Sporran maker?

[Troglodyte]

Hello all,
I recently was given a fur hat that had belonged to my great grandmother. It's Astrakhan wool (picture attached). I'd really like to find someone to make it into a dress sporrran. Anyone have any ideas on where to start?

Thanks

For a start, I would measure the flat area of the hat - you will need at least nine inches by seven inches of fur pelt to make the front panel of a sporran. You will need two strips of at least nine inches by two inches in addition if you want a fur gusset also.

The making-up is fairly straight-forward, once you have decided on what style you want - either the fold-over flap sort normally seen on sporrans favoured for day-wear, or the oval style that has a metal cantle to be a bit smarter. The Astrakhan hat looks like you could go with either option, and have a unique sporran as a result.

The team at Margaret Morrison, the sporran-makers based in Perth, Scotland, are well-accustomed to making bespoke sporrans, and they offer a wide selection of styles and cantles. There is a fair number on this forum who have had MM produce something superb for them.

I am a sporran-maker myself, and would be happy to discuss things further with you by PM. I like to use furs like your hat to re-dress vintage sporrans whose fur needs replacing and prefer to use 1930s - 1950s models, but I also replicate the old styles as completely new items.