Jeff Bibb makes a pouch from an old saddle.
February 23, 2010 by Guest Author
Filed under Pouches and Bags
Making an Antique Saddle Pouch
By Jeff Bibb, Guest Author
Jeff Bibb at the bench.
When Rick Sheets inquired about a new hunting pouch last summer, there was one small catch to the project. You see he had this old, English saddle and wondered if I might be able to use some of the leather in it to make his new pouch. I agreed to take a look at the saddle since it had been taken apart to see if it was useable. Gee, there must be a pouch in here somewhere…
Several pieces looked pretty suitable including the pigskin seat cover, and padded side pockets. They were even dyed and pre-aged! I treated all of the pieces with Lexol leather preservative to get them as soft and supple as possible before cutting and sewing.
With some research, I located a photo and some details for an original Southern Appalachian pouch that would work for this project. After drawing and laying out a pattern, the cutting started. There was no room for error since each piece of the pouch could only be cut from one piece of leather. The inside pocket and strap tabs were cut from new leather and the decision was made to line the pouch with thin deerskin to make it a little stronger. Rick chose a hand-woven strap I had around, and we were all set.
After the pieces were all cut, the deerskin lining was dyed and glued to the front, back and flap. This makes it much easier to sew the pouch together and keep everything lined up.
After everything was dry, the lining was trimmed around, leaving some extra for fringe. Then the fringe had to be hand-cut on each piece of the puzzle, or pouch as it promises to be. Because of the age of the leather, a decision was made earlier that this would be an outside-stitched pouch. I did not want to even contemplate soaking and turning leather this old. A reinforcing band was sewn to the back of the pouch along with the completed, hanging inside pocket. The strap tabs were then sewn to the back and it is finally starting to come together.
The next photo shows everything prepped and ready to assemble. This looks like it may actually work after all. If the antique leather doesn’t split while being stitched, we are in business!
After several tedious hours of sewing, the front, back, flap and strap were all attached. After a little shaping and loosening up, it really is a hunting pouch! Mr. Sheets is ready for a walk in the woods. Oh, I might mention that this was when I found out the saddle was almost an antique in its own right. Glad I didn’t know.
Here is the final product!
Jeff sells ready made pouches and horns and takes on commissioned work. Please see his website. JeffBibbPouchesandHorns.com
