This short essay is in answer to all the feedback and questions from you, our customers, we've gotten about options for reinforcing pointing holes on our pourpoints and lacing points on other arming clothes. Our pourpoints are double stitched and made as strong as we know how with traditional methods. But there are some of you who want your pourpoint and other arming clothes to really last under extreme
stress. In response, we have gone through extensive testing with various methods on how to further reinforce pointing eyelets.

While evaluating the results, we also took into consideration ease of accomplishing the reinforcement with tools and methods readily available to folks at home, along with issues of authenticity. Our conclusions were twofold - there are two good methods of reinforcement but one is superior in strength and faster to accomplish than the other while both give a nice period appearance.

We feel the the addition of metal eyelet inside the double stitched eyelet was the best method. In order to do this all you need is and awl and a set of eyelet setting pliers (available at any home sewing store) and some eyelets. The method is as follows:

Step 1 - WIth the awl, gently stretch stitched eyelets so that metal eyelets fit inside snugly. Be careful not to stretch them too far - you want a snug fit so that when you set the metal eyelet the edge of it curls tightly around the stitched edge.

Photo 3 - Eyelets after being stretched with awl

Step 2 - Set the eyelet in the stitched eyelet with the right side of metal eyelet on the outside of the garment

Step 3 - Set the eyelet with the pliers - being careful not to catch extra fabric in the edge of the metal eyelet when you squeeze the pliers to set it

Photo 6 - Metal eyelet being set with pliers setter - be careful not
to catch excess fabric in metal eyelet as you squeeze it to set it

Step 4 - You can stop at this point, but metal eyelets of this style are not strictly authentic to medieval clothing. A handy and very authentic way to conceal them is to stitch over the metal eyelet with thread and thereby completely cover it.

Photo 7 - Metal eyelet after it is set into stitched eyelet

Photo 8 - Back of above photo - metal eyelet after it is set into stitched eyelet

Photo 9 - option for covering metal eyelet by stitching around it - this photo shows the process partially completed on one eye

The other method which is arguably more authentic, but we found not quite as strong, is to place very small washers on the front and back of each pointing eyelet and stitch all the way around them - completely encasing them with the stitching while also attaching them to the garment. The result look pretty much the same as the method we show above, but we found it that it did not prove quite as resilient and it took much longer to complete.