Detached Jack Arms 

For the last decade or so I have done my armoured combat with detached arms on my jack (other terms are ackerton or gambeson - it is my padded armoured combat jacket). One was made for me as a custom piece by BP. It had all the cooling technology: disconnected arms, and bamboo wadding. This lovely piece is on its way out after 10 years of service. As a rush job I am modifying an existing red and white jack for my new job as Baron Politarchopolis starting March 2023. The jack will also have two gores put in to allow some space under the garment for my lendenier (leather waist piece that has ties to support the leg padding and leg armour.)

Two of the reasons for this modification are heat and full reach. 

How to cut off the arms: 

Pin the arms on either side of the armscye (seam around armpit end of arm where it connects to the shoulder)

Cut / quick unpick the armscye.

Using bias binding seal the top edges of the arms and the body of the jack where the arm was detached.

Sew in the side gores:

While the arms are off, unpick the side seam of the body, and insert gores.

Reattach the arms to the jack with a connector:

Cut a piece of horse blanket or similar multi-layered thick piles of wool as long as your fingers and as wide as two fingers.

Cover the horse blanket / wool with compatible cloth.

I used red on one side and white on the other to match.

This is your shoulder protector and connector.

Attach the connector so it is over the rotator cuff, and attaches to the jack on the top line of the shoulder.

This is the location of modern military epaulettes.

Sew the connector to the arm and the jack.

I used stab stitch on the eight compass points of the connector, then whip stitched it down.

Shoulder Connector. quilted, stab stitched, whip stitched. This is also where you can sew down ties for shoulder armour.

If your jack doesn't let you touch your ear straight over your head, there are multiple shots your gear will not let you throw. On the red arm, you can see the line of the bias binding. In cool weather, I wear a white shirt underneath, in warm weather I wear a modern wicking garment. I'm very lucky that it is bright red :)

All in all the project took about two movies of machine sewing and two movies of hand sewing.