Hi guys! I’m very excited to be hosting a guest post from Locksmith, who is a past master at doing terrible, wonderful things with fakeblood. She has been kind enough to share her wisdom with us. I’m excited!

If you’re wondering which fake blood to use to try out her horrible tricks, have you consulted our fake blood reviews post?

Photo by Oliver Facey, from Empire LARP.





“I love my fake blood.

If I’m fighting a battle, I want to come off the field looking as though I’ve spent the last two hours being hit with sharp objects; ideally, if I’m lucky enough to get my character seriously or interestingly injured, I want the IC medics to be able to see it when they pull my armour off amidst screaming and flailing. When I’m medicing, I love that “oh holy shit we’re in trouble here” double-take, and I enjoy being on the other side of it too.

And I gather I’m not alone! Consequently, this is a writeup of the various techniques I’ve had some success with when I want something quicker/more dramatic/more realistic/less faffy in the moment/more gratuitously gory than whipping out a small bottle. As ever it’s a matter of taste; personally I really dislike buggering about trying to locate, unscrew, rescrew and replace bottles of blood mid fight, so I’ve looked into alternative methods.

For the sake of my kit (and other people’s kit), I strongly recommend going for a commercial blood that washes out well - test it first! I would not generally go for a food-colouring-and-coffee homebrew unless the kit involved is stain-safe.

1. Blood packs

Blood packs can go under a wig! This is among the best reasons to wear a wig at LARP.

This is about my favourite blood trick at fest events, because it’s high impact, low volume (thus cheap) and doesn’t get my kit drenched at a cold event. My current character has a short wig, which is very securely attached to my own hair, and there’s room underneath for a small blood pack.

These bags make the best blood packs I’ve experimented with, and as a bonus they have cartoon animals on! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baco-Rainbow-Snack-Bag-100g/dp/B004TIZ02C. They’re a good size - you don’t want your blood pack too large, or it’s heavy and hard to secure discreetly. I would fill one of these about a quarter full, max. Once you duct tape the opening securely they are basically leakproof, and sturdy enough that they won’t pierce accidentally. You can pierce them with an unbent paperclip - it’s the work of a second, and it will keep right on bleeding for minutes at a time. I recommend diluting the blood with water, as this makes it thinner and flow better - I’ve had the best results with Kryolan FX Dark.

Pour blood into bag. Add a little water to let it down.

Expel air and seal bag. Duct tape shut. (Add extra tape at the corners of the opening just in case.) Fold over excess plastic and tape. Shove under wig; pierce at will.

Under a wig, you only need a very small amount (about 50ml) for a really dramatic effect - the more you try to staunch it, the more the pressure makes it bleed. I put the paperclip on the leather strap of my bracer and then pierce it in a quiet moment - it literally takes a second. Probably works under a hat or a bandage too, but I’ve not tried it myself.

This is what a blood pack under a wig results in - splattery goodness all over the shop. From Empire 1 - photo credit Tom Garnett.

2. Blood Packs 2: Blood Pack Harder

You can, if so inclined, make kit with hidden pockets for blood packs, to be pierced as above. This has the additional advantage of guaranteeing that you’re bleeding on kit intended for the purpose. I recommend choosing light-coloured natural fibres, as these tend to give you the nicest spreading-stain effect. (Cotton drill is especially good!)

So, once upon a time, I was playing Jane Austen’s answer to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and I decided I needed a battledress. The result can be seen below - I made a trial video using just water in the packs. I took advantage of the fact that Regency stays squish inwards, and used the resultant space to conceal the packs - I’m small chested, so this worked for me, but any less close-fitting garment would be easier to conceal the contour.

Ignore that it looks like I’m grabbing my tits - I was trying to see just how much I could get out of it! You get the same pressure from pressing your arm to your side, and if you pierce it close to your armpit it won’t look like you’re lactating blood. ;)

The video above is a particularly complicated example, mostly because I wanted to see whether I could do it with a pretty, close-fitting gown. (As you’ll see, I also wanted rippable seams and hidden dagger sheaths, but that’s another matter.) At its simplest, all you need is a hidden bag sewn on the inside of a shirt - attaching it to the seam allowance is one way of making it invisible from the outside. If the weave is open enough you can stab it open right through the fabric.

