My DIY Semi-Formal Sporran Mod. Thoughts, please.

[KiltedSergeant]

Dollander inspired me to try something similar to his project posted in this same Forum category.

I have been looking at "semi-formal" sporrans because I have two simple three-tassel sporrans, one in black and one in brown, and a formal skunk skin sporran that I have been using for over 20 years. None of them have ever seemed appropriate for occasions in between casual and very formal. After seeing Dollander's post I purchased the following sporran from E-bay:

Sporran a.png

My thought is to add some tweed, or the like, as Dollander did, into the areas demonstrated by my amateurish, but hopefully clarifying, artwork demonstrated in these two pictures (the color is not right, but please use your imagination):

Sporran 3a.png Modification 1
Sporran 2a.png Modification 2

One concern I have for Mod 1 is that the small cloth sections on the sides might be prone to coming unglued at the edges due to their small size, though with modern adhesives that may be a moot point; you artisans may be able to guide me on that point. I believe I will also place some sort of Celtic brooch in the middle of the center section of the sporran.

Could I ask for your honest opinions of the project? And if you like either of the suggested modifications (or, prefer the original), please explain. Thanks!

[Taskr]

Both concepts look pleasing to the eye.

For Mod1, I would open the outer seams to accept the tweed - or at the least place a hidden stitch along the edge. Folding the tweed over the inner ridge and stitching in behind that ridge design element would also do much to secure the tweed, not relying solely on adhesive.

Mod2 provides ease with regard to adhesive, but I would still hidden-stitch for securing of the tweed edge.

[Steve Ashton]

I edited the title for you.

[KiltedSergeant]

I edited the title for you.

Thanks! You're a gentleman and a scholar!

[Terry Searl]

Dollander inspired me to try something similar to his project posted in this same Forum category.

I have been looking at "semi-formal" sporrans because I have two simple three-tassel sporrans, one in black and one in brown, and a formal skunk skin sporran that I have been using for over 20 years. None of them have ever seemed appropriate for occasions in between casual and very formal. After seeing Dollander's post I purchased the following sporran from E-bay:

Sporran a.png

My thought is to add some tweed, or the like, as Dollander did, into the areas demonstrated by my amateurish, but hopefully clarifying, artwork demonstrated in these two pictures (the color is not right, but please use your imagination):

Sporran 3a.png Modification 1
Sporran 2a.png Modification 2

One concern I have for Mod 1 is that the small cloth sections on the sides might be prone to coming unglued at the edges due to their small size, though with modern adhesives that may be a moot point; you artisans may be able to guide me on that point. I believe I will also place some sort of Celtic brooch in the middle of the center section of the sporran.

Could I ask for your honest opinions of the project? And if you like either of the suggested modifications (or, prefer the original), please explain. Thanks!

I like the sporran as is, but think adding a bit of tweed material the same colour and weave as your tweed jacket will also make it unique to yourself. I know what the response about matching will be, but if the tweed panel and your jacket are the same, it will tie them together rather than differentiating between jacket and sporran. If the sporran is worn with a different jacket then whatever colour of material you use won't matter, as the tweed panels will go with almost any other jacket material.........just my opinion though

While holidaying in Cornwall I found a lovely grouse foot broach and bought it as a souvenir. My black sporran had a missing centre tassel when I bought it so I pinned the broach in between the two remaining tassels. The broach pin went through the leather with just a little persuasion, but can be removed with little effort and no damage, if I decide I would like to replace it with another tassel ........I look forward to seeing what ever you decide


image.jpg

[KiltedSergeant]

Well, I received the sporran, and as can happen on E-bay (or, sometimes elsewhere as well) it is not as nice as the one pictured, though not different enough to return it. Can I make a silk purse of a sow's ear? I may make it a project just to see what I can make of it- for fun, so to speak, to learn a bit about leather-work or whatever. If I produce something worth looking at I'll post my result here. Thanks to Taskr and Terry for their input.

[RichardtheLarge]

Well, I received the sporran, and as can happen on E-bay (or, sometimes elsewhere as well) it is not as nice as the one pictured, though not different enough to return it. Can I make a silk purse of a sow's ear? I may make it a project just to see what I can make of it- for fun, so to speak, to learn a bit about leather-work or whatever. If I produce something worth looking at I'll post my result here. Thanks to Taskr and Terry for their input.

I am consistently dismayed at just how poor the build quality of a lot of the mass-produced Highlandwear is!

I’ve learned a lot about leather craft from cutting and sewing “junk leather” items. If nothing else, some of these greatly improved my saddle stitching. But if you had that gut-level reaction upon opening the box, I.e, “this is junk...” then it’s doubtful that making minor modifications to it will overcome your first impression. My two cents.

I agree with Taskr that the way to go for a project like this is to open some or all of the front panel seams. Glue works its magic best when used in conjunction with stitching. You can often get away with stitching without glue, in my experience, but glue without stitching is bound to separate over time.

[Dollander]

Well, I received the sporran, and as can happen on E-bay (or, sometimes elsewhere as well) it is not as nice as the one pictured, though not different enough to return it. Can I make a silk purse of a sow's ear? I may make it a project just to see what I can make of it- for fun, so to speak, to learn a bit about leather-work or whatever. If I produce something worth looking at I'll post my result here. Thanks to Taskr and Terry for their input.

Sorry to hear that. I was gonna offer some suggestions as well, but didn't have time this morning before work. Oh well...though maybe if you show us pics of the actual sporran you have, we could still offer up some ideas.

And I have to ask...did you do those mock-ups in Preview? Because this is what I did while waiting for the sporran to arrive, before receiving the wrong one and the broken badge led to what I wound up doing instead:
originalplan.jpg
Incidentally, the reason I ordered that specific one was because the seller had pics of the actual sporran for sale rather than stock photos, so I knew exactly what I'd be getting. So let that be a lesson learned...

P.S. Regardless of how it turns out, I'm glad that you found my own project to be an inspiration. My initial response when I saw this thread was "Oh, geez...did I start a trend?".

[KiltedSergeant]

Sorry to hear that. I was gonna offer some suggestions as well, but didn't have time this morning before work. Oh well...though maybe if you show us pics of the actual sporran you have, we could still offer up some ideas.

And I have to ask...did you do those mock-ups in Preview? Because this is what I did while waiting for the sporran to arrive, before receiving the wrong one and the broken badge led to what I wound up doing instead:
originalplan.jpg
Incidentally, the reason I ordered that specific one was because the seller had pics of the actual sporran for sale rather than stock photos, so I knew exactly what I'd be getting. So let that be a lesson learned...

P.S. Regardless of how it turns out, I'm glad that you found my own project to be an inspiration. My initial response when I saw this thread was "Oh, geez...did I start a trend?".

I did those crude mock-ups in Paint Shop Pro by just coloring over the sections I was thinking of putting cloth on. Now, I may cover/modify the flap which I don't like. It's late here now, but tomorrow I'll post a photo of the current sporrran, should you like to see it.

Thanks, Dollander!

[KiltedSergeant]

Here is a comparison of the photo on E-Bay (first photo) with the one I received (second photo).

Sporran a.png Sporran A (2).jpg

The main difference, in my opinion, is that the first looks to have a soft grain leather in the center, while the one I received had a very hard piece of leather that almost feels like plastic or cardboard. I could stick with my plan which would cover much of the disturbing front piece with tweed or a short nap fur, but the flap is also not very nice, so I though of covering that with the same material as the front, and adding a Celtic brooch for appearance.

Or, I could give it to a youngster that just got his first kilt, but has no sporran! Then, find myself a decent one somewhere else.....