So for an upcoming party, I made a leather bag to hold my wallet, phone and keys:
As usual, I ran out of natural light when I finally finished the product. I'm going to take a better picture tomorrow so you can see the color and straps clearly.
Only thing I wished I had done better was coloring it BEFORE stitching it together and stitching the bottom better. As it is now, there is actually two long holes in the bottom on the side where I should have stitched, but didn't.
Nice work, mate. How much do you reckon it cost you to make?
Thanks!
$80 in material and time. I recorded about 18.5 hours in forging, fabrication and finishing. I would estimate another 1.5-2.5 hours for drawing, but it was done intermittently long before I started building this.
It has been a while since I have posted anything new, but do not fret. I've spent the time constructing something completely new and challenging!
I made these handcuffs as a gift for a person I know who frequents the BDSM scene. The handcuffs are 3 mm thick, 30 cm x 6 cm with sheep skin stitched into the underside. Underneath the skin is a piece of soft foam about 3 cm thick, 5 cm width and 29 cm long. The cuffs are really soft and nice to wear.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned person is really hardcore into the BDSM scene and basically indicated without saying it directly that he will not be using these cuffs as they are not robust enough for the type of play he engages in (the cuffs apparently needs to shut tightly around the wrist, similar to how ordinary handcuffs work). Does make me kind of sad, but on the other hand I learned something new and already have ideas for smaller variations of this design for lighter play.
For those interested, it includes a reduction of the foam size (3 cm to 1-1,5 cm thick and 5 cm to 2 cm width) and a reduction of leather length and width. There will also be more fastened D-rings to connect chains and the like, while fastening the buckle strap to the handcuffs as well. Basically a smaller and more "feminine" version of this.
So I got tired of hand stitching my projects since it takes a million years punching holes through the letter and afterwards having to sew.
So I bought a sewing machine and an even classic old one at that!
For the uninitiated, it is a Singer Class 15 Treadle sewing machine. This particular one was made back in 1923 making it 91 years old. It is in perfect condition from almost never having been used since the 1920's. The guy I bought it from said he hadn't used it since he inherited it in the 1980's and it came with all the original pieces. There was even usable oil in the oil canteen.
Unfortunately the power derived from treading isn't enough to make the needle punch through leather. It comes to a screeching halt every time, so I have to manually turn the wheel. Obviously this is a less than perfect solution, so I am currently in the process of getting a hand crank attached to it
So I am back with a new creation. This one didn't take that long to make though I did spend some time tinkering with the pattern.
It is a basic bracer with a sharp point. I colored it mahogany to give it a deep warm color. I'm going to make another one for the arm and use them both for a party later in August. They will be accompanied by two arm cuffs which will sit near the biceps. Once I have the entire costume ready, I'll post a few pictures
Are you going as some sort of roman/greek soldier?
Heh, no. It's actually a mismatch of a 1920's bouncer for a burlesque party (their dress code is pretty forgiving as long as you are in a costume. So I am thinking a Steampunk'ish 1920's bouncer). My costume consists of a top hat and a white dress shirt where I have cut off the arms and sewn the edges of the holes to make it look more natural. On top of that I'll wear a black vest with black pants which is originally half of a suit.
Thing is I felt my arms were a bit bare and wanted something to pretty them up (besides bulking up). First I had an idea of making a full armguard like a gladiator for my left arm. Trouble was that I didn't have enough leather for it and I had just ordered a new shipment of a type of leather which is too thin for that. So I settled for making two small bracers and arm cuffs instead. I think it is actually the better choice since I will probably get tired of running around with a full armguard during the party. Still contemplating whether I'll add 2 fingerless leather gloves to the costume since they require a bit of stitching to make.
For reference, I was thinking of recreating this full armguard:
Triforce cutting board I made for some friends. This took much longer than I expected. I must say it is much easier to draw 4 equilateral triangles than it is to cut and glue together 4 equilateral triangles. You get the cuts off by 1-3 degrees and then put them together and have some problems.
