please help with sporran material decisions

[Taskr]

Bismish,
Some of this may echo tarheel who has provided some great insight and advice.

My recent refurb of a sporran is fur front and flap: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-refurb-91852/. It is a simple sporran pattern - not unlike one that I made.

Mink is a very thin pelt. Bonding just didn't sit well with me; perhaps because of the permanency and it was my first attempt with fur. The stitching runs along the entire edge and has a cross-pattern of a few stitches to anchor the pelt from 'floating'. I decided to face only as a fur gusset was looking too hairy to my tastes. The cowhide facing behind the mink is imperative as it most certainly would not hold up to wear on its own, and closure would be less than ideal.

I do have some beautifully soft red leather, but I used cloth lining that was repurposed from a thrift shop purse instead. It was easy to machine sew in an internal pocket.

My gussets are kid-glove leather. Soft and supple but strong enough to take wear.

My one formal sporran, purchased, has a front and back that, although are leather faced, I don't think are animal hide at all as both front and back are board-like. However, I am fashioning my own formal fox fur face and I'm finding the thick cowhide is going to do just fine. A soft leather gusset will be used.

I have sporrans with snap, magnetic and pin closures. More about fit to style methinks.

Best of luck

[bismish]

Hi Taskr

As I said to Tarheel, I am new to this forum idea, couldn't see any photos of your work on the sporran refurb post, the text reads like there are photos - do I find them somewhere else on the site?

I like the idea of a few stitches to hold the fur - I have never used fur, but just in case the glue performs differently as it ages, I would rather not glue (providing these sporrans are worth keeping!). I will do a couple of tests with scraps as I'm not sure how forgiving the roo fur will be to parting (I don't want to see the holding stitches).

I'm still thinking about the gussets/linings, but if the roo folds over without parting too much, it might be more forgiving for my first go. It's also renowned for its toughness so would probably perform fine for a gusset (not sure about the fluffiness, TBH).

cheers