Full-mask sporran construction?

[Tobus]

I'm finally getting the fox hide back from the taxidermist that I dropped off almost a year ago. My intent for this fox was to make a full-mask sporran out of him. And possibly a second fur sporran with just a leather flap.

Anyway, can anyone help me with rough dimensions or patterns for a typical full-mask sporran? I've never seen one in person, so I've never been able to look at how it's put together.

Is it just basically a single piece of hide folded back on itself and stitched together? Or do they typically put gussets in it? Is the back usually stiffened with leather?

Help?

[artificer]

I'm not an expert on full masks, I've only started some experimentation, but...

Assuming that you're talking about a modern style full mask;

The basic construction is just like a regimental day sporran the flap (mask) and back panel are one piece, the front panel is a separate piece. You will want a gusset in between. You'll need a nice stable veg tanned leather for structure, just like in a military style bag. The fur is decorative, NOT structural.

The head and neck fur will cover the top flap. Use a regular finished leather for the part of the panel that rests against your kilt. You'll need a small seam where the two join up.

The front panel should be covered in the prime part of the pelt, usually right about where head/neck piece left off. This will give you your best colouration in the fur, as most animals fur is the most dynamic right across the shoulders and top of the back.

The overall size is about the same as a military style sporran, it just looks larger with the visual bulk of the fur.

Your front panels shape will be dictated by the shape of the animal's jaw-line. Studying pix of a fox in life will help guide you in the shape of your flap.

Overall dimensions on the one's I've seen are usually ~6.5-7"wide x ~8.5" tall (the bag itself, fur add some bulk)

You might be well served browsing the L&M or similar website as a visual guide to how their bags are set up.

Good luck, and be sure to post pix!

[Tobus]

That's a great help, thanks!

So basically I need to build a standard sporran and then just cover it with the fox hide? What about the gussets? Are they usually left uncovered, with the hide just stitched onto the front panel? Or does the hide wrap around to cover the gussets?

Sadly, the pictures I've been able to find usually only show the front, not the sides or back.

[artificer]

The order of operation usually goes something like this.

1) build mask (a multi-stage process I won't go into here... it's a fair bit of work)
2)cut veg-tan structural panels (front panel and back/flap).
3)dye interior facing (the finished side of the veg tan) - if needed.
4) attach mask to flap, along with the chrome tanned back cover. Add strap keeper now.
5) attach fur to front panel.
6) attach gusset to front panel (then 'roll' it make the self-welt)
7) attach back-edge of gusset to rear panel, then add trim to cover the 'joined' edge.

The gusset can be a thin chrome tan, or fur. In my experience, unless you're a genius working with both fur and leather, you're better off using chrome tanned. Otherwise the fur will bulk out and the over-all bag will be VERY shaggy. Fur can be a PITA. It gets into your stitching, is messy to cut, and bushes out in wild, sometimes unexpected ways. But when done right, it is really 'pet-able'

With certain furs you can 'shear' them down to a workable thickness, but it's probably more trouble than it's worth.

Again, I'm no 'full mask' expert. I've just worked with enough fur to know how irritating it can be

[Tobus]

Yeah, I've not worked with fur before. My wife (the saddle-maker) has done lots of stuff with hair-on cow hides, and she complains non-stop about it. But that's much shorter hair that this fox fur.

I think I'll just go with thin plain exposed leather gussets. I picked up a thin deer-tanned cowhide for another sporran project, so I'll use some of that.

Thank you again for your help!

[artificer]

Yeah, I've not worked with fur before. My wife (the saddle-maker) has done lots of stuff with hair-on cow hides, and she complains non-stop about it. But that's much shorter hair that this fox fur.

I think I'll just go with thin plain exposed leather gussets. I picked up a thin deer-tanned cowhide for another sporran project, so I'll use some of that.

Thank you again for your help!

Yeah, cowhide is a LOT easier to work with than something with real fur. With cow, it all lays down pretty nicely and is of a relatively uniform thickness and length. With fur pelts, there is the guard hair and the fluffy under layer of much finer hair. THAT stuff gets EVERYWHERE.

Deer tan is nice for gussets, but pay attention to your piece, as sometimes it can be REALLY stretchy. When you're doing the joining between the stretchy gusset and the hard panels you have to make sure you keep your spacing uniform, otherwise the stretchy leather can end up bunching against the firmer material.

Make sure to post pix!