Making a Dress Sporran - Questions

[MacMullen]

I'm planning on making a dress sporran after I finish the leather sporran that I'm making. However, I've never seen a dress sporran in person, so I have some questions:

1. What does it look like when it's open? Is the cantle hinged, like a purse opening, or is it only one piece? A picture would be helpful.

2. Does a dress sporran usually have a lining (satin or something similar)?

3. Does a fur sporran need a cantle, or, if not, does it have to have a mask (i.e., full animal head)?

4. Does a dress sporran have to be white to be appropriate for formal wear, or can it be black?

I'm thinking that I'd like to use a skunk pelt, not so much for the humor factor, but because I think it would look nice. Although humor also would be a factor,as well as interesting.

There's another reason I'd like to use a skunk, and that is, that my dog has killed six skunks over the last 5 years. It used to be that they sprayed her, then she killed them. But the last few have wandered into our yard, and she has crept up on them and killed them outright. So, skunk would have some personal meaning too.

I'm not going to use one of her kills though. I've skinned out a lot of animals (even a porcupine), but never a skunk. I figure on buying a tanned pelt off of eBay.

Other pelt possibilities would be a coyote, as I spent a lot of time hunting them when I lived in Colorado.

I'm not planning on doing a full head. If I can avoid using a cantle, I'd like to put it together so that the tail makes up the flap over the top. If I have to use a cantle for it to be "correct" then I'm going to buy the cantle set from SWK and go from there. I'd probably still do the tail flap for more of a daywear sporran.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?

Thanks!

[GlassMan]

1) All the dress sporrans I've seen are fur with canticle or animal head. So I think if you're not doing an animal head that your best bet is to include the canticle.

2) My dress sporran has a front and back that are hard as steel and pliable leather covered fur in between so that it opens like a bellows.

3) The inside of my dress sporran is leather lined.

4) My dress sporran is in grey rabbit fur and I like that better than either the pure white or black.

[switchblade5984]

warning they are not easy to make! if you have the cash buy one.....

[MacMullen]

I like to make my own things, even if I could buy them commercially for less than it would cost to make it. It's fun and I can say, "I made that!" The things I make are not always the prettiest, but, I have learned over the years to build or make a prototype first, solves a lot of problems and saves a lot of headaches later on. I made my last sporran out of vinyl first, and ended up doing four of them, before I actually moved on to make one out of leather.

With that philosophy in mind, I'll be making a "practice" sporran out of faux fur, see if I like it, see how it worked out, and then move on to make one out of real fur.

Fun, educational, and interesting. Even if you don't think you can do it, you'll never know for sure until you try it. And, even if you fail, to paraphrase Edison, "Now I knew a thousand things that woun't work." And again, "Many of life's failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

[mbhandy]

Hi Joel,

Do you have a picture of the leather one you made? Lets have a gander!
I like the Skunk project, has a good mmmm smell to it.

MrBill

[A Dhuglas]

Slowly heading down the same trail Joel. Still in information gathering mode even for my first leather sporran. Just my nature to research things to death first.

FYI, if you'd rather go with real fur check out eBay. Tanned rabbit pelts aren't expensive and I think most of the generic 'fur dress sporrans' we see in catalogs, on eBay etc. are rabbit. Skunk and muskrat pelts aren't bad either.

Variety in cantles appears to be the tough part. I haven't checked yet with anyone like Craigie to see if they're willing to accept one-off orders for the different Morrison cantles they use in their sporrans. Stillwater offers two cantles: nickel-plated brass for $25 and black for $30. $5 shipping/handling. The black is unique.

One thing I haven't researched yet: best way for attaching the fur pelt to leather backing. Not certain whether tacking with stitches, cementing or combo of the two is the way to go.

Assuming I'm pleased with my results once I fabricate a couple of leather and fur sporrans, I hope to use what I learn for two dress sporrans using arctic fox on one and badger on the other.

DD

[An t-Ileach]

...
1. What does it look like when it's open? Is the cantle hinged, like a purse opening, or is it only one piece? A picture would be helpful.