This is the inside of the bleeding dress in the video - it’s a little bag sewn to the lining of the dress, which holds the blood pack. As you can see, I put a hole in one side of the bag for piercing purposes. The stick is half a plastic knitting needle, superglued to a bit of cord so that I’d always have something to pierce the packs with.

Caveat bleeder: Liquid is heavy! If your pack is too large it will pull the line of your kit out of whack with its weight as well as with its contour. You’re best off doing this with sturdy fabric that has some weight and substance to it, not something light or stretchy which will deform.

3. Something up your sleeve: Ear syringe

Things that are really classic: The moment when a character puts a hand to their side, and brings it away bloody.

That’s what got me thinking about rubber ear syringes, but they’re not just good for that effect - with one up your sleeve, you effectively have a reservoir of up to 100ml ready to squeeze out over your palm and slap on wherever you want. (You will need a plug of some kind - I had a spare one from an exercise ball. Make sure you fasten your plug to a string and tie it to your sleeve, or you’ll lose the bugger!)

This is now my go-to solution for blood during battles. It’s discreet, very quick to rig, and extremely quick to apply - I find pulling out the plug and slapping it on much faster and less faffy or immersion-breaking than fishing around for a bottle and having to unscrew it etc. YMMV, but I recommend giving this one a whirl. But your hand and sleeve will be sticky!

One of these! This one is about 100ml, which is massive and much bigger than you really need. I almost never go through a full one of these in a two hour battle.

This works best with a gambeson or other bulky kit to disguise the contour, but a big-sleeved shirt is fine - I keep mine in place by buckling my vambrace straps around it thusly:

Caveat bleeder: This will get your hand and sleeve covered in blood. But then, isn’t that the whole point?

4. Reservoirs: Quantity Is Quality

Sometimes, you just want to be spurting the red stuff all over the place. I tend to save this for summer events, because nobody likes being soaked when it’s cold outside. I generally use Mouldlife Venial for the high volume ones - it’s lovely blood, washable, and I can let it down with water to save on cost. (Shake vigorously though - it doesn’t dilute as readily as Kryolan FX.)

4a. Quick And Dirty: Squeezy Bottle

One of these lovely things. These are dirt cheap (a quid or so online). Make sure you get one with a carabiner!

This works best with a sleeveless or lace-on-sleeves gambeson, I find. It’s comfortable, because the bottle is soft and squishy, and it’s very quick to rig - just fill it up, stuff it in, clip it on and you’re good. After the ear syringe, this is my next favourite quick fix.

Sew a loop of ribbon or similar to the lining of your gambeson, where you can attach the carabiner of your bottle. Position it so that the neck of the bottle is just at the level of the arm opening.

For bonus points, quickly handsew a concealing panel of plain black cotton onto the lining, to hide the bottle - nobody will *ever* notice this, it can be as shoddy as you damn well want (you could probably even safety pin the fucker in if you like) and takes almost no time to do, but it means when the gambeson comes off, nobody sees the bottle:



Concealing panel and the ribbon to attach the carabiner. Remember to only attach the top of the panel at the corners - you need to be able to put the bottle in, and have the lid stick out under the arm! All the other edges can just be sewn down with as few fucks given as you wish. It’s the inside of a gameson and nobody gives a shit.

Underarm view with the bottle visible between the body of the gambeson and the concealing panel. This is invisible when worn.

For bleeding time, just pull open the sports cap and any pressure against the bottle will have the red stuff spurting nastily into the open from under your arm, nicely bloodying you all down your side. The bulk of the gambeson and any other armour will help disguise the uneven contour. If you’re wearing fairly rigid armour on top, it should even work inside a normal tunic if it’s reasonably sturdy fabric.

4b. The Whole Nine Yards: Camelbak Tunic

Like the bleeding dress, this is a garment I made a) to see whether I could b) because I’m an adult and nobody can stop me. But also because I really struggle with a gambeson in hot weather, and I wanted a lighter garment. It’s more difficult and requires more prep to use than the squeezy bottle; the advantage is in situations where you want to be bleeding from somewhere that isn’t right under your arm. You’ll need to decide where in advance; but if you have the prep time and you want to pour a litre or two of blood down your leg, this is the badger.

