"Lugosi" version of an MOD sporran

[longhuntr74]

I was going to wait to post this until later...but what the heck...It's 11:15PM where I live and I still have a few swigs of whiskey in my glass.

I recently acquired an MOD cantle from a member here who had obtained six of them in an auction. The bags were totally shot and worthless...but all I wanted was the cantle, so no big deal. Before I proceed with pictures, I feel the need to thank all of you who have paid good money to have new bags made for your MOD-cantled sporrans...for those that have posted pics of your own DIY projects, and, specifically, to Scott H (Artificer) for posting his EXTREMELY MAGNIFICENT works. Scott, despite the fact that he makes these things as a form of income, has been a great source of information and has provided me with advice, information, and suggestions NUMEROUS times without charge. I definitely feel obligated to send some business his way...and intend to do so in the somewhat near future.

With that disclaimer out of the way, I did not have the money to commission a bag at the present time and felt that I had the leatherworking skills to make bag #1 for my new MOD sporran...so I ordered some leather...and this is what I ended up with. Here is a picture of the sporran immediately after I unpackaged it...taken in the front seat of the car in the post office parking lot (yes I was slightly excited!).

I disassembled the sporran in order to measure the pieces and use them as templates (after soaking it in some water...the leather was as dry as cardboard and very brittle)

Here is a picture of the cantle and snaps after polishing them and removing the corrosion/verdigris from the snaps, in particular (sorry about the poor lighting...the cantle was quite bright and that discolored part really wasn't)

Here is a picture of the pattern I made...

As you can see, I decided to make it bigger than the original.

Here is what I envisioned it to look like when completed...cardboard sporran anyone?

A picture of the leather on the day it arrived with the bag front and back cut out.

I started the construction by making the lining bag. The back panel of the bag has an iPhone and Card pocket


Next I made the outer bag...using a double layer welt (similar to the original bag)

[longhuntr74]

Here is another picture of the outer bag mounted to the cantle with just the snaps holding it in place (no inner lining involved) so I could get a sense of what it would look like when complete.

and then I stitched the bags together. I used some thread tacks in between the two layers to keep the bottom of the liner in place...and then stitched the top edges and side gussets together. I could have done some more finishing and fancy trim work, but made the conscious decision that I wanted this sporran to be very plain with the only "bling" being the red lining. So without further ado, here is the finished product. The bag front:

Back of the sporran:

Front of the sporran with the cantle open:

...and a picture down into the sporran:

Hope you like it!

[ThistleDown]

Good heavens!

[longhuntr74]

Good heavens!

Is it that bad? Or do you approve, Rex?

[Downunder Kilt]

Great job Longhunter, It's also very nice that you replicated the original by sewing the snap fastners into the lining. I know Artificer does exceptional work but yours would pass any muster. I very much like the plain black with the brass cantle.
Cheers to you Sir

[Tartan Hiker]

Excellent job! The red lining is a great touch.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Great job! You should be proud!

[ShaunMaxwell]

Very impressive!

[robthehiker]

Well done!

[Tobus]

Excellent job! The red lining is a great touch.

I agree. The sporran looks good from the outside, but the red lining really gives it a touch of class! And the phone pocket gives it extra functionality. Best of both worlds.