I've finally started work on the pouches I promised Eluned for the newcomers kits the Barony will be selling to try to make back some of the costs of getting a booth at ComicCon in Ottawa in May. I think the booth is a great recruitment idea, so I was happy to offer to do up some basic leather pouches, but that was several months ago and we're now getting to crunch time.
From my previous post, it's obvious the circle pouch idea was a no-go, I'm not wasting that much leather!
I'm using some of my garment-weight pig skins that I have in my stash. The colours aren't so bright that they are obviously modern, but I haven't been using it as much lately as I've shifted to using more veg tan (as much as possible) to bump up the period-ness of my projects.
Design-wise, I've thrown out the circle pouch and decided to go with one of the custom designs I did earlier for potential use with my stick-purse project. The design details and pictures are here.
I had a few reasons for picking this design:
1) The pattern was developed based on artwork, so it shows the fact that we do historical research, not just dress up in costumes.
2) It's a fairly unisex design. I thought about doing scalloped draw string pouches, or some of my other patterns I've made before but they tend to be focused on one gender or the other. This way, all of the pouches will be the same (except for the colours) and Eluned won't have to differentiate which kits she gives people.
3) It's a new design so it's not like there are dozens of people walking around with pouches that I've made that look the same. On the other side, it doesn't reduce the uniqueness of some of the other pouches I've custom made for people previously.
4) Selfishly, it's good practice and will help me fine-tune the design in case I decide to use it for a future stick-purse.
I went to fight practice yesterday with Avelyn, and was able to cut out the pouch body pieces for three of them (one red and two dark blue). Still have a bunch more to cut out, plus the draw strings and belt loops/flaps. I'm taking some time off from work next week, and one of the things I plan to do is churn these out and get them done so I can get them to Eluned with lots of time to spare.
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Monday, 18 March 2013
The Demise of the Circle Pouch
I've offered to make a few leather pouches as part of a fund raiser that our Barony is doing in a few months. Skraeling Althing has paid for an exhibitor table at the upcoming ComicCon in Ottawa and to make back some of the cost, they are putting together some newcomer kits that will be sold at the event.
I wanted something that would be simple to make, as I don't have a lot of time to add new projects to my plate. Looking at my patterns, it occurred to me that the simplest pattern would be a circle pouch ( I know, I can already hear the snickering from those who have made them before, just wait for it).
For those not as familiar with pouches, a circle pouch is a super-basic design. It's essentially a large circle (duh) of fabric or leather. You make some holes around the outside for a drawstring and then, when you pull the drawstring tight, you have a pouch. Easy, right?
So I pulled out my patterns, which had a couple of circle pouches, and I noticed that the circles were HUGE. I mean, the largest one probably had a diameter of close to two feet. Who would need a circle pouch that big (I thought). So, I pulled out a larg-ish kitchen bowl, probably about a foot in diameter, and traced that for the pattern. Great plan, right?
Maybe not so much. I cut out the circle from my leather (fortunately just some of my fabric-weight green pigskin) but before I punched the holes I took the edges of the pouch and bunched them up to see the pouch - or what should have been a pouch. Alas, that big circle I cut barely made a coin purse.
Having never made a circle pouch before, I did learn some important lessons from this exercise.
First of all, these pouches are extremely wasteful. In addition to the size of the circle you need to cut, there's a lot of wasted leather around the shape, because it's hard to fit anything else around the outside of a round shape. As a result, you end up with a lot of scrap leather that can't really be used for anything else. So while they are "easy" to make, this would explain why they aren't all that common in the SCA for anything beyond a change purse. It just isn't cost efficient and frankly, I value leather enough to not want to waste it like that.
It does make me wonder about their use in period though. I can't imagine that leatherworkers in period would have used such a wasteful design very often. I'm also tempted to throw my stick-purse theory out the window that they may have used this design for the main pouches, it just doesn't seem to fit the efficiency they used with other elements of the design. It leads me to think the design is more something like this (without all the decorations of course, and different dimensions), which is similar to the one done by NP Historical Shoes.
I wanted something that would be simple to make, as I don't have a lot of time to add new projects to my plate. Looking at my patterns, it occurred to me that the simplest pattern would be a circle pouch ( I know, I can already hear the snickering from those who have made them before, just wait for it).
