Long weekend sporran

[Taskr]

A well used though not abused Fossil purse has been whimpering in the corner for a while wanting to be reborn as a sporran. This long weekend provided some time to do just that. Given the purse construction, it didn't provide enough unencumbered panels for all the parts. There were pockets and pouches and such. So, the back and gusset came from my sparse leather stock. The couple of sporrans I have and some web surfing provided the patterns. It finished quite roomy even though it's not very large at all.
I picked up an awl and holes punch since my last project. And also rubber cement (this is my new friend). The acquisitions made things much easier to deal with.



I didn't just take the perfect pieces from the purse. It was used so I decided to let that character be reflected. There's a line of very fine stitch holes in one place and original seams are on the flap edge. I used overlaps on the gusset/back edging to mirror the flap element ..which was also required as I didn't have any one piece long enough from the purse for the edging. An outer pouch on the purse became an inner pocket - the original seam by choice. The Fossil logo'd lining might be a first for a sporran? The salvaged rare earth magnets were used for the sporran closure.


Having not used an awl before, the stitching is not fully up to standard yet. By the time I got to the final work on the gusset/back edge stitching, though, it did come out quite nicely. Patience and pacing matter.

I've still some dying for the gusset to better match the face.

Lessons on this one:
Just a couple of correct tools can make a big difference in time saved and quality of the project.
A bit of rubber cement goes a long way in saving time as it sets pieces up for stitching.
Alligator clips are very useful (as is an awl. Did I mention I finally got an awl ��)



I still need to improve symmetry. It's either in the cutting or stitching - or both - that result in opposite sides not being mirrored and other slight variations.

Was another learning experience with some improvements to order of fabrication. It's quiet wearable also, a useful bonus.

[Tarheel]

The leather looks very supple. Was it hard to stitch without the thread cutting the edges? I expect the new sewing-awl aided you greatly. I have a bias in the look of used leather goods.

[Taskr]

Yes, it is supple. More than I thought it would be before taking the purse apart. But it is strong. For this style sporran the stiffer back would have been needed anyway, even if as a purse-leather backing, so that it holds a shape. Also the reason for own leather piece backing in lower half of the flap and the cloth reinforcement in the flap to hold from stretching (the black cloth, from the purse in a reinforced area, in the opened-up pic).
There were concerns about tears, so care was taken. The awl needle being so sharp was a definite advantage (though not to my thumb ��). Rubber cement aided in keeping joined pieces together as the awl went through. Once a seam was complete, though, it was solid. I've no concerns any will tear through.
On the used leather bias; the purse jumped out at me for just that reason - visual appeal. Took me quite a long time to figure out fabricating a sporran when I realized just how supple it was and the sizes of the various salvaged pieces.

[Tarheel]

Fantastic. Thanks for the details. Keep up the good work.

[Nighthawk]

Bound edges! That's ambitious! I love it.

[Taskr]

Thanks. This is my third sporran and on each I've challenged myself to try something else in finishing. I can't credit the awl enough for making the bound edges possible. There's no way I'd have had the patience to do so with my first single punch and needle fabricated sporran.