Making Pteruges (or at least trying to make Pteruges!)

[muskitear]

I made my tribune's subarmalis last year, and initially had these same problems. After fooling around with scraps for a bit, I found the following method to work best (i.e., look most like the monuments). In this case, I made leather pteruges, trimmed in wire bullion fringe.

I cut a fan-shaped pattern in which I then cut into seperate pteruges, each one narrowing slightly towards the top. I left the top intact. The size of each pteruge? About one inch or so, but basically what I thought looked about right on my arm, keeping in mind that all arms are different, so one shouldn't get too hung up on the width/length... so long as it looks close to what's seen on the monuments. I ended up with about 17 pteruges, but again, this will change depending on the amount of arm that needs to be covered. I also decided not to add any at the armpit, for comfort's sake.
Hi Gil, Whats the gold trim around the edges????

I then cut pie-shapes out across the top, and sewed them together with awl thread, which, when done, formed a sort of bowl shape into which the shoulder would go. I kept this sewn area shallow enough that it would be covered by the shoulder trim of my subarmalis.

I then cut a second pattern, identical to the first, minus one pteruge. I initially tried gluing this to the back of the first fan in an overlapping manner, but this created a mass of leather that would not drape properly. So I cut apart the individual pteruges of the second fan, and glued them in seprately to fill the gaps of the first fan. Added a few decorative rivets, and sewed the mess to the inside of my sub shoulder seam. The result was quite comfortable, drapes like the monuments, and has IMO the right amount of "fullness". This method would, I think, work well with your felt/linen pteruges as well. Hope this helps,

Gil Whitley / Tribune Valerius, Leg X Fret So Cal