motocouture

Been trying to practice my stitching, so hubby got a new sleeve for his iPhone 7. Used some scrap Horween leather from nstarleather (thank you!), my new French model Knip knife (cheers, geargarcon), and 0.8mm Tiger thread. Still working on my edges sigh. Oh and thanks jlsleather - I can attest that the calculations from your holster pattern work the same for an iPhone in terms of distance for the stitch lines. Front and back shown below

Stunning work, and love the carefully considered design aspects as well!

@venator, I used paracord as a core on the leash below, with 6 strands of ~5mm roo lace, and it seemed to go ok...

I think a 6-strand braid would work nicely, especially since it could get potentially get a lot of exposure to the elements

Nice work! What did you use as a core?

Awesome!

Thanks! Was aiming for a more casual / sporty look

I can second both buckleguy and Pacific Trimming. Pacific Trimming stocks a wide range of colors (of the zipper tapes) and metal colors for the zipper teeth. I use Riri zippers a lot; they're a little expensive, but the quality is amazing and it's very easy to buy extra pulls and stops to make your own custom length zippers. FYI, Riri zippers also come in different teeth widths, starting at 4mm and progressing up in width in 2mm increments. I'd say 4mm is more suitable for garments, 6 or 8mm for heavier pieces with more wear.

Me - 1, stump - 0. Got the bark off (took a surprising amount of effort lol). Found some stainless steel bands online that'll go on next, along with leveling and painting the top. Thanks again for all the advice

Thanks! Now for practice and more practice....might have to try making some sheaths for my scissors...

Thanks, mattsbagger and alpha2! Agreed on the zipper, there were some cuss words flying around as I tried gluing it in place.

Trying to teach myself saddle stitching, and hubby had requested a small case to hold apple headphones and a charger, so figured I'd practice my stitching while making something. First item I've hand-stitched, used Tiger 0.8mm orange thread, size 4 needles, 8 spi. In hindsight, might have gone 0.6mm thread, but of course, had none handy in orange. Leather is some Horween tumbled scrap (thanks @nstarleather!), with a basic dressmaking polyester zip I had lying around.

Good luck with that! Admire your patience!

Dirkba - not 100% sure on the wood, but since I'm in Pennsylvania, I'm guessing walnut or something similar. Good idea on the bands at the top. crashresq - great to hear that you do blacksmithing! My step-dad was a farrier / blacksmith, so grew up around anvils and forges. Thanks for the detailed info and the bands idea, that will be the plan for this weekend... mojave - smart way to build a stump when there's no big trees around!

Sent you a pm

Thank you both so much; really appreciate you both taking the time to share the detail. Zuludog - no worries at all. I have used percentages, but always good to get the clarity on whether it's a % versus a ratio (e.g. 1:1). JimTimber - will give that a shot. I'm not too worried if some checking occurs. I'll call that "character" ; ) Now I just have to actually clear a spot in the garage...

Thanks JimTimber and JD62, much appreciated. I'll work on getting the bark off asap! I have a good poly sealer at home I can use (was for hardwood floors, so assume it'll do the trick) Zuludog, sounds like you wood-n't know

Thanks! That should be do-able....

Been a good week! Picked up two racks of deer antlers someone left out on the curb, which will be turned into burnishers / folders . Then hubby wanted to get rid of two trees in the back yard, so I put in a request for a 33" section of the trunk to make a leather working stump. Came home to this - happy to hear any suggestions on drying out / treating / embellishing etc! (Will neaten up the top later to make it level)

Nice work! And yes, they take a surprising amount of lace. Braiding soap can really help get the tension right, I made up a batch using the recipe on the David Morgan website and it works beautifully (https://www.davidmorgan.com/shop-content/braiding_soap/).

I say go for it! Life is too short not to make a whip : ) Thank you Rohn, much appreciated!

Thanks! I rely heavily on two authors, Ron Edwards (photo below of one of his books), and Bruce Grant, with his encyclopedia of braiding. I couldn't find a lot specifically on the back-splicing piece, other than a blog or two, so that I just kinda muddled through. And of course, this forum is great, too. I got the lace from y-knot lace, good quality and colors. Didn't bevel the lace for this one, but on subsequent projects, I am beveling using a box cutter blade jammed into a block of wood with a paint stick glued on as a guide Thanks, Dave!

Thanks sofaspud and cseeger for the kind words! He's been my buddy for nearly ten years now

Thanks venator! The Bruce Grant encyclopedia has been immensely helpful...

Getting back into braiding and leatherwork after a long time away from it. Made a leash for my brother and his red heeler (quality tested by my Dobie). Kangaroo leather six-strand round plait, over a paracord core, loops back-spliced in, and the clip end loop braided over again to give a replaceable wear area.