Joan of Arc Armor Set Cosplay

I attended a costume party which aimed to deviate from the usual Halloween Parties. Instead of coming as something scary or fantasy-like, you should come in as a saint. This was in commemoration of All Saints Day.

Being the out-of-the-ordinary person that I am, I didn't want to come to the party wearing drab that looks normal. I want to stand out, of course, without spending much.

So all I bought was garter, 2 bottles of glue and 3 pieces cardboard and 2 cans of spray paint. Boyfie and I created 2 sets of armor. One for him and one for me. We only used up 2 1/4 of the cardboard, we could have used just 2 if we planned out the cutting of the board better.

Materials:

1. Cardboard
2. Used Bond/Office paper or old newspapers (I prefer used bond paper since it's stronger) cut into strips
3. Garter
4. Silver spray paint
5. Thinner (optional, for cleaning the paint out of your hands or other surfaces)
6. Glue+Water (2:1 ratio)
7. Stape Wires
8. 1.5L or 2.0L PET Bottle (We used Sprite and Coke)
9. Paper tape (preferred) or masking tape. You can also use glue but it needs to dry before you can proceed

Tools

1. A pair of scissors
2. Half gallon icecream tub or similar
3. Stapler
4. Measuring Tape
5. Rule (Metal kind preferred)
6. Pencil / Pen

I wasn't able to document the whole process of creating the armor. We were so busy making the armor that we forgot to take pictures.

1. To make the plate:

1.1. Measure your chest, bust (if your a girl), waist, underarm-to-waist and torso length.

1.2. Cut out strips  with the same length as your measurements

• 1 strip for the chest
• 1 strip for the bust
• 1 strip for the waist
• 2 strips for the underarm-to-waist
• 2 strips for the torso length

1.3. Measure the length from your front shoulder to your back shoulder

1.4. Cut out 2 strips with the same length as your measurements or depending on how long you want the plate to be from your shoulders

1.5. Join the ends of the chest strip to form a ring using  paper tape

1.6. Attach the torso strips to the north and south part chest ring using paper tape

These strips will serve as the guide for the front and back of your body

1.7. Attach the shoulder strips using paper tape and then remove the mold

Wear the chest strip and estimate where the shoulder strips should go

1.8. Join the ends of the bust strip to make a ring using paper tape

1.9. Attach the bust ring to the torso strips using paper tape

1.10. Join the ends of the waist strip to make a ring using paper tape

1.11. Attach the waist ring to the torso strips using paper tape

1.12. Cut out squares and rectangles to fit the holes in your plate mold

1.13. Attach the squares and triangles to patch the holes using paper tape

1.14. Fortify your mold by adding paper tapes to areas that aren't taped yet

1.15. Put the glue-water concoction into the icecream tub and dip the paper strips in the tub

1.16. Place the paper strips dipped in glue on the mold

1.17. Cover the entire mold with 2 layers of paper strips

1.18. Dry the mold

1.19. Paint

2. To make the shoulder and upper arm braces 

 

2.1. Measure your upper length

Edge of shoulder to 1-2 inches above the middle of the arm

2.2. Grab a 1.5 or 2.0 L of PET bottle

The size of the bottle depends on your arm width and length.

2.3. Cut the bottom of the bottle

2.4. Cut the top of the bottle

Make sure that the bottom-cut part of the bottle up to the new cut that you'll make is equal to measurement you did for your upper arm

2.5. Cut the bottle lengthwise, making 2 equal pieces. Each piece will go to each arm

2.6. Staple garter

2.7. Put strips of paper with glue

2.8. Let dry

2.9. Paint

3. To make the vambraces

3.1 Measure your lower arm (1 inch from your wrist and 1 inch from your elbow

3.2 Draw a pear-shape on the cardboard with the length of your lower arm

3.3. Cut out the pear shape

3.4 Staple garters half an inch from the ends

3.5 Cover with glued down paper strips

3.6 Dry

3.7. Paint 

 

4. To Make Hip and Pelvic Armor

4.1. Measure your hip

4.2. Cut out a strip with the length of your hip

4.3. Attach both ends of the hip strip with paper tape to form a ring

4.4. Cover with glued down paper strips

4.5. Cover with glued down paper strips

4.6. Cut out 5 squares/rectangles with each square larger than the previous. Smallest square should be able to cover atleast 3/4 of your thigh's width.

4.7. Repeat previous step

4.8. Cover all parts with glued down paper strips

4.9. Cover all parts with glued down paper strips

4.10. Assemble the squares smallest square first then put the next square on top of the edge (about 1 cm) of the smallest square. Continue until you use all 5 squares

4.11. Attach the squares together by stapling small strips of garter

4.12. Repeat previous step

4.13. Attach both guards on the left and right side of of the hip

4.14. Paint