Tag Archives: haversack

Hunter’s Pouch

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Kentucky Hunter’s Pouch –

Few words are needed to show this project.  It is a Kentucky Hunter style pouch of a style popular throughout the 17th and 18th centuries in America.  Its antecedents come from Britain and mainland Europe but changed with the times as North America was colonized.

Most of the components cut out and ready for sewing.

In the days before the common man had trouser pockets he still had a fair few things to carry, especially while out foraging in the forest. Men and women have carried some sort of bag to hold their essentials for as long as we have supplemented our inadequate selves with tools. Things such as food, fire making supplies, sewing kit, or ammunition.

After lining with a medium-weight cotton fabric, the interior pocket is sewn in.

The poor man’s hunting pouch is essentially a single pocket bag with one or more internal pockets to separate out the smaller items.

Closing a bullet hole in the hide.

I chose some bark tanned elk from Joe Brandl as it is sturdy but with a very soft feel.

When using real linen, I often soak it overnight in a hot cup of tea before drying and waxing. This gives a nice reddish-brown color.

Pocket complete.

The body is sewn with a welt to create a tight seam and edging is added to stiffen the pocket and flap.

Edge-binding and the reveal of the interior pocket.

The inside pocket makes small items accessible that might otherwise be lost in the bottom of the bag. When shooting black powder, this pocket is a must.

Hand-pinked and pierced binding at the top of the bag.

People have been adding fringe, ruffles, and other decorations to seams and edges for as long as there have been makers.

This type of bag is designed to stay closed without any fastener but it is good to have a way to really secure the flap when traveling. This simple closure is a type that I like for a rustic bag. The toggle is carved from antler and is secured by a simple loop.

Completed bag with strap and buckle.

Finally, a shoulder strap is added. This one is 7 oz. veg tanned cowhide and adjusts by more than 12 inches. This will accommodate most people but more importantly will adjust with the seasons as heavier or lighter clothes are worn. The buckle is solid brass and will never rust.

Typical attire of the early frontiersman. Nearly always armed for hunting and protection, our gentleman here sports three essential items; gun, powder horn, and hunter’s pouch. “Western Hunter.” Illustration credit: Lewis Collins, History of Kentucky, 1850.

This bag and others are available in my Etsy shop linked here:

Roman Loculus

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Or what we might call a messenger bag.

I finally finished the commissioned bag from last month based on the beautifully proportioned Roman design.  As far as I know, this design dates back to at least the First Century C.E. and judging by it’s logic, probably much further.

Loculus1I think the true loculus (satchel) utilized an envelope design from a single small goat hide but as they survive only in art, we have to make a few guesses as to construction.  The one I made has a few more modern features including inner dividers and a cell phone pocket.

Loculus4The leather is an oiled cowhide with a slightly scotched (textured) surface.  This type of leather wears well, is weather-resistant, and comes back to life with a wipe down.

Loculus2A simple button closer secures the flap while the straps cover the seams and give it body.  The sewing is all double needle saddle stitch done by hand.

Loculus3The body is divided into three pockets with an added cell phone holder.

handleFinally, the handle.  Historic examples appear to have used this handle over the end of the staff with a cross piece through the loops, keeping it from sliding side-to-side as the one below.

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To remain unencumbered, Roman Legionaries carried this bag on the furca (travel staff).

I hope Gen, it’s new owner, loves it and finds it useful.

 

 

Haversack

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Over the weekend, I was able to design and nearly finish a new leather haversack.  I’ve wanted to make one for a while but I’m always hesitant to start a big sewing project if I don’t think I’ll finish it in a short time… I hate lingering unfinished projects (not to say I don’t have a few lying around).

DSC_0613[update: outdoor photo of the finished haversack.]

DSC_0620So, while this idea has been bouncing around in my skull for some time, I was inspired by running across a beautiful bag from Morocco in a store in Santa Fe a couple weeks ago.  It was about 20″ square with a flap that covered the entire body and was supplemented by a small pocket inside and a larger, open pocket outside.  So voila!  That’s exactly the design I was pondering.

DSC_0609It didn’t occur to me to document the process right away, and I didn’t do it well, but here’s how to make a haversack in a few pictures and very few words.

A little historical trivia because I am an archaeological geek; “haversack” means “oats bag” and is associated with soldiering, pilgrims, and other travelers for at least two millennia.  Something very like this was carried by Roman Legionnaires and is shown on Trajan’s Column.  Here’s a likely reconstruction of their bag:

Click the image for more information.

Click the image for more historical information on this bag.

Okay, back to the business at hand.  The layout consists of three connected square sections, in this case 18″ x 54″ (18 x 3).  I happened to have a beautiful soft bend of 8 oz. vegetable tanned leather from Spain that just barely fit the size I needed.  This used most of the side, so I used some similar weight shoulder for the pockets.  I gave the whole thing a dye coat of tan water dye as the pieces were cut.

Below is the basic bag coming to life, outside pockets visible, with a third pocket inside, not shown.

DSC_0617I like the simplicity of this design, but at this point was forced to decide as to whether the stitching will be outside and visible making a flatter, but bigger bag (see backpack for external stitching).

Finished backpack

Click for larger.

An observation: folks who don’t MAKE stuff, don’t always appreciate the large number of steps in an apparently simple project like the above.  For example: the inside pocket must go on before the outer (so you can get to the stitches), rivets need to be set before they are hidden away, edges skived, beveled, and burnished, stitch holes punched, etc.  Above is the bag nearly ready to “close”.  Hope I didn’t forget anything.

I sewed it “inside out” to hide the seam and to puff out the body a bit.  Turning back out was quite a chore and took some struggling but in the end, I think it looks good.  It’s not really quite this red but that’s an issue with my camera and photography skills.

DSC_0609DSC_0614DSC_0615It shouldn’t be assumed that this is cheap.  The body alone is 6.75 square feet of leather meaning you need about 10 square feet of good hide to start with to make the entire bag.  With the materials and all the labor involved, it’s easy to see how a leather worker can often charge $500 or more for a similar project.  I buy up leather in quantity when the price is low when I can but this project still could cost over $150 in materials alone.

But in the end, it’s really an heirloom of a centuries-old design.  It will improve with age and hopefully this is a creation that will outlive me.