I've been doing quite a bit lately trying new things. Here's a beaded crystal bracelet that was annoying, I lost two crimping tubes and wasted 2 more! Linked for huge.
But the end result looks nice. Gives me a disco/80's vibe
I have been working on a few things since last time, but I didn't have the time to post them, so here they are in quick succession.
This small bag was made as a gift for my step-niece's 2 year old birthday. Suffice to say, I was made favorite uncle after that gift
The second item is a stylish wallet made in goatskin for my father. I admit it was more of a design project than a functional wallet. I gave it a hard back, so the goatskin wouldn't bend on itself since goatskin has zero bending resistance.
That's it for now. I'm currently working on a belt for my mother as a birthday gift where I utilize some new techniques and skills (wheel patterns and precision painting. So far the results are really good!).
P.S The name in the bottom right of pictures is "Den Farveblinde Lædermager", my "company" name. It is translated into The Colorblind Leatherworker
Once I have the entire costume ready, I'll post a few pictures
So I went to the party yesterday and was awesome. Lots of costumed people in Burlesque style and a good vibe. Sadly, the venue's ventilation couldn't handle so many people gathered within one roof, so it got very hot inside. You were practically sweating by just standing still! It lowered the energy levels of me and my friends, so we didn't party as hard as we otherwise would have (plus that I was feeling tired from having a 09-05 work schedule instead of my usual holiday schedule).
And so here is the picture I promised.
Armguards on wrists, armband near biceps with feathers attached (also a strip of tape underneath to keep the feathers in place).
Got lots of props for the feathery hat, so that's good! But next time I'm gonna do something else because the hat was killing me (hat makes more sense during the winter period).
I'm back with more leathery goodies and this time it is a belt with a twist!
I made this as a birthday gift for my mother (who originally had ordered it as a standard purchase). I wanted to do something more than just cutting the belt, so I opted for 'patterning' it and coloring the pattern.
I am quite happy with the result even though I did it the worst way possible (should have colored the entire thing first, THEN color the pattern). You can see this slightly on the first picture where a section of the back of the belt is darker in color than the rest. That is what happens when you re-color specific areas and not applying the same amount of color to the entire belt. I'll have to remember it for next time.
So I went back and fixed some issues I had with my first prototype belt bag.
Here's Belt Bag V2:
It's made from goatskin, so the form isn't as hard and stable as when you make it from vegetable leather. On the other hand, it is incredibly soft and it can be pressed into the body when there is nothing in it (which is rare). I've grown so fond of it that I use it every time I go outside regardless of environment. I have actually forgotten what it used to feel like having stuff in your pant pockets since I keep my stuff in my belt bag.
Technique-wise, there are some faults. I hand-stitched it using a much thinner thread than usual to avoid giving it a rugged look, but a thin thread doesn't provide any sort of resistance between holes like a waxed thread does. This cost me a lot of time and sweat trying to keep the tension in the thread.
In the end due to some thread unraveling, I resorted to using my sewing machine which, surprisingly, worked wonders. I had initially ruled out using the sewing machine due to the perceived difficulty of making the stitches properly. Next time I'll just go for the sewing machine first.
Vanilla forums is being weird for me and not letting me open the spoiler. Is there anyway you could edit the post and remove the spoiler tag around the image for the belt bag?
Edit: Nevermind forums un-snafued itself.
CommunistCow on
No, I am not really communist. Yes, it is weird that I use this name.
Finally been able to do my own personal work again after about a half-year of focusing on my day job. I made a few pieces limiting myself to an hour of work time from raw material to finished product. I like doing little functional objects like this to warm up or test new techniques out.
Finally been able to do my own personal work again after about a half-year of focusing on my day job. I made a few pieces limiting myself to an hour of work time from raw material to finished product. I like doing little functional objects like this to warm up or test new techniques out.
I have no idea what is going on with that stuff. Like....how?
How you do this?
Its been a while since I posted anything, so here are a few projects I've been working on.
