Elvish Pauldron (shoulder armour)

I've always loved the idea of having my own armour. So when I had a good look at some images on google, I realised it couldn't be too hard to make a simplified version with cardboard and other easily accessable materials.

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Step 1

You will need: fabric, I used silver as it looked metalic and went with the rest of my cosplay outfit, but faux leather would look cool too. Cardboard; you'll need the stuff without the holes in it, so just some sturdy card will do. Split pins/brads, I used ones with pearls in them to match my crown and jewlery. Foam, this is optional, its used for extra detail but isn't necessary. PVA or fabric glue, hot glue, fat black ribbon, a sturdy elvish looking belt, it must be able to fit diagonally across your chest. Pliers, black marker.

Step 2

Measure your pieces on cardboard; you'll need to measure your shoulder to get the length and width of your pieces. (Measure from the indent between your shoulder bone and your collar bone at the front to the same spot at the back.) For me this was approx 18cm. And I think I ended up with 10cm length.

Step 3

Now we cut out the pieces

Step 4

It's time to cut the foam detail now, so draw your patern, and cut it out. It goes on the top piece of your shoulder. Then glue it with PVA (or your favoured glue) to the card.

Step 5

Now lay your cardboard pieces on the fabric and cut around the edges leaving a generous amount to fold over.

Step 6

I used PVA glue again to stick the card to the fabric, and I use a lot more glue on the piece with foam, also press the fabric right into the edges around the foam while it's still wet to give maximum defenition.

Step 7

Now leave to dry as long as needed. (It doesn't need to be fully dry) I use an old phone book to keep the fabric pressed firmly and evenly.

Step 8

Cut in on the edges, fold over, glue and let dry. Press again in the phone book.

Step 6

**** Optional

Make some chainmaille for the bottom, click on this picture for a chainmaille tutorial link --->

Step 10

Once this is all done, add some fat black ribbon along the edge of all your pieces, glue and press when drying.

Step 11

Now, since everythings held together by split pins, you'll need something to punch little holes in the pieces, as I dont have many fancy tools, I improvised with a safety pin and enlarged the holes a little by wedging my pliers into the holes. I then put in the split pins.

Step 12

If you wanted to add the chainmaille, now is the time to add that with some more split pins. Then attatch the belt. To do this you'll need to put the belt around your chest and position it where you want it to be when wearing your armour. Then bend the attatched pieces and find where you need to attatch it to the belt by holding it to your shoulder.

I punched some more holes with my above mentioned method, and tied some thinner ribbon through those holes and through the holes of my woven leather belt. Sorry, this part it kinda hard to explain, but its hard to go wrong, just take a guess. :)

Step 13

Once you've done this, you may find that the pauldrons aren't standing up like in my pictures. What I did to fix this is just cutting a bit of hot glue stick off, then melting the ends and sticking it between the pieces that aren't standing up quite right to act as a spacer.

You may also find that the lighter underside of the cardboard is visible from some angles. I used a black marker to fill in the visible areas to make this less obvious.