Calling all DIY Full Face Sporran Owners

[Bart_In_A_Kilt]

I just picked a tanned Red Fox pelt from a local taxidermist for $25.00.

Seems as though a trigger happy hunter shot the crap out of it and had it sent out and tanned to be mounted, but when it came back there were too many big holes in the wrong places for a full mount. I picked up the pelt cheap and now want to make a Full Face sporran.

What I need is close ups and dimmensions of your sporrans. Including where hardware is mounted, etc.

Once I have all the info required, I'll start my own DIY thread with step-by-step pics and explainations.

As this is my first sporran project, AND the fact that I do not own one now, nor have ever seen one in person, I literally need all dimmensions.

I actually stoped at our local St Vinney's store and picked up (2)leather ladies hand bags to gut for the leather and hardware. for $6.00 each.

Im trying to show how to do this on a budget. Wish me luck and lend a hand with your pics and info.

Thanks in advance xmarks'ers...

[Wompet]

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/t...x.html?t=32984
I didn't make it, but the fine gent who did is X Marks' own Turpin.

[bricelythgoe]

I am actually looking forward to seeing the answers to your question. I am currently making my own skunk sporran (not a mask since a high quality taxidermy skunk head is expensive). I acctually found an old sporran that I am using. I took the gusset out and replaced it with something wider. I hope to get my skunk this week and we will see how it goes.

[Bart_In_A_Kilt]

OK... here's the start of my sporran.

First the leather. The idea here is to do this DIY full mask sporran on the cheap.

My leather comes from a donor womens hand bag purchased from a local second hand thrift store.



Image size will need to be altered, but I don't yet know to what size, so Im hoping for some member feedback to help me determine this.

I also hope to utilize the hardware included with the donor bag




The original bag had some features that I'd like to keep, so it will take some careful planning when it comes time to alter the size.

[Bart_In_A_Kilt]

...and now on to the fur.

Here's the head with tissue in the ears to help shape them.
When the pelt is tanned, the ears are turned indide out, so the leather can be processed correctly. When I bought it the taxidermist instructed me to soak the head overnight and allow the leather to soften again so as to invert the ears rightside out.

followed up by blowdrying the fur to keep it from matting.
I made a quick form out of a section of a plastic bottle from our recycling bin to help hold the shape of the head as it dries.




The pelt is a full sixed adult Red Fox that was intended for a full mount.
That was untill the taxidermist got the tanned pelt back from the processor.


Now , here's the reason that I picked up the pelt so inexpensively. The trigger happy hunter blasted the neck out of this fox, so a mount was out of the question. The exit wound is just as big as the entrance wound.



Most of the pelt is usable and I anticipate making both a full mask, and a formal dress canteled sporran. If there is any left over, I may attempt to trim out a day sporran ( and squeek 3 sporrans out of this hide.)

[turpin]

With that kind of hole in the neck I recommend patching it with a piece of the pelt, because I think you'll need that area to work with the mask.

Study some pix of foxes and have them available.

I have settled on a bag dimension that is about 6 inches wide at the top, 8 inches tall, and 7 1/2 inches at the widest point. I use a stiff enough leather to give it body, but remain soft enough to accomodate what you need to carry.

I use a material called Sculptamold to make the headform. It's a fancy form of papier mache that you can get cheaply at art supply stores. Just make up a batch, pack it into the mask to make a headform (wet the mask so you can stretch and work the leather into a pleasing shape).

Get a couple of glass fox eyes from VanDykes - about $5.29. The eyes make the whole thing come to life (if that's what you want.)


You might pick up a couple of glovers' needles at $0.49 - they make sewing much easier.

Once your headform starts to set up mark through the eye holes to show where to set the eyes then peel the face off of it so the headform can dry. set the eyes, then re-wet the mask and stretch it over the headform. This is a good point to sew the mask to the leather flap (that you have already prepared) and let the whole thing dry for a day or so. Then you can sew the flap to the rear panel of the bag.

Here is my most recent mask, by coincidence a fox.



Next in time was this badger. The bag comes to a point at customer's request.



Here's a raccoon I made about a year ago



And this is the third sporran I ever made.



Good luck. I'll be interested to see your results. Do think about reparing that hole first, though. Wet leather sews best. Be patient. Take your time. No rush. Let the pelt dry out completely between wettings or you run the risk of losing hair through growth of bacteria.

[Bart_In_A_Kilt]

[quote=turpin;664590]

I have settled on a bag dimension that is about 6 inches wide at the top, 8 inches tall, and 7 1/2 inches at the widest point. I use a stiff enough leather to give it body, but remain soft enough to accomodate what you need to carry.[snip]

Tarpin,

About the sporran case itself... which construction method, and if it's the one on the right, how deep should it be.

[Donnie]

The one on the right will give you much more room. I would put the gussett in (even though it can be a bugger to do corectly)

[Bart_In_A_Kilt]

How deep ?

The one on the right will give you much more room. I would put the gussett in (even though it can be a bugger to do corectly)

[turpin]

[QUOTE=Bart_In_A_Kilt;664612]

I have settled on a bag dimension that is about 6 inches wide at the top, 8 inches tall, and 7 1/2 inches at the widest point. I use a stiff enough leather to give it body, but remain soft enough to accomodate what you need to carry.[snip]

Tarpin,

About the sporran case itself... which construction method, and if it's the one on the right, how deep should it be.

It's the one on the right. Make a symmetric template for the rear panel and flap, and use the bottom portion of that for the front panel.

For my "fixed shape" sporrans (i.e., not soft bag) I cut a gusset about 2.25 to 2.5 inches wide, by the length of the perimeter of the front piece. This will give you a gusset about 1.75 inches wide when finished. Many standard sporrans have a gusset about 1 to 1.5 inches. Depth is really your choice. I wouldn't go deeper than what I've said or the front can start to sag.

One option I sometimes exercise if I can is to glue and sew pieces of the belly fur to the gusset to continue the fur theme around the side of the bag. It just depends on whether there is sufficient good hide to do so. If you choose to do this you need to cut two pieces as identical as possible from opposite sides of the belly and sew them together, making sure the direction of the hair is toward the center. When completed, the hair will fall naturally from the top towards the bottom. It is extra work, but it looks good. You would have to do it prior to sewing the gusset to the panels.

Use paper clamps to hold the two long edges of the gusset together and punch holes along the edge (one pass gives you the same number of holes in both edges to ensure symmetric installation from front to back). Similarly, do the same for the front and back panels. I use a 4-prong diamond tip punch available for about $10 from any leather supply store. It ensures even spacing of the holes.

When you sew the gusset on, sew the bag inside out, so that when you invert it the gusset rolls over the front and rear seams on the inside. Otherwise you have a raw edge that will need a piece of trim.

Mark the center at the bottom of both panels and mark the center of the gusset. When you sew on the gusset, start at the center bottom and sew up one side, then the other, and repeat for the other panel. This is to ensure that the holes in the gusset don't get off-set front to back and result in a skewing of the two panels relative to each other.

Take your time. Be patient. Think three or four steps ahead to avoid having to re-do something. Above all, take your time and think ahead.