18 inch fold formed copper feather:
Fold forming is a process that uses the memory that most metals have to create forms and shapes. Imagine how a crease in paper is nearly impossible to get out. Doing this in metal, and hammering the fold creates a work hardened spot, which when unfolded remains in the metal. This is used to create the spine of the feather. This was done as a practice piece to refresh my memory of the process.
Fold formed titanium feather cuff:
I have never worked with titanium before, but managed to get a small sheet of it to mess around with. This shows the process from finished straight feather to cuff.
Machined rotulus scroll:
I've been making a lot of these and recently purchased a miniature lathe. I wanted to make one entirely with the lathe. Eventually it will have a holder and a chain, as well as paper.
Individual parts
Assembled (approx. 2.75" tall).
Here is something in progress. 3/16" metal 'gemstone' carved out of a solid piece of mokume-gane.
Commencing work dump! (with new improved photo goodness!)
First, a snazzy belt I made for myself:
(Spoilered for hugeness!)
And then my piece of furcrafting! (prototype with tons of errors, but my mother liked it and so she got it as a Christmas present).
(Also spoilered for hugeness)
The lightbox, which I borrowed from my brother, has really given my products a huge notch up in terms of presentation. Even when I look at it, I'm amazed at the quality of the presentation and product itself (though I made it and know it doesn't look like that when held in your hands!).
Also, my brother gifted me this. It is quite... illuminating :P
I work by the philosophy of taking one step at a time and not doing everything at once.
While I may put off dabbling too much into fur-crafting for now, I just picked up a new skill of smoothing edges.
It's called Saddle Soap and Water + Burnisher. I have a wooden one right now, but I ordered a couple of Dremel burnishers, so I can do it faster and with more precision.
Just tried the technique on a new order, and I must say that the edge is really smooth. My own snazzy belt could have benefited from that and become even more nice
@Forbe! Last week I was doing forum archaeology to find pictures of those books you made a while back to show someone because they are so darn cool. Those bowls up there are super awesome. Way to make great work, dude.
Mask made of goat skin (I have no imagination when it comes to colors).
Another mask made out crocodile skin (I think? Reptilian at the very least). I'm going to wear this one come Saturday for a costume party. Pics will follow later.
(No, you don't get lizard eyes by just wearing it )
I just finished another thing, but I don't have the pictures ready for it yet. Tomorrow!
Posts
As usual, I ran out of natural light when I finally finished the product. I'm going to take a better picture tomorrow so you can see the color and straps clearly.
Only thing I wished I had done better was coloring it BEFORE stitching it together and stitching the bottom better. As it is now, there is actually two long holes in the bottom on the side where I should have stitched, but didn't.
Overall I am very happy with the product
While waiting for the sun, I also made a magic potion to go with the bag.
:-)
Ah, now I remember!
I'm blaming Forbe! if the thing turns out to be immune to diseases.
Thanks!
$80 in material and time. I recorded about 18.5 hours in forging, fabrication and finishing. I would estimate another 1.5-2.5 hours for drawing, but it was done intermittently long before I started building this.
Forge - 5 hours
Fabrication - 10 hours
Finishing - 3.5 hours
The overall cost if this were a paying job would be about $670.
Glue? Surely you mean "weld with darkest hellfire drawn from the most obscene nightmares of mankind"?
I made these handcuffs as a gift for a person I know who frequents the BDSM scene. The handcuffs are 3 mm thick, 30 cm x 6 cm with sheep skin stitched into the underside. Underneath the skin is a piece of soft foam about 3 cm thick, 5 cm width and 29 cm long. The cuffs are really soft and nice to wear.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned person is really hardcore into the BDSM scene and basically indicated without saying it directly that he will not be using these cuffs as they are not robust enough for the type of play he engages in (the cuffs apparently needs to shut tightly around the wrist, similar to how ordinary handcuffs work). Does make me kind of sad, but on the other hand I learned something new and already have ideas for smaller variations of this design for lighter play.
