#first baby steps in leathercraft

[arianaofimladris]

First part of my Milva cosplay is finished. I drafted the pattern yesterday and managed to make the pouch today. I used brown leather and green suede to try a more elaborate pattern. It was fun and also two layers in the part that makes for the back and the flap of the pouch makes it all more stiff.

The green suede will correspond well with the fabric I bought for Milva's tunic.

[arianaofimladris]

I finished the scabbard for throwing knives. It holds on my leg, so I guess it will work the one time a year I will actually use it for cool look purposes in Ciri cosplay.

It was fun, I think I spent most of the last episode of season 3 designing and cutting this scabbard. I like the outcome.

I made the straps in the same design I had made the sword harness and used the same leather. I think it works nice together.

I hid a part of elastic under the scabbard, so that the belts can work/stretch a little if I sit or sth. That's one part if this project that I think looks ugly, but no one is going to see it, so, whatever.

If it turns out the leather stretches too much and I run out of holes in these belts, I can always remove and shorten them at the place where they connect with the elastic part.

All I need to do is figure out some loops to fasten the belt ends. My sword harness needs that too, so with a bit of luck I will finally make them all.

The most important part is that the knives sit there well enough.

[arianaofimladris]

Sometimes you make things and they just stare back at you and flip ears.

I made a tiny case for an A6 notebook and my ebook reader mainly because I had a trip from work that included spending over 4h in car as a passenger. The boys' expressions when I took out leather pieces and started stitching them - priceless xd

Yesterday, as I finished putting the three pieces together, I decided I could add these metal triangles. This way, should I ever need it, I can make a tiny bag/purse out of it if I attach some kind of belt or strap. Also I think it's a nice detail in itself, adding a bit to the whole case.

The case is just wide enough to put there my notebook (I made it ages ago, I hardly use notebooks for fanfic writing these days) and mu ebook reader. I can also take out the reader and put there a pencil case instead.

Don't let it fool you - it's tiny.

I like the way it turned out.

[arianaofimladris]

I guess my inner Noldo strikes again and it comes up in form of me being interested in making something just to see if I can make it or how it will turn out.

I made a notebook cover. I don't exactly need one since I no longer study, and while I do use a notebook for random notes at work, it is an A4 spiral notebook not an A5 notebook. Still. I had some leather scraps. I had an idea I needed to test. Here's the end result. I consider my curiosity satisfied and if I decide to make another one for whatever reason, I do know what aspects to correct.

[arianaofimladris]

A walk in parts of my Yennefer cosplay (the blouse and the skirt look normal enough) made me realise that a bright blue leather bag simply doesn't fit the rest.

Before the end of the day I had a black bag and a black belt ready. I managed to sew the suede leather on my sewing machine, so making the bag went quickly. I hand stitched the flap and the belt for decorative purposes. Now I just need a lining with zipper, but I've already been there, so it will be easy.

[arianaofimladris]

I guess nobody told me I can't make my own leather parts of a cosplay, so here I am, slowly collecting pieces for my Ciri cosplay. A belt, a dagger scabbard, a belt pouch and a sword belt for my back. And a big bag for all the necessary things I need for a day's trip and wouldnt want to pack into an outdoor Wolfskin backpack. The only piece missing (from the things I planned so far) is a set of arm braces I'm probsbly going to make next week.

[arianaofimladris]

I made the final part (at least final for now) of my Ciri cosplay - a pair of arm braces.

The idea comes from this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg2p836m-Pk&t=3s

Obviously this guy has the level of skill I will not reach in a decade, but I really loved the idea of gluing two layers of different leather to get this pattern result. I watched the video to get the general idea, then went to draw my own pattern based on my measurements. I made two or three with different types of patterns before I picked one.

So, here is the final Ciri cosplay design. I might add a hood to that, because I have a concept idea and some wool leftovers from a cloak I made two years ago. The trousers I bought, but the rest I made.

(don’t mind  the curls, obviously Ciri is not going to have curls, but I just curled my hair the day before)

[arianaofimladris]

Five glasses cases later I decided to try something else. Something small and easy.

Some time ago I bought a decorative dagger for my Ciri and/or Yennefer cosplays. It came with equally decorative and utterly useless scabbard, so I tried to change that.

Again, I've been playing with leather for a week now, so I find the outcome pretty satisfying. I can already see things I could improve, like the fastening of the loop. I wish I could finish the edges nicely, but for now the stitch is doing great job.

Once I make a corset belt, the scabbard will match it nicely in Ciri cosplay.

[arianaofimladris]

Week three of toying with leather. The glasses cases I made for grandma's day were received well, so this time I made something for myself - a belt pouch. I'm still in love with the blue leather, I guess at some point I will move to using the brown one as well.

I watched tons of pics, then I measured my phone and designed the pattern.

[arianaofimladris]

My first attempts at making something of leather. Far from perfect and simple, but this is my first such work and I'm super content.

These four are going to be small gifts for my grandmas and for two people closest to grandfathers I have.

[arianaofimladris]

I asked my friend what kind of a leather mathom I could bring her and she suggested a tiny pencil case/cover.

Here's the test one I made last evening to see if the pattern I made works. Seems fine and also a good way to use small scraps.

[arianaofimladris]

I tried making a tiny pouch, because we talked about them with my friend and she tried one as her first leather project. Since my mum asked me for a pouch to attach to her dog's line with the intention of keeping there poop bags, I decided to give it a try.

Conclusion - it might look super cute, but I think it's too tiny for a whole roll of bags, and also doesn't look comfortable to close with one hand. I will figure out something different and this one I guess will be just a tiny thingy to store three emergency bags rather than a whole roll. Also that green suede seemed too thick, at least for this small size.

[arianaofimladris]

A birthday gift for my mum. A bit late, but I managed to buy more leather scraps and got a really nice piece of the blue one, so I managed to make her a notebook case in a more desired color than burgundy.

It's a simple design, I'm aware, but she said she wanted something casual, just sth in which she could slip her laptop to her backpack. Or, I guess, to store her laptop on the nightstand where she usually puts it.

[arianaofimladris]

I was away on a Tolkien convent, but it doesn't mean I was idle. I came back with a few new leather items to use and idk, give away among friends or whatever. I wanted to try bigger pencil cases. I also wanted to make a belt pouch for my phone, that would be narrowed than the blue one I used for Ciri cosplay, but which I was also using for the whoel week on the camping to carry my phien and my car keys. The brown one I made once I came back, deciding I want to have a smaller one too.

(I also made a blue single pencil case and a glasses case, but those were already taken by my friend and I didn't take a pic. Oh, and another case like the brown one st the bottom, but this one my mum took for her uncle to store keys)

[arianaofimladris]

Seems I’m unable to make a thing and move to making another one. No. I need to make them in hoards xD

My tiny pile of belt pouches, four made and I have three more planned. Thank goodness I stopped after making ONE sword belt for cosplay purposes.

[arianaofimladris]

Apparently it's belt pouch phase. I made another one using the same pattern, but with black seams this time. It's going to be a birthday gift for a friend who liked the first one, and whose birthday is in two weeks.