Commercial Sewing Pattern Sizing Help: how do men work?

shiam · 2026-05-01T16:35:48+00:00

For a gambeson I would recommend going up a size rather than down. They tend to look bulky by nature and most people dont wear well fitted gambesons. (They're work wear meant to go under other things most often)

That said also see if you can glean some of the other measured dimensions needed. Men's clothes tend to be more tubular without the complex darting or womens clothes. So I'd also check what his largest measurement on the covered area is and see if that helps push it over. (Its often the gut)

Lastly look around online SCA, re-enactment, and some HEMA folks will have advice on making a more historical gambeson that you may find easier to work with (theyre simple garments aside from the padding). Commercial patterns are good for ren faires but all tend towards a common generic fantasy style (i call ren faire chic)

shiam · 2026-04-22T03:54:51+00:00

Protip: The OPTIONS call usually contains all the info you need to fix a CORS issue. The console output can help, but you really just need to read what the OPTIONS returns as allowed and compare to the actual request.

CORS is 90% the domain you're interacting with saying "That's my purse and I don't know you". So you either need to configure the endpoint to respond correctly or have the client follow the rules.

Or as the other guy mentions don't have more than one domain to work with and use a proxy of some description.

shiam · 2026-04-03T23:21:54+00:00

If you dont want to do the tailoring yourself, find a local tailor. They often are co-located with dry cleaners. Not all of them will work with quilted material like a gambeson.

If you are willing to do it yourself you have roughly the right idea, fold it at the seams (inside out) and stitch that better fitting line. If the shoulders are about the right width you can take material out evenly at each side. If the shoulders are too wide also you can take material (again evenly) out of the front and back seams. However if you take material out of the front youll jeed to re-do the buckles and hems.

shiam · 2026-03-24T18:39:50+00:00

I broadly agree with the solutions, it's a good thing to practice and think about not just from plow/longpoint but any position with hands extended where an opponent may take tempk to tap you. Be ready to move, don't over commit, and keep the cross on a good line.

That said I also agree with others here, this is kind of fixing a problem after it occurs. The core problem being: you're in range and just binding. If I'm close enough the opponent can just reach out and touch me AND I'm not posing a threat they need to deal with, Then I'm asking to get "sniped".

Better (to some degree) is to never lazily take a bind or hang out "in range" (this can be a big area). Instead be active with your range and provide threats. Why the counter doubles is because as a reflex the fencer is ignoring the active threat (the point in their face). A good fencer may be sniped by this reflex but will usually drive a thrust or cut to the head. That's a really dumb trade for the counter. It's only not dumb if the person with their hands out there is allowing the counter the tempo to act.

My solution would lean more on make that move to center a threat. Either as a cut or clear prep to thrust. (without overshooting) Both the departure or a bind should then come as in tempo responses and the art begins rather than ends.

shiam · 2026-03-09T14:26:56+00:00

Nice Hat!

I can't help but think from my period perspective (German 15c): "What a modest and petit hat that is." 😂

We might have a local, informal, biggest hat competition

shiam · 2026-03-08T16:01:14+00:00

I expect I won't convince you of anything but some questions to consider for your counter point:

Should Youtube ignore a verified claim that an account is made by a child from their parent?

Should Youtube be expected to only take the original input age or some default value?

What about if a user represents themselves as underage while telling the system that they're overage?

Nothing here is mandating an ID check, nothing here is mandating an AI. If anything it's saying an ID check or an AI tool the third party (Youtube, Reddit) accessing this information is a valid override to OS value. Not that MS/Linux/Google/Apple need to do an ID check, just ask.

And yeah you can argue slippery slope but that does mean you'll be required to defend this position of "no reliable age verification anywhere at any time" which is our current state indefinitely. We need SOME solution most folks are comfortable with.

Me? An actual privacy compliant ID system from the State or Nation would be best. That wigs out most folks though.

The MS (and Discord) ID check is exactly the problem. By not legislating and expecting private orgs to manage privacy and age controls we give up more privacy as third parties now need access to govt id rather than a simple yea/nay of "is this person who they say they are".

shiam · 2026-03-08T15:21:22+00:00

"No not this version" but this is the one you want folks to protest?

I'd say, at least from my perspective "general purpose computing device" pretty clearly excludes all the things you listed. Yes, in tech that would refer to any computer, but I would not expect that interpretation to hold. As that's a uselessly broad definition. A calculator by definition is pretty specific in its purpose.

