Suneate & Haidate

[Shintaro Yamamoto Ujiyori]

Greetings,
I am currently working on my haidate and suneate for my new sca kit and I had a few concerns that I needed answers to before I begin the project. I am using Effingham's suggestion of cloth for combat (duck cloth, canvas, cotton batting, lining fabric) and I am wondering how I am going to attach the tsubo suneate plates to the front of the suneate backing and the haidate plates to the haidate backing. Does one simply punch holes for the laces to pass through to secure them? I would think that would lead to unraveling of the fabric around it. Would an awl be ok and of the correct size to force the fibers apart and the lacing through? How have you done it in the past? I appreciate any help you all may be able to provide.

[raito]

I generally use a round buttonhole if I worry about ravelling.

[Saionji Shonagon]

Instructions on how to create and bind an eyelet hole in fabric can be found here:

www.vertetsable.com/demos_eyeletholes.htm

Your other option would be grommets.

Makiwara

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

For my kote and suneate, I sewed on the individual pieces with a synthetic leather lacing thread, although I have used hemp carpet thread as well. I used a layer of decorative fabric and a layer of cotton duck and just sewed the pieces directly into both layers of fabric. I would do the same for haidate. I cut, tie off, and knot each and every stitch.

Unfortunately, my website is moving again and the pics are unavailable. Hopefully they will be back soon.

For tie on cords, such as with the tsubo-suneate, a piece of lace could be tied into two holes drilled into the metal, with the tie-cords pulled through that little lace loop. The metal pieces can be seperate from the cloth (kiahan) or sewn directly onto it.

For the kote, I use grommets set into the plastic to spruce up the holes where there are tie cords that attach to the watagami.

[Shintaro Yamamoto Ujiyori]

Many thanks for the great ideas. I think I will go with Otagiri's suggestion of sewing it in with waxed leather thread or synthetic leather. I think the plates sewn in many places rather than laced in a few should give more stability and provide more of the backing needed so they don't rip out. Thank you all!