For those not as familiar with pouches, a circle pouch is a super-basic design. It's essentially a large circle (duh) of fabric or leather. You make some holes around the outside for a drawstring and then, when you pull the drawstring tight, you have a pouch. Easy, right?
So I pulled out my patterns, which had a couple of circle pouches, and I noticed that the circles were HUGE. I mean, the largest one probably had a diameter of close to two feet. Who would need a circle pouch that big (I thought). So, I pulled out a larg-ish kitchen bowl, probably about a foot in diameter, and traced that for the pattern. Great plan, right?
Maybe not so much. I cut out the circle from my leather (fortunately just some of my fabric-weight green pigskin) but before I punched the holes I took the edges of the pouch and bunched them up to see the pouch - or what should have been a pouch. Alas, that big circle I cut barely made a coin purse.
Having never made a circle pouch before, I did learn some important lessons from this exercise.
First of all, these pouches are extremely wasteful. In addition to the size of the circle you need to cut, there's a lot of wasted leather around the shape, because it's hard to fit anything else around the outside of a round shape. As a result, you end up with a lot of scrap leather that can't really be used for anything else. So while they are "easy" to make, this would explain why they aren't all that common in the SCA for anything beyond a change purse. It just isn't cost efficient and frankly, I value leather enough to not want to waste it like that.
It does make me wonder about their use in period though. I can't imagine that leatherworkers in period would have used such a wasteful design very often. I'm also tempted to throw my stick-purse theory out the window that they may have used this design for the main pouches, it just doesn't seem to fit the efficiency they used with other elements of the design. It leads me to think the design is more something like this (without all the decorations of course, and different dimensions), which is similar to the one done by NP Historical Shoes.
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Latest updates on to-do list
Rather than updating my to-do list from October, I thought I'd start a new post. I haven't got much done since before Christmas, but I did get a few items crossed off and, of course, I've added a number of new items.
- Figure out engineering and pattern for stick-purse pouches
- Replace Avelyn's favour (likely make a second more sturdy one for wearing in armour as well)
- Develop carving pattern for my heraldry and badge
- Finish Avelyn's lamellar
- Start work on designing new leather leg pieces for Avelyn's new knee armour
- Do "commissioned" children's archery glove for Eluned
- Do "commissioned" belt favour (with award badges) for Robert the Blue
- Design and make drinking horn hanger for Vod (based on Morag's design)
- Talk to Nathaniel about herald's folder project for Harrowgate
- Figure out shoe pattern
- Help Catherine with her quiver project (if she still needs help)
- Make some basic pouches for the newcomer kit fund-raiser at ComiCon
- Track down my comments from Kingdom A&S
- Prep materials for leatherworking class for Harrowgate Heath - for the fall
Monday, 4 February 2013
Leatherworking class this fall
Well, I've stepped in it now. :) I've offered to teach a class for our Canton in October on making a leather belt pouch.
Good news is I have lots of time to work out the details and pull together all of the resources etc.
We have lots of growth in the Canton so there are a number of new people who may not have any leatherworking experience. I want this to be a good hands-on class so they can come away with something they would be happy to wear at events.
I'm thinking I might use the pattern I developed over the holidays for the covered draw string pouch (http://kraken-leather.blogspot.ca/2012/12/new-pouch-design-with-pictures.html). It's a bit more complex than a basic draw-string pouch and a bit different from what people will have seen before, but simple enough that most people should be able to do it in an hour (if I pre-cut and prep the pieces). I'd have to document it a bit but otherwise it would mostly be ready to go. I could bring a few kits for a more typical draw-string purse too in case there are people who don't tend to wear belts, just to make sure the pouch people make is something they can use.
I'll have to decide what materials to use. Easiest thing would be chrome tan, maybe even some of my chrome tan pig skins that I have lying around at home. It's super easy to work with and its nice and thin, almost like working with fabric. But of course that isn't a period material and the colours are too bright for true period use. Using thin veg tan would be more period but harder to work with and much more expensive. Maybe I'll ask Tiberius what he normally uses.
I want to make sure I cover some basic info on leatherworking too (stuff like the veg vs chrome tan, leather thicknesses, materials for stitching etc.), so that people aren't lost if they wander into the leatheer store for the first time.
If it goes well, maybe I can do it at an event next year.