This is a camelbak! You don’t need a large one - even a pint of blood looks like horrifying amounts at most larps, and indeed in real life. Besides, liquid is heavy - see notes above regarding this. Mine will carry a litre or so and is plenty big enough.

Camelbaks come with a bite valve, which you’re going to abuse by using it as a plug instead. You can pull it out of the tube - again, make sure you’ve attached it to your kit with a string so you don’t lose the bastard!

How to make a camelbak tunic (approximately)

The camelbak tunic is made in three layers.

You’ve got the outside that’s visible when worn. Then you have an inner lining, which has loops sewn onto it. The camelbak bladder is tied to the front of the tunic on this layer, and the hose is fed through these loops before you put it on. (There are holes in the seams on either side for the hose to exit, or you can let it hang down wherever you want. Key point: you must be able to access the end of the hose, either directly or by pulling a string securely attached to the plug.) Finally, there’s a button-in outer lining which conceals both the bladder and the hose when the tunic is removed.

If (like me) you are lacking in appropriate life priorities and would like to make such a garment, please see the series of photos below!

Front panel of tunic: inner lining with loops, show here after being sewn onto the wrong side of the outer fabric. You will sew two ties or loops to the front shoulder seam - this is how you attach the bladder. It will hang in front of your chest, and the hose will thread around the side and back, held in place by the loops.

Outer lining, attached at the bottom and the front seam (front panel) and the bottom and top (back panel). Don’t attach on the side or front shoulder seams - you need to be able to access the whole of the inner lining in order to thread the hose through. You’ll use buttons (or poppers, or safety pins, or whatever) to hold the unsecured bits of lining in place.

Don’t sew your outer lining all the way down your side or bottom seams! Decide where you want the hose to emerge, and leave a hole to access it and pull the plug.

With the outer lining buttoned in, and the hose in place!

From the outside. Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.

Using it is easy - firm tug to remove the plug (which you can now ignore because you did secure it, right?). For blood everywhere, simply apply pressure to the bladder. There’ll be a brief delay because of the length of the hose, but you can get some really great arterial spurting going with this method - I’ve had it come right through chainmail, which looks fantastically alarming.

You can also spray your mates with it if they so desire! What more could you ask for?

Caveat bleeder: This is not a quick setup. If you know you’re going to want to do this, I recommend preparing in advance - the whole rig is designed to be watertight, so you can just pre-load the camelbak with blood. I’d tend to put it in the tunic ahead of time though, to save on faffing with threading the hose. However, I will say that it’s been more than worth the faff for the horrified look on other characters’ faces when my PC staggered ashen-faced out of a tent with a pint and a half of blood steadily pouring through her trouser leg and puddling on the floor. If you enjoy the dramatic, I recommend this trick. High effort, but also high reward. ;)

5. Blood donations/transfusions, just because…

For a camelbak encore, have a picture of the 1940s-style blood donation/blood transfusion rig that I and the lovely FiftyEleven made for a small event! The blood drains “out of the patient” from the bladder concealed in the towel, and into the bottle. Reverse the apparatus, and you have a blood transfusion - the person with the air hose controls the rate the liquid goes down by controlling the air flow.

Threatening T shirt optional. Threatening grin not optional. The blood is draining into the camelbak bladder under the chair, with the speed controlled by stemming the airflow to the second pipe.

Vinegar bottle, bung with holes, two empty ink cartridges with the ends chopped off, and two lengths of gas piping because it was the right colour. The blood here is just coffee with red and blue food colouring - it was only ever going to travel from camelbak to bottle and back again, so consistency and staining weren’t an issue. Side benefit: bottle of blood unpleasantly warm to the touch.

Caveat bleeder: You need two people to do this, preferably three! It is unbelievably unwieldy. The pipes are alive, they hate you, and they want to strangle you while spraying your kitchen in fake blood. Which is admittedly kind of hilarious IC - but seriously, bag an assistant or two! It’s pretty great for roping in random passers by!

Thanks for reading! :D”