On armour - chainmail coif - making the top or cap of the coif.

As it was already stated - we are making a chainmail coif. The top of the coif is the most complex part, so if you get it wrong at first, don't worry. It happens to all of us.


Making the top starts with placing six links inside one closed link. This our step 1. To make it easier for you, I've colour coded each step, by using differently coloured links.

Step 2 is simple enough

 Can't make mistake on 3 either

 Step 4. Now we basically start repeating steps 3-4 until all the initial six links are used.

With this, the initial closure is done. Now you just start adding more rolls. You will have to repeat step 2 and then use step 3 to turn the corners.

Eventually you will come out with something like that. It should roughly cover the top of your head, so measure it accordingly. Don't worry if you make it too big, actually make sure there is plenty of room for hair&padding.

On armour - chainmail - the chainmaille coif

Missed me? I doubt it. Now let's talk armour again. Assuming you are looking for homemade gear, which you should be, otherwise why are you here, we've already deduced that chainmail is going to be your best friend.

If by this point you've got your basic chainmail tools  and perhaps some advanced power tools as well as enough chainmail material of the type you want. Now of course you'd want to start your first project. People tend to jump into something big first and then fail spectacularly therefore I'd advice against it - weaving maille takes a lot of time and patience and you are likely to call it quits in frustration at the slow progress. Therefore you are best starting small with something that you can finish in a few days. The experience (as well as the sense of satisfaction and achievement) will help you tackle bigger things(or to decide if you want to handle chainmaille at all).


Thus a suggested first project, is the chainmaille coif.

Why a coif?

Reason 1. The chainmail coif is a decent starters project. Its weights 1-3 kg depending on the rings and material used, and sits at roughly 2000-3000 rings, again depending on link size. Even if you do just a few hundred per day you will complete it in less than a week. It will be cheap too, regardless of what its made of.

Reason 2

The second reason to make a coif, is that its a nice audition to your larp costume. It will give your garb a sense of completion. An awful lot of folks have  great larp costumes and sets of armour, yet go around with naked heads. That is just wrong. The head protection gear was the most important piece of defensive equipment throughout history. Practically everyone wore a helmet, even the ancient greeks who sometimes had only a loin cloth a spear and a hoplite shield, did not forget to add a bronze helmet to that. Of course there are exceptions to the rule where a helmet is discouraged by the costume itself. As example below - Sigmar's priests don't wear helmets and the rather famous drachenfest orcs don't have ones either - its a matter of where your costume inspiration comes from.

They likely draw their inspiration from World of Warcraft, which is not known for any notion of realism. Its okay to let it slide, but having a fantasy costume does not mean that you should go for high fantasy and completely ignore what history has shown us. Besides there are practical examples of fantasy gear.
Take for example the Uruk Hai from the second part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Plate armour providing decent protection from horse archer's short bows (elven bows are cheating), pike and shot(pike and crossbow shot) formation to break cavalry. Even the helmets had those crests which could have been a concept artist's idea, but also had the benefit of protecting the wearer from vertical slashes by cavalrymen. Practical? Certainly. Fantasy? You bet.


Reason 3

Reason 3 is simple - its a god damn health insurance policy. You are (likely) participating in a live contact game. Even if the rules are strict, even if everyone follows them to the point - accidents happen. Rather than count on Lady Luck, you should tip the scales your way. A coif, combined with some padding, will protect your head and neck, without reducing your vision. Even then, there are coifs that cover half  your face as well.

So, I believe you are convinced by now. On the point - a coif consists of several pieces. The top or cap,  the headband, the main body and the mantle.The top is made of expanding weave, the headband and main body are simple sheets of 4 in1 european which was already described here and the mantle is made from 4in1 strips with expansions set. You can start a coif from either the headband/main body or the top. The mantle is best done last.

In this case, we are going to start our project with the top or as its also known cap of the coif..


Oh yes - there are photos here taken from the internet, the rights belong to their respective owners.

Getting gear for a modern or futuristic larp

Well then. Some people think otherwise, but larp games that don't involve medieval or fantasy settings work quite well too. They are also far less taxing when it comes to getting your gear. I mean come on you need only to get some old clothes from your locker.

Civilian clothing etc. is something you will manage in no time, and a visit to the second hand shop will help for the rare occasion where you lack something. However there are other types of gear that will take some thinking.

Take for example Hazmat suits. I mean come on - hazard suits are awesome and well if its Fallout or STALKER pretty much a must.

So how do we get a suitable alternative?  First of all, check for Workman clothing shops around your area. They often have chemical/dust/acid protection suits.

Basically all you need is a gas mask and some gizmoes and voila your rad suit is ready! Besides it will be a real chem protection suit to boot! Oh yeah they also got stuff like disposable lab coats, nurse and doctor outfits etc. if you want a more classic scientist look or medical personel.

If you don't have a gas mask and there is no army surplus store around, don't worry you can still find substitutes. Yeah...workman clothes/tool shops are a boon aren't they?

An eye shield like this one can help you seal your suit, you can also get dust masks that will pass for gas masks just as well, because...you know - they ARE ones.

That spectrum covered, what about soldiers? I mean its obvious we'd have some. For camouflage clothing, I'd say again army surplus stores, airsoft stores, hunting stores...All have it as well as tactical vests, helmets and so on. A balaclava is dirt cheap and quite enough on its own if you are not supposed to be regular military. For a more sci-fi look, check out the sports goods, namely motorcycle armor.

All in all, motorcycle armor is pretty much instantly ready sci-fi soldier armor that you only need to put on. You can add some extra stuff and paintjob but thats it. Get a full set, and get it 2nd hand it probably cost you about a 100 bucks, and you don't exactly need it in pristine condition, considering what's about to happen to it.

With some creativity and you will look just like a riot Robocop or a generic sci fi trooper. 

Basic larp costume - feet wraps

Now assuming you got yourself a tunic or a tabard, which you should've gotten by now(seriously a tabard is a rectangle of canvas with a hole for the head), you still got a few things to do before calling your first basic garb done. Modern shoes and jeans are one of the things people don't often deal with, for one reason or another. Its sad, because its rather easy to do something about it.

Not everyone back in the day was a noble, a warrior or a merchant and a good pair of boots wasn't easy to find and was quite expensive too. There is a reason after all why boots were one of the first items looted from the battlefield. The most common people were(wait for it....) commoners. No kidding Sherlock! Well playing a peasant is hardly fun but that doesn't mean we can't borrow a few ideas. The simplest of them - feet wraps.

They were quite common you know, and all you need to make them is some canvas and laces. You could turn them into a part of your costume, or you just use them temporarily if you have nothing better.

Feet wraps


Budget: 1-3$

Material - canvas - two strips roughly 1, 1.5 meters long by 20-30sm wide. Laces.


You don't need tools  except a scissors/knife to cut the canvas...

How exactly you use them depends on what you plan. For example if you have acceptable heavy shoes and want to cover your modern pants - you will wrap them around your shin and tie them with the laces.

If you have the time you can make them rather good.

If the bigger problem is too obvious sneakers, and you have a way of covering your shins, then we go the other way around.


Yeah they won't exactly fit on my character would they?

So we bind them with the canvas and tie them with the laces.

 One shinguard later and it doesn't look so obviously modern day.

 Mind you this is just a temporary solution, unlike the one above which can be made permanent.