Good news is I have lots of time to work out the details and pull together all of the resources etc.
We have lots of growth in the Canton so there are a number of new people who may not have any leatherworking experience. I want this to be a good hands-on class so they can come away with something they would be happy to wear at events.
I'm thinking I might use the pattern I developed over the holidays for the covered draw string pouch (http://kraken-leather.blogspot.ca/2012/12/new-pouch-design-with-pictures.html). It's a bit more complex than a basic draw-string pouch and a bit different from what people will have seen before, but simple enough that most people should be able to do it in an hour (if I pre-cut and prep the pieces). I'd have to document it a bit but otherwise it would mostly be ready to go. I could bring a few kits for a more typical draw-string purse too in case there are people who don't tend to wear belts, just to make sure the pouch people make is something they can use.
I'll have to decide what materials to use. Easiest thing would be chrome tan, maybe even some of my chrome tan pig skins that I have lying around at home. It's super easy to work with and its nice and thin, almost like working with fabric. But of course that isn't a period material and the colours are too bright for true period use. Using thin veg tan would be more period but harder to work with and much more expensive. Maybe I'll ask Tiberius what he normally uses.
I want to make sure I cover some basic info on leatherworking too (stuff like the veg vs chrome tan, leather thicknesses, materials for stitching etc.), so that people aren't lost if they wander into the leatheer store for the first time.
If it goes well, maybe I can do it at an event next year.
Thursday, 24 January 2013
We have a stick-purse update!
I've been fairly inactive on the leatherworking front since the holidays, mainly because we were getting ready for a vacation to Mexico. Now that we're back I'll have to get back into the swing of things.
Oddly enough, while we were away I received the long-awaited e-mail from the Curator at the Fries Museum with the details I was looking for about their stick-purse! YAY!
Turns out they are busily prepping a bunch of new exhibits for the fall, including one that will show the stick-purse, which is why my e-mail got lost in the shuffle.
They weren't able to answer all of my questions about the construction of the purse but did send me a fact sheet that has all of the dimensions in it (stick length, pouch length, pouch diameter etc.), which was really the critical piece of info I was looking for.
I'm still struggling with the design of the pouches. I know Mistress Elizabeth chose to go with the other design that is shown in Purses in Pieces, which is a typical square/rectangular pouch similar to ones I've made in the past. The one at the Fries is a very different shape, and not one I've seen before in any of my patterns. The pictures just don't show me the detail I need to determine if there's a seam in the pouch, or whether it's a solid piece of leather.
If there's a seam at the back, there would also have to be a separate bottom piece that would be sewn on. I see no evidence of either in the pictures I have, which is why I'm leaning away from that design (although I did find a really nice reproduction of the pouch using that approach from NP Historical Shoes - see the bottom of the page at http://www.np-historicalshoes.com/vyrobky.php?lang=en&ktg=10).
If that's not the way it's made, then my thought is that it's basically a large circle pouch with a draw-string. It would be much simpler to make, and is certainly a period design documented in Purses in Pieces. (I'm thinking something along these lines, but much taller).
I may have to play with that design next and see if it would work.
Oddly enough, while we were away I received the long-awaited e-mail from the Curator at the Fries Museum with the details I was looking for about their stick-purse! YAY!
Turns out they are busily prepping a bunch of new exhibits for the fall, including one that will show the stick-purse, which is why my e-mail got lost in the shuffle.
They weren't able to answer all of my questions about the construction of the purse but did send me a fact sheet that has all of the dimensions in it (stick length, pouch length, pouch diameter etc.), which was really the critical piece of info I was looking for.
I'm still struggling with the design of the pouches. I know Mistress Elizabeth chose to go with the other design that is shown in Purses in Pieces, which is a typical square/rectangular pouch similar to ones I've made in the past. The one at the Fries is a very different shape, and not one I've seen before in any of my patterns. The pictures just don't show me the detail I need to determine if there's a seam in the pouch, or whether it's a solid piece of leather.
If there's a seam at the back, there would also have to be a separate bottom piece that would be sewn on. I see no evidence of either in the pictures I have, which is why I'm leaning away from that design (although I did find a really nice reproduction of the pouch using that approach from NP Historical Shoes - see the bottom of the page at http://www.np-historicalshoes.com/vyrobky.php?lang=en&ktg=10).
