and want to make one for yourself? Well here's your chance
to see how easy it is.
Depending on your level of skills and how busy things are
around you, it will take about an hour and a half to two
hours to make a pouch like this.
The Basics
What you'll need is...
Leather (Duh!) A soft sueded leather in the one to four ounce
range is about right. This leather will be about 1/16 of an
inch thick give or take a few fractions.
Lacing 1/8" Sueded leather lace will work for most pouches but
you can use most any cordage you want to use.
Tools
A sharp knife or shears or scissors to cut with. If you use a
knife, make sure it will easily shave hair from your arm so it
will cut the leather easily.
A straight edge (ruler) to act as both a measuring tool and as a straight
edge to guide your knife in a straight line.
A punch or Awl to make holes with.
Needle and Thread. Ideally you should use a thick sturdy needle with a
blunt point. If you can't find regular leather working needles you can
use Large Embroidery/Creweling needles. The thread should be a sturdy
waxed twine. You buy waxed thread made for leather working or make it
yourself. Or in a pinch you can use waxed dental floss.
(Just don't use the flavored kind or you may find the dog gnawing your pouch! LMAO)
A small block of wax. This is used to act as a lubricant for
both your needle and awl. Bee's wax is the best but you can
use a plain candle if you don't want to hunt down bee's wax.
A small pair of pliers. These will come in handy pulling your
needle through tight spots.
The basic tools, a knife, a stainless steel scale (ruler), an old ice
pick turned into an awl, a block of bee's wax, and a threaded needle.
The awl and two different punches. The punch in the Leatherman Supertool
was used for part of this.
And we begin...
You can buy you leather in larger rolls or smaller sections sold in
crafts stores. You'll need a piece that is a little bigger than the
outside dimensions of the pouch.
eg. If you want a pouch that is 4 inches tall and two inches wide
you will need a piece of leather about five inches square.
This was the first cutting for this project and the edges are
a little rough so I had to square the edges a bit...
This is where the straight edge comes in handy to make sure my edges
are smooth.
And here we are with one squared up piece of leather ready to have it's
first holes punched
Fold the piece in half lengthwise and punch three holes through
both thicknesses of the leather. Those three holes will result
in six holes that are matched up as the corners.
Now for the long part of the work, punching your holes for stitching
the pouch together. Use you straight edge as a guide and line it up
on two of your corners and punch the holes about 1/4" apart.
After all of the holes have been punched use your awl to expand the holes
a little to make it easier to push your needle through.
Note: Wax the tip of the awl every third or fourth
hole to make it work more smoothly.
Remember, you only need to punch holes in three sides since one side
will be the mouth of the pouch.
Now fold the piece lengthwise using the corner holes as guides to line
the other holes up.
Important
How much thread is needed here?
As a rule of thumb, Start at the top corner using a doubled length of
thread and measure out enough to go all the way to the farthest corner.
Make sure you add at least an extra three to five inches to cover any
knots you use. The more the better.
And we start our first stitch...
Make sure you go around the first two holes to create a secure point at
the top corner.
After the top corner you can use a simple stitch all the way around.
Or if you want to create a stronger seam, you can use more thread and
use what is called a whip stitch. This is simply going in a circle from
hole to hole to provide a more secure seam.
Note: I'll add updated pictures later to illustrate
what a whip stitch looks like.
Tie the thread off by passing the needle through the final
stitch several time to create a simple knot and the use a
lighter or match to sear the end to prevent unraveling.
Note: This should be done to the knot at
the top corner as well.
And now it is time turn the bag inside out...
And here we have the pouch turned inside out.
This makes it look easy. I can assure you that it takes a little
work to get it done.
Next up, punching holes for the draw string...
As a rule you will probably want at least eight holes to make it easier
to close the pouch. Make sure you wax the tip of your awl for each hole
so the awl will pass through easier.
Note: The holes at the edges will need to be punched
individually. The two in the center area can be punched at the same time.
This is where I used the punch in the Leatherman Supertool to square
the holes to make it easier to pass the lacing through.
How much lacing do you use?
It depends on how you want to use the pouch. If you plan to carry it in
a pocket, use enough to wrap around the mouth of the pouch to secure it.
If you plan to wear it around your neck us at least thirty inches or more.
Start lacing it at the outer most holes and work your way toward the seam.
A close up of the lacing completed.
Now just tie a simple knot on the end and your pouch is finished.
A few final notes...
This is just a very basic and simple pouch. You can do quite a few things
to customize your pouch(es). Adding an extra piece at the seam to add
a fancy fringe, dyeing parts of it, adding fancy stitching...
The only limits are your skills, materials, and imagination.
I'll add an update later to show a few customizations that can be
done.
No comments:
Post a Comment