Constructing the bag
Step One - Sizing
The size of your bag is going to vary depending on the role you have in mind and the size of your hide. As a point of reference, I've tended to settle on around ~8-9" diameter x 23-25" long for a larger pack, and ~6" x 24" for a little utility one as is on my quiver strap. Piecing to get up to the size you need isn't difficult, and is a practice with a long bit of history! I kind of like how it looks as well - very appropriate for a materials-poor culture like we're reenacting. Just use the same technique as you use on the main bag seam to get up to the size you need, then press flat as you can and cut to size. (press flat with fingers or a seam rubber of course - don't burn your leather!)
- merf-dunedain-snapsack-07-pieced-leather.jpg (137.81 KiB) Viewed 5476 times
(here we see a pieced rectangle of goatskin getting its first suntan. In this case it's destined for a blanket cover, but the principle is the same.)
Your lining you'll cut the the same width as your leather, BUT leave it about 6" longer. We'll deal with that later.
Step Two - Placing, punching the stitch holes
Here is the first tricky part - there's a lot of stitching runs that aren't immediately obvious.
For the spine, cut about twice as wide as you'll need, plus about 1/8" more to account for the fold. I say "about" because your measurements may vary with your materials - fiddle with your leather and your buckle to get the measurement right).
I'd also leave the spine about 3-4" longer than you need at this point and do the ends of the spine once almost everything else is in place. Again, thin leather stretches and compresses as you work it, and it's easy to lose or gain a quarter inch or more as you go. Doing the ends once everything else is more or less complete means less chance you'll end up having to deal with fixing a too-short spine later.
Once everything is cut, run your punching lines. I use a 5- or 10- prong "3.38mm Flat Leather Chisel" tool these days for thin leathers.
For the bag itself, you'll want three lines of stitching down the sides you'll sew up, and two lines each for the open ends. It will look like this:
- merf-dunedain-snapsack-08-body-stiching-holes.jpg (33.24 KiB) Viewed 5476 times
Fiddle with your materials to work out the exact spacing, but here's approximately what I used:
sewn edges: 1/4" apart, three rows each edge, 1/8" from edge
end edges: 3/4" apart, two rows each edge, 1/8" from edge
For the spine, you'll end up with three lines of holes down each side of the long axis. You'll then - once you're sure of your spacing - cut off the ends with ~45 degree corners and stitch the ends shut like this:
long edges: ~1/8" in from edge, 1/8" to next line, 3/16" to interior line.
- merf-dunedain-snapsack-09-spine-stiching-holes.jpg (69.29 KiB) Viewed 5476 times
(note - the top image is what you're doing at this point. Don't cut off the corners or punch the cross-spine stitches until you're a bit farther along.)
Persona: Aerlinneth, Dúnedain of Amon Lendel c. TA 3010.
