Archery - Making a Leather Quiver

This past Saturday I had a day long Functional Sign Language training in Lancaster which was conveniently only a few minutes away from Lancaster Archery Supply. I dropped into their facility to have a look at bows and get some quiver options. I knew going in that I wanted a hip quiver that was basic and functional for target shooting. I really struggled with the knowledge that I could make one myself if I just drafted a pattern and had some tubes. I ended up buying a simple quiver with three arrow tubes to dissect and recreate out of leather. I mainly did this because they didn't have separate arrow tubes in stock and I figured the few extra dollars spared me having to draft out a decent pattern from scratch. I will go over my process below.

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LEATHER QUIVER
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My leather target quiver is based on a simple modern target quiver. It is basically a sleeve pattern piece of leather that tucks into a rectangular tab at the base of the sleeve. It uses three arrow tubes to hold twelve arrows. It is designed to be a hip quiver and has a strap that can be attached to a belt of a pair of pants using a clip.

I used a 3oz brown leather for the outside of the quiver and used the original canvas piece as a lining. A 4-5oz leather alone is probably a better idea. I also used oval shaped scraps of black leather as reinforcement areas for the strap that secures the arrow tubes. The straps are from the original piece, but could easily be made with leather straps and riveted below the O ring for the belt clip.

I sewed the entire piece on my Janome, but I have to admit some of the areas were difficult even for my heavy duty machine. I would suggest taking your time and having a pretty hardcore needle in your machine.

Here are some pictures of the finished quiver:

Archery - Making a Leather Shooting Glove

As I wrote in a previous post, I'm finally getting into archery and have little in the way of supplies. I've been working over the past week to change that though. Along the way I ran into a problem that I often have. I found myself looking at supplies and immediately going "I could make that. In fact I have the materials at home already. I should just inspect it and figure out a pattern for it on my own." I of course have to recognize that my creative talents are better left to sewing and leather work as opposed to woodwork. So I decided to concentrate my efforts thus far on a leather shooting glove and a leather target quiver. First I will discuss the glove.

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THREE FINGERED LEATHER SHOOTING GLOVE
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I made it over the course of two days. All in all it probably took closer to three or four hours of work including patterning and sewing, but there was much delay in between. (A certain budgie wanted to be on my hand when I was trying to hand stitch.)

I created the pattern based on a leather winter glove I own and a pattern I found on Glove.org. That glove site is profoundly helpful and was created by an SCAdian lady. I may include the pattern image if I ever decide to scan it. Most of the sewing was done on my new machine, but the tips of the fingers, the center points between each finger and securing the horn button were done by hand.

I used a lovely 3oz brown leather I purchased a few months ago for the glove and a strip of 5-6oz black leather that I got a few Pennsics ago for the wrist strap. The horn button was purchased at Jo-Ann's. I am happy with how it turned out for the most part. I had some difficulty getting the points to meet with the tips of the fingers, but this was expected for a first time glove project.

Some pictures of the completed glove are below:

Palm view of the entire glove.

Horn button and wrist strap.Back view of fingers.

Palm view of fingers. The middle one aligned poorly toward the tip. Grr.

Medieval Limp Book Binding Part II: Process and Closure

I finally went out and purchased a tripod for my camera so I can make some tutorial videos! I'm excited to finally share my limp binding process steps. The videos below cover my process and a technique for book closure. I have also added links to two videos that I found very helpful when I was just starting. Enjoy!

Medieval Limp Binding Process 1/2


Medieval Limp Binding Process 2/2


Medieval Limp Binding Closure


If you are interested in book binding, you may also want to watch:
Ricefz's Simple Book Binding Part 1
Ricefz's Simple Book Binding Part 2

Medieval Limp Book Binding Part I: Tools

I've been wanting to post a little bit about medieval limp binding. It is a bookbinding process which involves using leather for a soft cover and securing the signatures to the spine with a long stitch. The process creates a "limp" cover because it uses no boards. The effect is a lovely hand bound book that travels well and is representative of the medieval limp bound style. My tools are not very period, but they get the job done effectively. In the video below I will discuss my bookbinding tools and their uses. I apologize if the video is a bit jumpy at times. Enjoy!




Here are some links for materials I mentioned in the video:
Articus Studio - bone folder and book binding supplies
Harbor Freight Tools - paper cutter
Dick Blick- a kit included my wood folder and metal awl
The Leather Guy- a great source for small pieces of 4oz upholstery leather

Just a quick note about reclaimed materials: If possible, check out your local Craigslist free section for any shops that may be getting rid of leather samples. Ask around for sources of leather pieces as it doesn't make sense to get a new hide if there are quality materials available that would otherwish hit the trash.