Everything is based off of my personal measurements so they'll be rather skinny but I'll explain how to measure for yourself if you need to size up.
Measurements are as follows:
1. Measure shoulder to shoulder for the total width. Mine is 16 inches.
-Measure from one side of your collarbone to the other and that'll be the empty space between your shoulders. Adjust for comfort.
-Either subtract from the center and divide the number by 2 to find your shoulder guard width or measure from your shoulder edge to the collarbone to find the width.
-Measure from where the collarbone is down the center to the end of your chest where the soft part of your torso begins, or measure from your collarbone down to just under your belly button and divide by 2 to find your breastplate.
-Measure horizontally from the widest part of your chest just in front of the armpit to the other. This can be adjusted for arm comfort or subtract an inch from your shoulder measurement and add curve for comfort.
1A. This can vary depending on how you'd like your design to look. This plate is entirely for design in my case but my measurements are based off of the breastplate height with the width based off of the chest width minus 0.5-1.5 inches.
1B. Take the same measurements as the design plate and decrease the height down to 1 to 2 inches. These are also for design but mine will specifically be used to hold objects
2. You can either measure from the center of your torso where the soft of your stomach begins or take your entire torso measurement and divide it by 2 to find this depending on how even your torso is. Divide that number by 3 and add 0.5 inches to their height so the plates can move.
-The width is measured the same way as you measured the largest part of your chest but with the stomach area in 3 different spots. These can be the top of the soft, middle of the soft, and just above the belly button. These may be different as they were for me or they can be consistent. They can be kept the same measurement for ease as the difference shouldn't matter too much.
2A. Subtract the 0.5 inches that you had for the movement plates and that'll be the design plate's height. The width is 1/5th of the movement plate.
3. Measure the side of your body from the beginning of your shoulderblade to the beginning of your pecs. There's purposeful overlap here with the breastplate for movement and to secure with either straps or buttons later.
-The first plates will be larger and height is measured using 1/3rd of the breastplate measurement, allowing arm movement.
-The 2nd-4th plates are using the same height measurements as the movement plates and width is the same as above.
4. Measure from the tops of your pecs to the top of your shoulderblade and use the shoulder width you measured on the breastplate for the strap width. These will also have overlap for adjustment with either straps or buttons.
5. These will be measured using the main breastplate and will only be an inch wide. These will be used for securing the inside of the plates together.
Draw out the simple designs on paper using 1/4th of the regular measurements. These will be cut out and taped onto eachother. Tape each piece together in order to ensure that you can figure out how the pieces work together.
Lay each piece atop eachother and either tape or glue the pieces onto eachotherto test for movement.
In the next post I'll be drawing out the full pieces onto paper and drawing the rivet holes. I'll also be discussing attachment options.