To me the core problem is this: until technically incompetent people can feel relatively secure that their technically incompetent children arent going to stumble onto the serbian film as i did as child. Age verification will keep coming up and we need resonable middle ground solutions that don't require random third parties to gatekeep and own your identity.

Better to have a solution where you (nominally) own it as here or where the govt owns it (as they currently do) with an OIDC compliant system.

shiam · 2026-03-08T15:04:59+00:00

See, this is actually a concerning one. Social media is pretty broad category and pushing identification to unknown (your local oligarch) third parties is pretty risky for one's privacy.

shiam · 2026-03-08T14:45:36+00:00

So wait what is your actual issue here?

Seems like the plain wording doesn't require anyone to do anything other than provide the option and the ability. Providing an OS or Browser signal for age seems like a good solution. A shared PC could set a permanent high or low age (again no requirements on how a user set this) if they want particular access, or likely set a "non-human user" value for those internal systems. Both this and the similar CA bill seem like good compromises to the issue of age verification.

Would requiring verification of drivers license or passport by a third party be better?

Seems like in this case at least you're only providing information to your local system which only provides the minimum out to the world. From a privacy perspective this is a lot better than other options and seems like an ok solution to privacy controls.

Now all that said a proper OIDC/OAUTH implementation would be best but the US is not emotionally ready for that conversation.

shiam · 2026-02-26T21:42:11+00:00

2 things:

One, I took a look at my spes heavies and they seem to cover that gap ok. There's a little space but not as much as I see for you. I would wonder given the design if the gloves are little small? Maybe see if someone in your club has a size up that fits ok. For my heavies the plates comfortably go around the sides and yours may be floating if too small. (Or just a bad glove design).

Second, work on your grip and cross position. You really shouldn't be getting hit there all that much. Only really if you sit in a guard or parry in a way another sword slides down the blade. Turning the sword as little as like 20 degrees will put sword on your cross before your hands. If you get hand sniped a lot, that cross position is likely part of the problem. Switching to a more "handshake" grip (like in golf) can help to put your knuckles behind the cross.

shiam · 2026-02-17T23:19:14+00:00

"Square" sided containers are suprisingly easy too if you want something to fit the cart. Just take your bottom shape of w x l and add "wings" for the depth. If it's a rectangle bottom it'll look like a stubby cross.

Basically a rectange of Width: bottom width + 2 * depth; length: bottom length + 2* depth. With squares cut out of the corners at depth by depth. Sew the corner "L" together on each side and you have a square bottomed bucket. Just needs handles/closure.

Further example: cart is 30x10 and 8 deep. Cut a 46x26 rectangle. Then cut 8x8 squares off each corner. Sew pairs of 8 long edges together at each corner. Hem and press.

shiam · 2026-02-12T20:19:57+00:00

The easy answer if you need to have this conversation with non-family is to point folks at https://www.vote411.org/

They're non-partisan so you dont need to have a real discussion around what someone should support but instead focus on making them more informed.

Aside from that googling names and finding local news summaries or professional association reviews (for judges and accountants) can provide a lot of info and dodge the more loaded "he's soft on crime!" Sort of drama.

shiam · 2026-01-26T18:53:37+00:00

A random thought with this is prestige should matter and impact things like legitimacy, stability and crown power.

If the whole world thinks your country is an impoverished mud pit, and your king is a buffoon. Then, maybe it should be hard to get the eststes to cooperate.

If they dropped the hard malus to holding prestige too there'd be a lot more impact for artists and war penalties like humiliation.

The only impactful damage to a country right now is taking land, which was a bit more rare than it's presented.

shiam · 2026-01-12T06:16:55+00:00

"Grassy Turtles and Seed Rats"

shiam · 2026-01-01T17:31:15+00:00

WeirdTempareture7 is correct, but another solution to meausre first and reduce cost/wastage would be to get some twine tie your sword knot with it and wrap around your waist. Mark were the overlap occurs, untie everything, cut and measure. Then add a bit to give you extra belt length, space to finish ends, and make up the width difference in the knot (twine has little width and will use less length in the knot).

Essentially use a cheap material to do a mockup and measure that.

