How to make a Jon Snow Costume without breaking the bank (The Armour)
The Apron
After completing the sword I looked at the costume again. It didn't matter how many times I examined it, I could not deny that the Jon Snow outfit had more than a couple of layers to it. I reasoned that although it would look fantastic to reproduce the clothing in its entirety, I had to approach the task realistically and accept the fact that I would have to make a couple of shortcuts, allowing me to stay in budget and produce something that wasn't too uncomfortable to wear.
With this in mind I added a couple of shoulder lapels to the leather jerkin to add more depth to the garment. I also had to figure out the purpose of the strange looking apron of leather that appeared to be knotted to the front of the jacket.
After looking at many photos and listening to a first hand description from Sebastian, I decided to keep to a simple apron that attatched to the front of the jacket with a set of straps. I wanted to achieve an overall effect without going having to make an entire extra layer that fitted around the whole costume. With this in mind I constructed the apron by using three pices of faux leather (£5.99 from my local store) which I then sewed together and then hand bound the edges with faux leather.
I sewed two thin straps on the upper chest of the jerkin. These would be used to tie the apron to the front of the jerkin and give a 'fitted' appearance to the whole outfit. To finish off I put a rivet in the uppermost corners of the apron and three straps were sewn to either side of the apron so that they could then be buckled directly to the straps that had already been fitted to the jerkin.
We then used black acrylic paint, mixed with water and painted the front of the apron to give it a worn black colour and match it with the other pieces of armour.
Cost so far: £35.49
So far, so good. Now it was time to get on with the bottom layer of clothing which for that I needed a few dressmaking skills.
