Ladykahu

Will normal leather dye work on linen? or will he need to use a fabric dye to make it permanent? I am used to dying fabric, and you normally need to use heat to set the dye... Natalie

Hello from Melton, Vic Wow.. you must be exhausted!! my folks had a dairy farm so I know how hard the work can be there. I can't imagine then going on to do a second job Maybe you can fit in a little project or two around waiting for the tanker to arrive after muck out? Good luck Natalie

I have use the jo sonjas as well.. and some of the jaquard lumiere range have wonderfull metalics that the jo sonjas don't cover http://www.jacquardproducts.com/products/paints/lumiere/ available in aus, but a bit harder to track down than the jo sonjas. I got mine at the craft and quilt show and mail order from a place in geelong (was the cheapest I could find) Natalie

I have done a bit of costuming (not leather, theatrical stuff) and I would do the bust in 5 parts, 3 front and you would probably get away with 2 on the back , also looking at the first picture it looks to me like its joined down the sides. If you read a bit more on breastplates there are some guys who are 'hinging' the armour a bit, a technique along those lines might make it more wearable. Or you might get away with a suede join down the sides for a bit more movement. I guess with the molding the breastplate part.. it will depend on how large you are, if your a similar size then it should be ok. I would be doing a light foam layer then soft cloth if it was me wearing it to stop any rubbing issues. Or maybe di-sect an padded bra and stitch the cups into the lining. Keep us posted, I am keen to see photos of how you get on. and if you want real inspiration.. check out 'princes' armour.. his stuff is truly awe inspiring Natalie

Or you could go for a hook and eye type arrangement. This one is a bow tie clip.. but a bra hook and eye set might work also.

Try playing around with some thin cardboard until you get the shape you want.. or even newspaper to start with. I would start by laying the paper across my forehead, hold it tight against your head where you want the top edge to be and draw a line with a felt pen. cut that line out .. hold it in place again and press it down against your nose to get where you want the edge of your muzzle to be.. that gives you an approx bottom edge. Draw down the bridge of your nose and cut out the eye shape so you can see. The rest is just refining the edges. Use smaller bits of paper and join it on to make the overlap bits that have the rivets in (or bits of masking tape) until you have a final top flat bit. It looks to me like the under the muzzle is a seperate bit, as are the ears and band obviously. Nothing wasted if your only playing with newspaper except a bit of time. Natalie

Because of my textile background.. I ALWAYS look at the costumes.. nothing makes me get the 'itch to bitch' more than historical movies that use the wrong colours!!! peasants just didn't have access to the materials needed to make indigo, royal blue etc.. most plant dies are browns and greens. So yep.. now I am playing with leather I am looking at the leather work to..or lack there of! if you look closely at old moves that depict roman soldiers, many of the breastplates that should have been leather are felt covered in boot polish.. Natalie

I have wondered about the ratings myself. Does an A in america = an A in England? and what is the difference between a second and a reject ? (for those of us who can only afford the budget end) If I am reading the original question correctly the guy is asking for the rating systems from each country. Leatheroo correct me if I am wrong, but I haven't seen any gradings listed here in Australia. they just use words like 'finest quality' or 'quality from the finest tannery' , 'budget'... and then the thickness in mm Natalie

More more more!!! I want to hear more! and more pictures too please :notworthy: I couldn't afford to go this time.. maybe next time for me. But I really wish I could have. Natalie

I purchased the quart, as I wouldn't expect any spray can to make it through the post.. High flying aircraft and pressurised aerosol cans is a big NO NO. Thanks for confirming its the same stuff Bob, as a newcomer to the craft I had no way of confirming it .. nothing like experiance to tell :-) Natalie

I purchased some neat lac from http://stleather.com/ recently.. page 36 in the 'dyes' section. I presume this is the same neat lac as everyone talks about? Bob can you confirm? They posted to australia, so I presume it should be fine anywhere Natalie

Great video. Looks like your grandson is really starting to get the hang of making video's.. the lighting is much better on that latest video compared to the first couple, and he's doing less shaking of the camera so I feel less queasy watching Natalie

To stop the tools falling out.. sew on an extra 'flap' along the top that goes downwards and covers the tops of the tools. Natalie

Hi and welcome there is a nearly overwhelming amount of information on this forum, along with many knowledgable people happy to share. Like you, I am a newbie. to add to the list of australian sites for purchasing from.. http://www.nswleather.com.au/ (I haven't purchased anything from them yet, but they happened to have a store in Melbourne so I noted them down. and also http://www.gretannery.com.au/ I have been out to this place, the guy was really helpfull and nice to talk to and did me a good deal on a bit of leather.. thier stuff is also more reasonably priced than lefflers is.. not such a big mark up (well in thier little store front it wasn't.. I haven't actually looked at the online prices) I got to have a bit of a wonder around the sheds where they do the tanning.. very interesting Natalie

Very nice work! without the knife in place .. it looks like a slipper! Natalie

Hi Not sure if its customs in Finland stopping the shipping or sellers saying they don't. But these guys air post stuff to me in australia. http://www.goodsjapan.jp/servlet/StoreFront and I have got some of the dark blue antique paste and its seems okl Natalie

beautiful as always Bob! Could I please ask, the 'waved' side piece where it joins the front to the back.. do you have a template or use a formulae or ?? to get such well balanced and divided curves? I have tried on paper to get mine to look right and they never seem to be 'balanced' the way yours are. Natalie

I really like it, the cogs turned out well, and your lining looks very tidy compared with how mine turned out (I just finished my kindle case). Like the wood skin on the kindle as well. Natalie

Just giving the post a 'bump' as the deadline is approaching Natalie

Hmm.. I wonder if he's been hit badly by the earthquakes. Akaroa is really part of christchurch. Nice find though for us Natalie

Nice work Where are the concho's from? Natalie

I have used a couple of plastic snaps on a pouch I made myself, mostly because I wanted navy blue and I already had the snaps from other projects. Its only been a couple of months but I use the pouch constantly at work (it holds my door swipe and keys, screwdriver etc) and so far the snaps are holding up just fine. I probably open and close the pouch at least a dozen times a day. I had used the same snaps on my grandson's cloth nappy's. they where used constantly for 3 years and chucked through the washing machine daily and are still fine. I got my plastic snaps from these guys, who have done loads of strength testing http://www.greenbean...5bcea3768a97de5 I have altered a beer bottle capper press to hold the die's and it works a treat. Natalie