Leatherworking class this fall

Well, I've stepped in it now. :) I've offered to teach a class for our Canton in October on making a leather belt pouch.

Good news is I have lots of time to work out the details and pull together all of the resources etc.

We have lots of growth in the Canton so there are a number of new people who may not have any leatherworking experience. I want this to be a good hands-on class so they can come away with something they would be happy to wear at events.

I'm thinking I might use the pattern I developed over the holidays for the covered draw string pouch (http://kraken-leather.blogspot.ca/2012/12/new-pouch-design-with-pictures.html). It's a bit more complex than a basic draw-string pouch and a bit different from what people will have seen before, but simple enough that most people should be able to do it in an hour (if I pre-cut and prep the pieces). I'd have to document it a bit but otherwise it would mostly be ready to go. I could bring a few kits for a more typical draw-string purse too in case there are people who don't tend to wear belts, just to make sure the pouch people make is something they can use.

I'll have to decide what materials to use. Easiest thing would be chrome tan, maybe even some of my chrome tan pig skins that I have lying around at home. It's super easy to work with and its nice and thin, almost like working with fabric. But of course that isn't a period material and the colours are too bright for true period use. Using thin veg tan would be more period but harder to work with and much more expensive. Maybe I'll ask Tiberius what he normally uses.

I want to make sure I cover some basic info on leatherworking too (stuff like the veg vs chrome tan, leather thicknesses, materials for stitching etc.), so that people aren't lost if they wander into the leatheer store for the first time.

If it goes well, maybe I can do it at an event next year.