Fig. 1. Finished gorget showing buckle and strap
Fig. 2a. Pattern pieces for waxed leather plates, generic ladies' gorget


Fig. 2b. Pattern pieces for base leather, generic ladies' gorget


Fig. 2c. Rest of the pattern for collar, generic ladies' gorget
Fig. 3a. Pattern pieces for waxed leather plates, man's short-neck gorget


Fig. 3b. Pattern pieces for base leather, man's short-neck gorget


Fig. 3c. Rest of the pattern for collar, man's short-neck gorget
Fig. 4. Pieces laid out, showing relative shapes of base and plate leathers. The plates are punched in advance, so the outside will look good even if the inside is botched a little.
Fig. 5. My really pretty gorget, modeled by my really pretty lady.
Fig. 6. Layout of tail plates onto tail base leather. Leave room at the top to rivet onto the collar of the gorget.


Fig. 7. Here's a clever way to punch holes in the base leather that match up with the pre-punched, curved plates. The white thingy is a PVC punching board. You can get them from Hidecrafter for $6, or slaughter a kitchen cutting board, and they're much easier on tools than punching into rubber... This works better with a second person to hold everything in place. You can rivet on a flat surface by striking the inside of the collar.


Fig. 8. Front plate of gorget riveted onto base leather. Start at the center and smooth the base leather outwards, onto the curved plate.


Fig. 9. Back plate of gorget riveted onto base leather. This time, start 1/2" from the end of the front plate, and smooth around to the end of the gorget. Note that the middle three rivets in the bottom row have not yet been set. This allows the tail to be added later.
Fig. 10. The tail is centered relative to the back plate, tucked in, and riveted. You may need longer rivets for this and the straps, as they pass through three layers of leather instead of two.
Fig. 11. Straps cut out and punched. The buckle is held on by two rivets, and the straps are attched to the body in the same way.

Many thanks to Graham Hughes for taking the photos used in Figs. 1, 4, and 6-11. Thanks are also due to Layah Barry and David Roth for help with tweaking the patterns