the final result of the original project before the 2020 conversion:

Now that thou hast feasted thine eyes upon yon travesty, let’s get into some of the basic ideas of how and why I made this gambeson in a rather peculiar way.