For those interested, it includes a reduction of the foam size (3 cm to 1-1,5 cm thick and 5 cm to 2 cm width) and a reduction of leather length and width. There will also be more fastened D-rings to connect chains and the like, while fastening the buckle strap to the handcuffs as well. Basically a smaller and more "feminine" version of this.
So I bought a sewing machine and an even classic old one at that!
For the uninitiated, it is a Singer Class 15 Treadle sewing machine. This particular one was made back in 1923 making it 91 years old. It is in perfect condition from almost never having been used since the 1920's. The guy I bought it from said he hadn't used it since he inherited it in the 1980's and it came with all the original pieces. There was even usable oil in the oil canteen.
Unfortunately the power derived from treading isn't enough to make the needle punch through leather. It comes to a screeching halt every time, so I have to manually turn the wheel. Obviously this is a less than perfect solution, so I am currently in the process of getting a hand crank attached to it
It is a basic bracer with a sharp point. I colored it mahogany to give it a deep warm color. I'm going to make another one for the arm and use them both for a party later in August. They will be accompanied by two arm cuffs which will sit near the biceps. Once I have the entire costume ready, I'll post a few pictures
Heh, no. It's actually a mismatch of a 1920's bouncer for a burlesque party (their dress code is pretty forgiving as long as you are in a costume. So I am thinking a Steampunk'ish 1920's bouncer). My costume consists of a top hat and a white dress shirt where I have cut off the arms and sewn the edges of the holes to make it look more natural. On top of that I'll wear a black vest with black pants which is originally half of a suit.
Thing is I felt my arms were a bit bare and wanted something to pretty them up (besides bulking up). First I had an idea of making a full armguard like a gladiator for my left arm. Trouble was that I didn't have enough leather for it and I had just ordered a new shipment of a type of leather which is too thin for that. So I settled for making two small bracers and arm cuffs instead. I think it is actually the better choice since I will probably get tired of running around with a full armguard during the party. Still contemplating whether I'll add 2 fingerless leather gloves to the costume since they require a bit of stitching to make.
For reference, I was thinking of recreating this full armguard:
I made these captive black glass bead earrings yesterday. Traditional captive style wouldn't work, beads too big, so I came up with my own.
They measure about 2 inches long, to give you an idea of how small those rings are.
Handmade Jewelry by me on EtsyGames for sale
Me on Twitch!
How much would you wager it cost you in materials?
Somewhere between $30-50 plus lots of time.
Linked for huge.
Handmade Jewelry by me on EtsyGames for sale
Me on Twitch!
I have been working on a few things since last time, but I didn't have the time to post them, so here they are in quick succession.
This small bag was made as a gift for my step-niece's 2 year old birthday. Suffice to say, I was made favorite uncle after that gift
The second item is a stylish wallet made in goatskin for my father. I admit it was more of a design project than a functional wallet. I gave it a hard back, so the goatskin wouldn't bend on itself since goatskin has zero bending resistance.
That's it for now. I'm currently working on a belt for my mother as a birthday gift where I utilize some new techniques and skills (wheel patterns and precision painting. So far the results are really good!).
P.S The name in the bottom right of pictures is "Den Farveblinde Lædermager", my "company" name. It is translated into The Colorblind Leatherworker
So I went to the party yesterday and was awesome. Lots of costumed people in Burlesque style and a good vibe. Sadly, the venue's ventilation couldn't handle so many people gathered within one roof, so it got very hot inside. You were practically sweating by just standing still! It lowered the energy levels of me and my friends, so we didn't party as hard as we otherwise would have (plus that I was feeling tired from having a 09-05 work schedule instead of my usual holiday schedule).
And so here is the picture I promised.
Armguards on wrists, armband near biceps with feathers attached (also a strip of tape underneath to keep the feathers in place).
Got lots of props for the feathery hat, so that's good! But next time I'm gonna do something else because the hat was killing me (hat makes more sense during the winter period).
I made this as a birthday gift for my mother (who originally had ordered it as a standard purchase). I wanted to do something more than just cutting the belt, so I opted for 'patterning' it and coloring the pattern.
