Step-by-step construction of a hair sporran-

I'm going to do this in parts-I have an order for something fairly simple and I'll be posting how I did it with pics along the way-Enjoy. Part 1 coming up...........

Part 1:

OK folks-Here's what you'll need.

A.)1/2 pound of horse hair - You can purchase hair for a reasonable cost-You'll need to by tail hair-the 22-26 inch blunt cut bundle

http://www.wagmanprimus.com/about.asp

B.) You'll need a piece of 9 Oz leather that you can cut a front and back for the sporran. I buy complete rolls, but Tandy has remnant boxes where you can find scraps that are suitable for one sporran. IF there is no black stained leather, you'll need to buy some tanning dye and buff....Very cheap, so no worries there. Just read the instructions on how to dye and prep the leather.

You'll also need 5-7 oz leather (For reinforcement) and a complete piece of supple goat skin (Black) which you'll use to make the gusset and to trim the edges. OH yeah-You'll need to buy a strip of black sued for the inner lining.

C.) Leather needles and black nylon waxed leather sewing twine-Also at Tandy

D.) OK-You WILL need to use a sewing machine briefly for stitching the hair-You can also hand stitch, but as you'll see, the sewing machine will save you about 10 hours of work-And the process you'll need it for will take you a very brief period, and you don't even need to really know how to use one to get it right. You'll basically be sewing 5 strait lines

E.) Gorilla glue or Samurai Glue....Any of these new fangled glue adhesives will do. I make my own mixture which is my secret, but Gorilla glue will work just fine.

F.) Exacto and a box cutter with extra blades

G.) A SAM BROWN fastener (Also found at Tandy)

H) A leather hole punch or drill with a small bit for drilling holes in the leather

Thats basically it-Get these items ready, and my next posting will deal with the beginnings of construction.


**I want to point out that this is labor intensive...You must have patience and be prepared to get a blister or 2. There is no way around it. A sporran usually takes me 2-3 days. The end reult will be fantastic, even if this is your first attempt. You will immediately see how much better hand made sporrans are vs. machine.....So get your things ready and off we go

Let me cover the hand stitching process real quick to give you an idea of what you'll be doing. I sew using the "Double Stitch" method. Some call this the double needle method. I use a variation though-The double needle method is basically one piece of thread with needles on both ends. When you poke one needle through the whole, you bring the other needle through the opposite whole and then advance to the next hole and repeat, pulling tight as you go. This creates a seal from the thread laying over the leather on both sides.

My style is a little different. I start with one long piece of thread knotted on one end and needled on the other. I begin sewing one side going in and out of the leather. When I get to the end I revers the stitching and head back to where I began. This creates the same sealing stitch as double needle stitching. I've done both ways and I have found that the latter seems to be much quicker.

-You may want to go to the hardware store and pick up som fingerless gloves. Doing this bare hand will just not be possible with any level of comfort as you pull the thread tight after each stitch. You will also need to fashion a leather push that can be taped to the bottom of your thumb for pushing the needle through the leather sometimes. I'm done it before without it, and I have paid dearly (Needle punctured my thumb to the bone-This is the part with the eye!!!). I'll detail these things in pictures as we get ready.

I forgot to add that you'll need 2 tassel bells and some necklace chain. Tassel bells are hard to find on their own (I've had to actually have them cast in bulk). A suitable substitute that looks absolutely fantastic is a pastry bag tip. In my early making days, I waould go to the cook's store and go to the pastry section. They had a cabnet full of nibs. You want to get the kind that have proper hole at the top (There are star tips, line tips, etc.). Usually a #2, or #3 will work perfectly.

Don't forget,
We need lots of pictures

Great start for the thread! Keep 'em coming, Josh! Cheers!

So hey ya'll-
I'll be taking some early pictures and getting them up todau-Hold tight-

OK-Here we go- I'm including pictures of all the gear you're gonna need-



2 more things you'll need from Tandy- A leather punch and a leather score for making punch lines and decorative line trimmings on your sporran



If you don't want a fingerless glove, you can rig this with a piece of soft leather. Wrap around your hand one time and tape. Leave enough leather that will extend to your thumb so you can have an attached leather push (Sometimes you'll get your needle through, but it won't go all the way through. Pop that leather over your thumb and give a push to get it through.




Here are some horse hair bundles and a piece of Angora hair that I make my John Brown goat hair sporran with-




DOn't forget to ask questions along the way if you need further explanation.

