Hello All,

I've know of the period use of the "portapiece" on jacks, gambesons, cotuns, and aketons for some time now but most if not all coats I've seen for sale lack this defense to the thrust though the gap where your coat points, buckles, or laces close.

Since my group stopped doing free play a couple of years ago while we relearned a new core to our longsword, I never got around to making myself a "portapiece" for my main freeplay coat. Now that we've restarted, I'd forgotten my planned project...

Well, until Matt Cacy gack'd me though the gap 3 weeks ago with his Albion. :eek:

So without further ado, a simple "portapiece".

The coat turned inside out to show the added defense.





Since I've never mastered a sewing machine all work was done by hand. I used a stout waxed linen leather working thread to attach the piece with a tight whip stitch. 90ish percent of the "gap thrusts" seem to flow from the right to the left so I attached the "portapiece" on the left side of the coat.

If you make one to match your coat, you can just use multi-layers of linen or a padded shell. you can attach one with points on the inside of the coat, whip stitch it to the liner, button it, or attach it by matching it to a quilted seam on your coat and stitching it though all layers.

Matching linen can be bought cheap on line.

What the coat looks like with a matching "portapiece" from the outside.



In use the coat would be pointed shut.

Cheers,

David

By the way, on garments, that's known as a placket.

In period text I've seen the phrase "portapiece" but it's been a few years and I don't remember the source (or maybe the correct spelling) but the modern word "placket" will do just fine.... as long as folks don't confused it with "plackard " :D

David thanks for sharing ..... that looks really good! I have partly gotten around the same problem because my linen gambeson is a tad big across my chest and I wrap it such that the buttons and seam are off center (on my left) and the center of my coat is overlapped as a result. But the fit could be better and yours is much more accurate and I suspect better protection. I need to get a pleated panel and modify what I have the same way. Tom

I'm a big fan of not getting stabbed! Simple, yet elegant solution. And sewing by hand?! Amazing, I don't have the patience for that yet.

Ah yes an important part indeed. My wife began adding them to the aketons/gambesons she makes when we saw them on several medieval examples and decided they must have put them there for a reason.

Nice work Dave it looks great!

RPM

I saw a movie, albeit fantasy genre, where one of the main characters was wearing a double breated gambeson. Two panels that completely cover the torso in the front.

Is there any historical evidence that such an item would be worn? It seems a good idea considering the conversation on this topic.

Yeah. Double-breasted padded defenses aren't really kosher for medieval Europe but they're perfectly acceptable for, say. medieval Central Asia (where it's basically just a padded version of the nomads' tunic with overlapped front) or 19th-century Europe.

Hi David. I have a question about your placket. What did you use to stuff it with? Matuls shipped me some extra fabric with my gambeson so I want to make a placket myself as well.

I'm working on an aketon where I'm using a bamboo batting. Though not historically accurate, it supposedly keeps you cooler, and has natural anit-bacterial fighting properties (which I like since I don't wash mine all that much). David, where did you find the cotton/silk blend? I can only find cotton, or cotton/poly blend in town. Thanks!

Here I go again, just can't resist the temptation...keep your codpiece in place, and your portapiece around your shoulders, wear your plackett so your opponent can hackett. There, just had to get that out of my system!

Though not into the fenching with longswords thing, looking at the plackett or portapiece gave me an idea for making one. I have a movers blanket which is a rather thick padded coverlet that would be ideal for making a plackett. It would be a simple matter of cutting one up using a pattern and then stitching it together. You may consider this idea in the Public Domain since I do not intend to take out a patent for it.

Regards,

Harry

By the way Michael B is the resident expert on stones as extemporaneous weapons.

Thanks David. I'll post pictures when it's done (It might take some time. My broken finger has healed but I need a couple of weeks of physical therapy to get the motion back).