I made the cantle in the fall (you can see it in a previous post "DIY brass cantle"). It's made from a thriftshop tray so I only have the other half and have plans to use it. If I come up with another source for one I'd consider making one.

The goat hide is from www.dawnscustomcarding.com/pelts.html out in Washington state and the full tanned hide was in the $200-$300 range (depending on size and hair color / length). Since the hide was very supple I decided to try to use it alone for the front. I was very careful to position the template to conserve the the hide and not have much waste. I'm saving the scrap pieces which can be dyed to make tassles.
The whole pouch is held on with six brass rivets in back and 5 brass screws in the front. The side brass hinge balls are threaded and removable so the pouch can be taken off intact. The new goat skin tends to shed some so at the end of the day I had to clean off the kilt front but it wasn't too bad.
This was a fun project and I learned quite a bit in the process. I may make a few more of these in the future if I can find the time!