If that's not the way it's made, then my thought is that it's basically a large circle pouch with a draw-string. It would be much simpler to make, and is certainly a period design documented in Purses in Pieces. (I'm thinking something along these lines, but much taller).
I may have to play with that design next and see if it would work.
Thursday, 27 December 2012
New Pouch Design - With Pictures
As mentioned in my previous post, we spent a good chunk of our time-off for the holidays planning and working on SCA stuff in the basement.
I like the way Avelyn put my work into perspective. I spent a good part of the week discovering many ways not to make leather dyes. After all, it's period to bodge things together and use trial and error to figure out what works and what doesn't...right? :)
Rather than continue to beat my head against that wall, I decided a change my plan of attack and work on something else for a while.
Since I still haven't heard from the museum about my stick purse, I'm going to work off the artwork I have and some of the information in Purses in Pieces to come up with a pouch design that will work. I can adjust the measurements etc. once I know the specifics.
The pictures below show my first attempt at a mock up, using some leather bits I had lying around.
The little flap over the pouch is seen in some of the artwork and one of the two extant examples has them. For example, here's some artwork from the 1500's showing a stick-purse with coloured flaps: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marinus_van_Reymerswale_-_The_Banker_and_His_Wife_-_WGA19323.jpg
It's often round, but I gave it a bit of a different shape, just for fun. The little toggle on the top is what keeps the flap down, and is just made from a piece of leather rolled in on itself and attached to the pouch.
The pouch itself has a slightly wider mouth than the base, which is a pouch shape that was seen in period (according to the drawings in Purses in Pieces).
The idea would be that about four of these pouches would be attached to the central stick, and I would have little pouchlets on the front of each pouch for additional coins.
Once I figure out any fine-tuning, I may do another version with veg tan that's closer to the weight of the goatskin I bought for the project. I can use some modern dyes and mix up some appropriate colours so I can get a sense of what it will look like too.
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Blue Leather Dye - Attempt Number Two
Since my powdered gum arabic came in before the holidays, I decided to make another attempt at the blue dye this week while I was off work.
I followed the same process as previous, boiling down the indigo and then adding the gum arabic before letting it cool and letting the pigment settle.
Unfortunately, much like my first attempt, it just won't stick to the leather. It just wipes right off the surface at even the slightest hint of moisture.
At this point I think my original suspicion may be correct, and this recipe may just not be workable. The water is clearly taking on the blue colour but I just can't get it to transfer that colour to the leather itself or bind to the leather at all.
I'm thinking it has something to do with the leather itself. Maybe the process used to tan the leather in period introduced something that would allow the dye to sink in or stick. Short of using one of the tanning recipes in the Plithco (which just isn't practical for me), I think I'll have to write it off for now. Which is a shame, because all of the other blue recipes use heavier chemicals, which I don't want to deal with until I can setup outside in the spring.
I've also started the process of getting a green and a red dye going. Not sure how well they'll work either. The instructions for the red are rather confusing so I'll probably have to try a couple of times before I figure it out. The green is also a bit of a concern because all of the recipes use fresh buckthorn berries and the ones I have are dried.
Guess there's more trial and error to come.
I followed the same process as previous, boiling down the indigo and then adding the gum arabic before letting it cool and letting the pigment settle.
Unfortunately, much like my first attempt, it just won't stick to the leather. It just wipes right off the surface at even the slightest hint of moisture.
At this point I think my original suspicion may be correct, and this recipe may just not be workable. The water is clearly taking on the blue colour but I just can't get it to transfer that colour to the leather itself or bind to the leather at all.
I'm thinking it has something to do with the leather itself. Maybe the process used to tan the leather in period introduced something that would allow the dye to sink in or stick. Short of using one of the tanning recipes in the Plithco (which just isn't practical for me), I think I'll have to write it off for now. Which is a shame, because all of the other blue recipes use heavier chemicals, which I don't want to deal with until I can setup outside in the spring.
I've also started the process of getting a green and a red dye going. Not sure how well they'll work either. The instructions for the red are rather confusing so I'll probably have to try a couple of times before I figure it out. The green is also a bit of a concern because all of the recipes use fresh buckthorn berries and the ones I have are dried.
Guess there's more trial and error to come.
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