Hair sporran question

[David Dubh]

Hi all
I'm looking for a little input regarding hair sporrans. I like the idea of a hair sporran for formal wear better than the seal sporran that I currently own, but I'm not sure that I would actually want one where the hair comes all the may to the bottom of my kilt or beyond. So obviously I'd be looking at a custom made one. My question is would it look strange to have a sporran where the hair only came a few inches below the bag? Should I be looking at a different type of fur sporran with a longer hair to it instead of a hair sporran? I also prefer a dark coloured hair black preferably but a dark brown would work. What say you?
Slainte David

[Orionson]

Without doubt, David, the best place to start is to review the sporrans made by The Artificer, whose link you will find at the bottom of the page amongst the advertisers. Many of us here have commissioned sporrans from Scott. I myself have two, both horsehair. One completely new creation and the second, a refurb of the pipers sporran I had as a boy. Scott replaced the metal cantle with a hand tooled leather one and replaced the tassles. It now looks very like the beauties you will find in the paintings of Kenneth MacLeay.

Use the search engine too as there are a number of horsehair sporran threads discussing the pros and cons of them in modern day use.

Generally speaking, the jury is split between those who love them and use them (like me) and those who find them archaic and inappropriate for modern day use outwith Pipe Bands and the Military.

Don't be put off by the nay-sayers. Enjoy your research and if you decide to proceed, do so with confidence. Done properly, they are magnificent and very tasteful.

Cheers,

[Bluescelt]

I think it depends on what type of hair you are thinking of using. Horse hair definitely looks correct when it is longer but using goat hair (especially angora) can be nice a little shorter.

[Orionson]

This was commissioned for my Daughter's Wedding in Edinburgh last year. It is Nickle Silver on Bronze in the the Style of the Glasgow School of Art and inspired by the Arts Nouveau works of Otto Heintz.Artificer Silver on Bronze Sporran.jpg

[Bluescelt]

I made this angora goat hair sporran and you can extend the front panel as long as you want plus it can be dyed to the color you are looking for.

[artificer]

As others have noted, the length of hair is somewhat determined by the type of hair as well as the time the sporran was made and the style of the day.

In the Victorian Era it was quite common for sporrans (frequently goat or possibly Highland cow) to come WELL past the selvedge edge of the kilt.
Contemporary (horse) hair sporrans tend to end right at or just above selvedge, and goat hair sporrans, due to the shorter length of the hair, tend to be a bit shorter than that.

I don't think I'd probably do a horsehair sporran that is much shorter than standard, they tend to 'brush out' like a broom head if there isn't enough length and weight to keep them in order.
As Bluescelt mentioned, you can get a longer goat/Highland cow look by extending the bag (although realistically you probably won't want a contemporary construction (with two hard panels and a gusset between), as the hard panels would knock against the thighs while you're walking.

ith:

[David Dubh]

Hey Scott thanks for chiming in here. So what you're saying is I could get one made of goat hair or highland cow hair so it could be dyed black and would need to have a soft leather oversized bag attached to give the length I'd be looking for.?

[Father Bill]

...and you're talking to the best guy there is to make it for you!

[Father Bill]

There are also a couple of good threads here that may be helpful- "show us your sporrans" and " let's talk dress sporrans ". if you do a search.

[artificer]

Hey Scott thanks for chiming in here. So what you're saying is I could get one made of goat hair or highland cow hair so it could be dyed black and would need to have a soft leather oversized bag attached to give the length I'd be looking for.?

Yes and no. If you go TOO oversized (to get the length you may be looking for) a flat bodied sporran with a 'ticket pocket' on the rear might be the wiser choice. Full body storage only functions to a point, and then, unless you're a really BIG guy or have ape-arms, you won't be able to access the bottom of the sporran where everything will inevitably settle.

I've made a few pieces based on a MacLeay print where the short hair of the sporran obviously dictated a very large rear panel

in this case I did a soft body full storage piece. But in this case all 3 commissioners wanted loads of storage.
Given the choice I'd have made it with a flat panel and a ticket pocket back which would probably have been much more historically accurate.

It's a balance between "I want my sporran to be the Tardis and be able to hold EVERYTHING including my favorite anvil" and "This looks like a sporran".
Oh, to live back in the days before smart phones, HUGE rings of keys, and wallets, when most chaps were happy to keep a few silver coins and maybe a small sack of oats in their sporrans.

ith: