I am currently working on a test sode (shoulder) armour. Many sode are made with horizontal plates laced together. I am doing what is called a Karuta tatami style. Karuta means small rectangular plates, and tatami means folding often seen with chain maille. Below is a pic showing the parts of a typical samurai armour from the time period of Tokugawa (1600's).
A typical sode.
Here is a typical Karuta tatami dou (chest armour).