IRCC - Hand Stitched Leather Belt Pouch

I have started the next addition to my IRCC costume. I started making a leather belt pouch out of light weight black leather. Unlike most of my other leather projects, this project was not done using recycled leather. I actually purchased leather from Tandy Leather. To start the project I based the design on a couple portraits from the 16th century. Based on the appearance In the portraits I sketched what I thought would be a good pattern on the back of an old poster.



Drafted pattern pieces





I decided to make this pouch slightly more complex than it perhaps had to be. Based on some extant pouches and some reconstructed pouches I’ve seen that others have made I decided to make a small pouch, within a pouch. I also added a divider on the inside of the pouch. I stiched all the pieces together inside out and then turned the pouch.

Inside of pouch front before turned.

Inside back before turned

I fashioned a sort of bodkin from some 16 guage steel wire I had and used that to do the lacing of the inner and outer pouch lacing.



I’ve already attached the flap which will be used as the closure, similar to the one in the following portrait, although I haven’t take a photo of that yet. I still have to fashion some sort of button to lock the flap closed.



Turned pouch without final flap closure

Inside of pouch



One final note.  I do a lot of hand sewing and the one thing that hurts more than sticking yourself with the point of the needle, is pushing so hard on the needle that the back end of the needle sticks into your finger.  Here's an example of pushing way too hard on a needle.  Either that or using a needle which is too small for the job!