tutorials

[A Hay]

Casey,

Welcome to a world wide community of kilt-wearers.

If you look through the Do It Yourself forum you will see examples of several types of sporrans. Some are soft, bag like (made by Turpin, Blazen and others), and some are more traditional in form with thicker, stiffer leather, like mine (A_Hay!).

Recommend you choose the style you like and what could be made from your leather. Then contact someone who makes that style and I'm sure we can provide you with some tips. My first one was modeled on an inexpensive one that I bought. I modified the pattern several times in the course of making the first 5. I learned a lot from those from the mistakes I made.

You don't need a lot of tools for the carved leather type of design I'm doing, but it would take some investment. For example, you really can't carve soft, pre-dyed leather. You have to have vegetable tanned leather. If you go that route you can get all the supplies you need from Tandy Leather or others on line.

You can also buy inexpensive sporrans for about $30 for starters from some of our advertisers or on e-bay. This would get you started and give you a pattern.

Good luck, If you have more specific questions, I'll try to help, as will others.

Tom

[cwr89]

Thanks for the great advise!!

I am looking into the basic construction, thats what gets me, I haven't ever actually held a sporran.

You don't need a lot of tools for the carved leather type of design I'm doing, but it would take some investment. For example, you really can't carve soft, pre-dyed leather. You have to have vegetable tanned leather. If you go that route you can get all the supplies you need from Tandy Leather or others on line.

the lucky thing here is, my father is a woodworker, he owns a woodworking store, and I fortunately have a full wood shop in my house. (table saw, band saw, lathe, scroll saw, chop saw, 9 foot long 3 foot wide hardwood workbench, and many many hand tools because he collects them and restores them) I have also in the past tried to make some leather armor (and failed miserably!) so I have basic idea about leather.

as for my material, the local craft shop sells 1 pound grab bags of Tandly leather scrap/cut-off so I have a very wide selection of soft leathers.

I think my main question is, what size is it? I really don't have any for sizing properly. Also how think are they usually? do you want them to be more flat or a little larger?

thanks for the great help again!
oh, and here is for fun, if you want you can tell me all the things I am doing wrong! (keep in mind I bought it thinking it would be a costume, and then it turned into something so great!)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y76..._55resized.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y76..._53resized.jpg (the shield is my own design)