100 year old chaps

[ScoobyNewbie]

There they are, on the table and flat. 

Turns out they were hanging in a barn for thirty years.

I think we got the colors pretty close.

He’s going to cut the longer bit to match both pieces. The jagged bit was from the hide, we couldn’t wiggle it around enough to miss it and have the length we needed. 

I told him to make up a story about a bear. Lol!

[ScoobyNewbie]

I’m glad I did it now. It’s not like it was difficult. I’ve been sewing (fabric) since I was 13. Many, MANY moons ago. Lol

But I learn quite a few things. 

Charge by the hour. Not the piece. I always under estimate how much of a bother things are going to be, and end up puffing at the finish line.

Keep LeatherWeld handy with old pieces. 

If possible,  use rubber cement and back the older piece first. Gads! It made the second seam on both of them SO much easier! I didn’t have to worry about where the chisel holes had wandered off to. They stayed right there! And the bits that were crumbly stayed in place instead of falling off so that I had to hunt for them on the floor, and glue them back on. 

I had never heard of red rot and I’ll have to investigate it a bit more. I wonder if it’s fungal and contagious. Spores and such, or if it’s just damage. 

The Janome wasn’t strong enough to sew through the oil tanned utility hide. Even one layer. I tested it on a scrap before I tried to sew the old to the new piece. Thank goodness! I can’t imagine the crumbly mess... yes I can. Ick. 

And finally, all the money you make, goes back into more leather stuff.