It opens like a bellows. The cantle is stitched to the front panel, and the back panel fits snugly under it when closed. The two panels are connected together by a soft leather gusset. The front is secured to the back with a tongue and snap. The front and back panels are usually made with stiff (or stiff leather as a stiffener for fur) - say, 2mm.

2. Does a dress sporran usually have a lining (satin or something similar)?

Yes. Mostly skiver (thin sheep or goat skin) is used, but anything that takes your fancy would do. It's just to give it a more finished effect and hide the stitches of the strap assembly at the back and the popper of the snap.

3. Does a fur sporran need a cantle, or, if not, does it have to have a mask (i.e., full animal head)?

No, and yes - but the cantle doesn't have to be metal: you can make a fairly effective one out of thick leather (again, about 2mm substance would do - American russet is good, and comes even thicker (3mm-3.5mm) and has the advantage of being easily cased and tooled)

4. Does a dress sporran have to be white to be appropriate for formal wear, or can it be black?

It can be any colour that looks good.

I'm thinking that I'd like to use a skunk pelt, not so much for the humor factor, but because I think it would look nice. Although humor also would be a factor,as well as interesting...

Good choice - a bit like the traditional badger.

Other pelt possibilities would be a coyote,...

I suppose that would work a bit like (a big) fox.

Margaret Morrison and Janet Eagleton both use Clanart (Bulldog Buckle Co Ltd of Taunton, Somerset, UK - www.bulldogbuckle.com) as well as other suppliers. Bulldog sell the cantles, with variable tops and bosses, (and the screws for fitting) complete at about £35.

Craigie make their own cantles out of leather (which can be fun).

Apart from the personal satisfaction, you'll be spending about 50 percent of the retail cost if you make a dress sporran yourself. My materials costs for a dress sporran (before factoring in labour etc) are about £60.

There are two pix of dress sporrans on my photobucket site:
<img src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b211/macshealbhaich/type1.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">
<img src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b211/macshealbhaich/type2.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

[Sherry]

This is a great thread. I have a mink capelet I'd like my guys to use to make dress sporrans for them. The capelet came from my husband's late grandmother, & his parents thought it would be a dandy thing to give me for my birthday. :rolleyes: I think the days of minks in Texas are gone, so I say make sporrans for the guys & a teddy bear for my DD.

The faux fur practice sporran is a good idea.

[An t-Ileach]

I'll try and scan and upload somehow my cutting patterns - may take a day or two to figure it all out.

[MacMullen]

I'll try and scan and upload somehow my cutting patterns - may take a day or two to figure it all out.

Thanks! Besides being very generous, that would be very helpful! Your generosity reminds me of that Coke Zero commercial where the researcher at Coca-Cola reveals the secret formula. Then they sack him, right before he reveals it.

Thanks also for your detailed answers to my other questions above.

If I did do the coyote, I would only use a bit of the pelt, although, I suppose the fur would be a bit long.

FYI, if you'd rather go with real fur check out eBay. Tanned rabbit pelts aren't expensive and I think most of the generic 'fur dress sporrans' we see in catalogs, on eBay etc. are rabbit. Skunk and muskrat pelts aren't bad either.

I was planning on getting a skunk pelt on eBay.

Hi Joel,

Do you have a picture of the leather one you made? Lets have a gander!
I like the Skunk project, has a good mmmm smell to it.

MrBill

They don't spray if you kill them properly. I'm assuming a professionaly trapped and tanned pelt would be odorless. Although, from dealing with my dog after her kills, Fabreze works wonders on skunk odor, even the oily, fresh from the skunk's butt stuff.

Probably the best pic of my first sporran is on my Christmas Party thread. I think I made it a little small, and it's just two pieces of leather cut to shape, sewn together, then turned rightside out, but I do like how it turned out. I also put a small pocket inside of it for my lighter and cigar cutter, as well as a quick link for my car keys.



My next leather sporran is going to be based on this sporran pattern.