Well I finally broke down and made myself a new possibles bag. I love my older one but have decided that I needed a bigger one. The one I have been carrying was made by me for black powder hunting and serves that purpose very well. Over the past year or so I have been carrying it on campouts with my Cub Scouts and have found that I need to carry more stuff for those little guys. I wanted something that would carry more first aid supplies and a few other things as well.
My original bag was made from bison hide. I love the stuff but dang its expensive. I was able to buy a side of bull hide for about $80 on sale vs. a smaller bison hide for $250+. The bull hide is a bit stiffer but I'll treat it and make it work. Over time I'm sure it'll soften up too.
Here are the two bags side by side.
My first bag also had no welt or gusset. This one does and that adds a lot of space to the inside of the bag.
The project itself is pretty straightforward. I decided on the front side dimensions and laid out that pattern for that. Then I placed that over the leather and left enough room for the flap to fold over the top and lay where I wanted it to. I placed the top edge at the unfinished edge of the hide so the flap would have the irregular edge.
After getting those two pieces cut out I measured along the gusset seam and decided how long I need it, then how wide I waned the gusset. I adedd about an inch to the width for the seam and cut a strip for that.
The gussett was laid face to face (exposed surfaces) with the back piece and stitched. I used a large serving fork to help with my spacing for the holes and used a self made awl for piercing the hide. Imitation sinew was used for the stitching.
Once the stitching is finished the project is turned inside out and the seam is hidden.
When it's all stitched up the seams are fairly clean.
The gussett added quite a bit of space to the inside of the bag itself.
The shoulder strap is just two strips of leather. Each stitched to the backside and then laid over my shoulder to get the right hang height. The top of both strips are then stitched together. I used deerskin for the shoulder stitching.
I'm working on a small damascus knife to stitch onto the shoulder strap but still need to figure out some more accents. I am considering a piece of antler crown for a "button" on the front flap to help secure it. I don't know if I'll do much more to it or not. If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts let me know.
I'm sure there are easier/better ways to do this but this works for me.
SDS
My original bag was made from bison hide. I love the stuff but dang its expensive. I was able to buy a side of bull hide for about $80 on sale vs. a smaller bison hide for $250+. The bull hide is a bit stiffer but I'll treat it and make it work. Over time I'm sure it'll soften up too.
Here are the two bags side by side.
My first bag also had no welt or gusset. This one does and that adds a lot of space to the inside of the bag.
The project itself is pretty straightforward. I decided on the front side dimensions and laid out that pattern for that. Then I placed that over the leather and left enough room for the flap to fold over the top and lay where I wanted it to. I placed the top edge at the unfinished edge of the hide so the flap would have the irregular edge.
After getting those two pieces cut out I measured along the gusset seam and decided how long I need it, then how wide I waned the gusset. I adedd about an inch to the width for the seam and cut a strip for that.
The gussett was laid face to face (exposed surfaces) with the back piece and stitched. I used a large serving fork to help with my spacing for the holes and used a self made awl for piercing the hide. Imitation sinew was used for the stitching.
Once the stitching is finished the project is turned inside out and the seam is hidden.
When it's all stitched up the seams are fairly clean.
The gussett added quite a bit of space to the inside of the bag itself.
The shoulder strap is just two strips of leather. Each stitched to the backside and then laid over my shoulder to get the right hang height. The top of both strips are then stitched together. I used deerskin for the shoulder stitching.
I'm working on a small damascus knife to stitch onto the shoulder strap but still need to figure out some more accents. I am considering a piece of antler crown for a "button" on the front flap to help secure it. I don't know if I'll do much more to it or not. If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts let me know.
I'm sure there are easier/better ways to do this but this works for me.
SDS
