Sewing Techniques for Leather

[Irish in Tacoma]

Nice work on the sporrans. Did you carve the knotwork on the front flaps?

Yes, I did the carving. I don't carve much, and what I have done has been western style, but I can see a future in celtic knotwork. When I made the saddle, I wanted to finish it fast so I could start riding it, so I didn't put much ornamentation on it.

Thanks for the tips. I've been using a rotary punch for the holes. Good exercise for the hands and forearms, but tedious.

Once you try the dremel, you'll never go back. It is amazing how fast it goes. The only problems I've encountered are having the bit choke up with leather (just scrape it off), having the glue separate while drilling (just hold tighter), or it really was a mess when I did the saddle skirts and was drilling into the sheepskin--that dang stuff jammed it up good until I learned to cut it short before drilling.

BTW, credit for the idea goes to Dusty Johnson, the saddlemaker and friend who talked me through the saddle project. And for any of you DIYers who are curious, making a saddle is much easier than you think. It took me 30 days doing it evenings and weekends.

[chasem]

And for any of you DIYers who are curious, making a saddle is much easier than you think. It took me 30 days doing it evenings and weekends.

Is that 30 days worth of work, or 30 calendar days?

[Irish in Tacoma]

30 calendar days. Started 6 Dec 05, finished 6 Jan 06. The book and video that Dusty made show a very logical and methodical method to the project. No wasted effort by getting ahead of yourself and having to undo something. Basically, it involves making all the little pieces first, then the small assemblies, and then putting the whole thing together. As someone who tends to jump ahead and leave things half done (that black sporran in the picture is still missing the tassles 6 months after making it) I really tried to keep to the step by step approach. I'm glad I did, because in the end it was faster.

I worked about 2-3 hours in the evenings, and usually 6-8 hours on the weekends. Being the holiday season, I had more time off than usual which helped. Dusty told me--when you get to work, don't try to make a saddle. Make a strap this day, and cover a stirrup the next day. Keep it in small bites, and it won't seem so overwhelming.

My wife would say that I was obsessed with this project. I might not use such a strong word, but I was pretty focused on it.