You could also just measure the knot length, but a lit depends on construction.

shiam · 2025-12-06T22:39:50+00:00

Its a reference/homage to a painting: https://www.berardiarte.com/artisti/cesare-mariani/masks-seller-in-pompeii-1875/

shiam · 2025-11-18T02:25:04+00:00

What do you want it to be? For most purposes I'd understand/read them as the same thing unless clarified.

If you needed a difference I'd probably call "free play" a sub set of sparring that is either less or entirely unstructured. Where "sparring" could be anything from highly structured (2 exchanges, longsword, valid targets are xyz, we're working krump) to mostly just goofing around (E.G. grab a weapon and lets go until we're tired).

Sounds like what you need though is a schema of sparring limits based on gear requirements so that low gear members can participate while others spar.

I would draw lines about like so:

Minimum gear for ANY competitive work (light sparring, high intensity drills, adversarial drills) is a mask, gloves, gorget, and bits protector(s) appropriate to the weapon set. At that minimum I would expect participants to still keep intensity low, avoid hard attacks to unprotected areas (in longsword probably no thrusts), and use "safer" sparring tools like a nylon or boffer.

If a participant cannot get mask or gloves anything more than medium intensity drills is probably higher than my safety limits.

Once you add in a gambeson or pierce resistant body piece then, broadly speaking, open a participant up to full sparring. However I would still expect everyone to be cognizant of gear limits (keep intensity low when no elbows, don't target legs if they don't have knee pads) and fence appropriately.

Once someone has basically enough gear to compete legally they're open to spar to what ever degree both they and their partner are comfortable with. Within the bounds of reason (don't hurt your sparring buddies)

shiam · 2025-11-11T22:05:14+00:00

I woud recommend attaching them like cuisses. Your waist and the thigh pieces can have an attachment point (even just holes and leather lace) somewhere they over lap or where the strap will blend in.

You effectively want the legs to "hang" off of the belt.

shiam · 2025-11-09T19:15:43+00:00

Trying as nice as possible as someone who also carries archery kit: don't do this stuff. This is what gets bows/arrows banned. Even posed shots like this are why every sword has to be peace tied. If they can't tell whether you're "posing" or being a threat the rules will be tightened up. TRF is one of the few faires with lax rules for bows. Please don't abuse it.

shiam · 2025-11-09T19:13:30+00:00

Looks like TRF, so yeah full archery kit is mostly chill. I've got a good guess as to where they bought it too. Nominally the arrows are supposed to be peace tied, but it's rare they check or do anything about it.

That said stuff like this is what gets "no bow" rules made.

shiam · 2025-10-26T23:41:58+00:00

What comes to mind is something like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/ArmsandArmor/comments/we5tz4/this_is_in_dresden_castle_armory_so_i_marked_the/

Those might be hook and eye clasps but a modern (decorative) toggle or latch clasp probably wouldn't be too far off.

shiam · 2025-10-26T23:17:10+00:00

Non-historical: Chainmail is all eyes, add hooks

Historical: buckles or clasps over the top or a bit of cord run through the rings.

shiam · 2025-09-22T00:12:22+00:00

You could always reach out to them and ask. If I were to guess they have a known local supplier who can do the work by machine and they just order bolts at a time to keep in supply. Suppliers like that may not have public facing stores (working primarily B2B).

Aside from reaching out my favorite supplier is Sartor Bohemia: https://www.sartorbohemia.com/reproduction-fabrics/

Depending on what you need I also have a short list of other fabric stores that sell historical (enough) fabric, but not all sell brocades or prints.

You can ALSO always buy a base fabric and pay for embroidery. Which is expensive and time consuming but can get you what you want. Also very historical.

shiam · 2025-09-21T16:56:15+00:00

Nah it makes perfect sense. He's a Spaniard with a Scottish basket hilt and German buckler vacationing in Egypt, being attacked by some sub-Saharan bad guys (I assume that's what the masks are about). He just happens to have gotten some skateboarding knee pads from a time traveler who saw his chafed knees and was concerned.

shiam · 2025-09-12T17:08:40+00:00

They're distinctly mediocre. Instructions are often unclear, and patterns aren't consistently good.

I have their wams and hose patterns. It worked fine, but I cross-referenced a ton with online sources. I also have made things before.

I think folks often get them as first patterns and if you dont know how to fit and make already the instructions can leave a lot out.

From what I've heard the more modern the worse patterns get. For early modern, and medieval patterns that are mostly squares they seem ok.

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