I am quite happy with the result even though I did it the worst way possible (should have colored the entire thing first, THEN color the pattern). You can see this slightly on the first picture where a section of the back of the belt is darker in color than the rest. That is what happens when you re-color specific areas and not applying the same amount of color to the entire belt. I'll have to remember it for next time.
Hope you like it
Here's Belt Bag V2:
It's made from goatskin, so the form isn't as hard and stable as when you make it from vegetable leather. On the other hand, it is incredibly soft and it can be pressed into the body when there is nothing in it (which is rare). I've grown so fond of it that I use it every time I go outside regardless of environment. I have actually forgotten what it used to feel like having stuff in your pant pockets since I keep my stuff in my belt bag.
Technique-wise, there are some faults. I hand-stitched it using a much thinner thread than usual to avoid giving it a rugged look, but a thin thread doesn't provide any sort of resistance between holes like a waxed thread does. This cost me a lot of time and sweat trying to keep the tension in the thread.
In the end due to some thread unraveling, I resorted to using my sewing machine which, surprisingly, worked wonders. I had initially ruled out using the sewing machine due to the perceived difficulty of making the stitches properly. Next time I'll just go for the sewing machine first.
Edit: Nevermind forums un-snafued itself.
Forged aluminum bowl.
Forged bronze bowl.
Forged aluminum candle holder.
Finally been able to do my own personal work again after about a half-year of focusing on my day job. I made a few pieces limiting myself to an hour of work time from raw material to finished product. I like doing little functional objects like this to warm up or test new techniques out.
Handmade Jewelry by me on EtsyGames for sale
Me on Twitch!
I have no idea what is going on with that stuff. Like....how?
How you do this?
18 inch fold formed copper feather:
Fold forming is a process that uses the memory that most metals have to create forms and shapes. Imagine how a crease in paper is nearly impossible to get out. Doing this in metal, and hammering the fold creates a work hardened spot, which when unfolded remains in the metal. This is used to create the spine of the feather. This was done as a practice piece to refresh my memory of the process.
Fold formed titanium feather cuff:
I have never worked with titanium before, but managed to get a small sheet of it to mess around with. This shows the process from finished straight feather to cuff.
Machined rotulus scroll:
I've been making a lot of these and recently purchased a miniature lathe. I wanted to make one entirely with the lathe. Eventually it will have a holder and a chain, as well as paper.
Individual parts
Assembled (approx. 2.75" tall).
Here is something in progress. 3/16" metal 'gemstone' carved out of a solid piece of mokume-gane.
First, a snazzy belt I made for myself:
(Spoilered for hugeness!)
And then my piece of furcrafting! (prototype with tons of errors, but my mother liked it and so she got it as a Christmas present).
(Also spoilered for hugeness)
The lightbox, which I borrowed from my brother, has really given my products a huge notch up in terms of presentation. Even when I look at it, I'm amazed at the quality of the presentation and product itself (though I made it and know it doesn't look like that when held in your hands!).
Also, my brother gifted me this. It is quite... illuminating :P
The new stuff looks awesome
I work by the philosophy of taking one step at a time and not doing everything at once.
While I may put off dabbling too much into fur-crafting for now, I just picked up a new skill of smoothing edges.
It's called Saddle Soap and Water + Burnisher. I have a wooden one right now, but I ordered a couple of Dremel burnishers, so I can do it faster and with more precision.
Just tried the technique on a new order, and I must say that the edge is really smooth. My own snazzy belt could have benefited from that and become even more nice
Handmade Jewelry by me on EtsyGames for sale
Me on Twitch!
facebook.com/LauraCatherwoodArt
Leather grip for cubboards:
Mask made of goat skin (I have no imagination when it comes to colors).
Another mask made out crocodile skin (I think? Reptilian at the very least). I'm going to wear this one come Saturday for a costume party. Pics will follow later.
(No, you don't get lizard eyes by just wearing it
I just finished another thing, but I don't have the pictures ready for it yet. Tomorrow!