WWWIP Week 9 Kyle

This past week I finished up the belts by installing snaps and buckles. Crystina molded and cast the belt buckle with metal! I closed up the front of the torso armor and added a zipper to the side seam. The straps around the bracers were also finished by adding snaps and buckles.

I constructed both of the belt pouches using different techniques. For the round one, I machine sewed soft-touch leather together. I made a foam shaper to give it fullness. I then punched holes around the rim, middle front, and strung a leather cord through them. It is designed so when you pull on the middle piece it tightens the top. You can then loop it over the button on the flap to hold the bag tight and keep the flap secured at the same time. Watch this short video for a quick demonstration!

For the thinner pouch, I used hide leather. I punched holes into the edges of each piece and then sewed them together with twin needles. After sewing it together I submerged the whole thing in a cup of room temperature water for less than half a minute. I then popped a foam insert into it to shape the pouch as it dried. I also lightly dyed it with a water stain leather dye while it was wet. Normally you would dye all leather before constructing, but since I wanted to shape it after sewing I decided to use the opportunity to easily dye it while everything was evenly soaked.

What still remains are some minor alterations to the pants and top, the shoulder straps, the fur, and a bit of rigging around the belts to keep the sash and tail feathers in place.