OK....So we're ready. Its time to really start thinking about your sporran. You can make 3 types of hair sporran-1.)A pouched double panel sporran 2.)A flat back with pouch insert (This style of sporran was most popular for regimental makings and usually is the style associated with M.O.D. Sporrans)-This style basically has a small flapped area to fit small flat items, such as paper money or coin...Not much else. 3.) A flat back sporran. This is a sporran that has no pouch area, just a rigid panel with sporran strap loops

This project, we're going to do the big kahuna-A pouched double panel sporran. I mean come on-In these days of keys, ipods, wallets, cell phones-YOU NEED PROPER AREA FOR THESE!!!


LEts begin-

"YOUR TEMPLATE"-
You will need to create a template for cutting your leather sporran panels and front board. Symmetry is everything in this process, so thank GOD there is graph paper available to everyone at your local drug store. If you don't have some, plain printer paper will do, but graph paper really will help with precision.

Once you have your paper, fold it in half length wise. Find some items that have a nice curvature to them. I began with bowls from my cupboard. Laying the paper on the table folded in half, I laid the bowl down and traced to create the cantle portion of the sporran-Today, I have premade templates of different styles and ranges, but the most basic of sporran pouch can be created this way-Watch this, it'll amaze you how easy it is with a bowl, a ruler, and some freehand-



Line up only half of the bowl on half of the papre and trace the top curvature. this is going to be the top cantle portion of the panel-



You'll want to mark where the curvature begins to swing inward. Stop there and mark.


Take a ruler and trace a straight line about 5 inches down. You need to angle the ruler about 10 degrees out to create the expanding pouch area-



At the bottom of the line, go ahead and free hand the bottom part of your sporran so that it flattens out somewhat-This will be the bottom of the sporran.



Go ahead and CAREFULLY cut your tracing. MAke sure there are no overlaps-



And Wah-Lah- Your sporran panel template is now finished.




You will now need to trace this template gently over a piece of 9 OZ leather. You have to cut 2 pieces-A front panel and back. You also need to trace over 5 OZ leather and cut the front and back (These are your panal support pieces), when you cut out the heavy leather pieces, take one and trace the shape over your suede (2 pieces again) these will be the inner linings-

Good luck on this, and post any questions up to this point-Its just beginning, but this is an important step.

Now we're getting down to it! Josh, how much different is the construction of an MOD-style flat back with pouch insert? I agree that a full pouched double panel is demanded by practical considerations, but if I am making a faithful reproduction of a regimental sporran, I may have to stick to MOD style...what do you think? Thanks again for this thread! Regards, BYU

How much Angora would you need?

HArd to tell when it comes to Angora. Some times I have SUPER fluffy strands that can fill a lot of space, sometimes its more compact and I have to use more.....I quarter pound would do fine for this instance (Maybe a little more).

Josh,
You're killin me!
I check everyday, several times a day, to see what happens next!?
I need a fix. Please.
Joe

Sorry all-I'll be posting more tuesday.

Hi All-
I'll be posting some more progress tonight, but in the meantime, I have found a GREAT source for Mongolian Horse Hair. This is the best Horse Hair folks-


http://stores.ebay.com/Mongolian-Horse-Hair

Hi All-
I've received a couple of questions. First, some have wanted to stay true to a military style sporran pouch (Flat back with small pouch insert). I'll be tackling this in the next DIY on hair sporrans later in April. So hold tight for that. Doing this style first will give you great lee-way in doing that project, so I'd advise it.

Next-This particular sporran will be a copy of the old OR style WW2 sporrans that the BW and LS wore-Here are some pics. Depending on your leather color and hair, it'll look something like one of these in spirit-

I have my fingers ready.

Sorry guys-
I dropped my camera down the front porch stoop and I can't post pics.......Hold tight-Remedy in the works-JOsh

Sorry to hear about the camera trouble--been there...Cheers, BYU

Sorry for the delay all-Resuming shortly

I really like this sporran. The more I look at it the more I like the combination. The tassels, are they held in a solid metal piece or is that rolled sheet metal?

I think I missed the best part... Where we attach the hair forever and ever.

sorry for the absence all- I'll be resuming this thread on tuesday. Lack of camera has stunted the progress, but thats changing on Monday-josh

I am sorry that your camera broke too. I feel as though we all have lost out because of this mishap. I just sold my industrial stitch-er in the event I needed to provide you with one.

Really hope this thread continues...been really wanting pretty badly to learn how to attach the hair. Want to make one of these soon, prior to our local Irishfest this fall.

PLEASE PLEASE teach us!

Thanks!