Making my own handmade leather Blacksmithing Apron

[@harlech2]

Helper puppers best puppers!!!

[@rampanttricky17]

for those doing leather sewing: *use leather sewing needles that fit the slits/holes you are working with (size of thread is related to the size of needle). *a stitching awl is often used to temporarily open the slits to make sewing easy and allow the slits to close up again. - that way you don't need to struggle to get the needles through (or use pliers). - i broke the eyes off more than a few needles before i learned how NOT to need to force the needle around to stretch the slit open to get the eye and thread through (like was done when sewing the back circles together. *consider making or buying a "stitching pony" or something like one. *i don't know a great reason NOT to use a drill/drill press/dremel or other rotary tool to make holes if you do not have an "appropriate" hole punch -- other than for holes that will just be open holes (such as for belts as opposed to filled with grommets, rivets, snaps, etc ) where a "right side" punched hole will often (?) have a better finish. Hammer punches are considered by many to be preferable over "rotary punches" - easier to use with many leathers, ... . ask a sales person for advice. if you go to a leather craft store like Tandy ask them to show you how to do a basic saddle stitch - including selecting compatible sizes of stitching marker/punch, needles, and thread. it is not obvious.

[@rampanttricky17]

i certainly need to put stuff away and clean up my assembly/cutting table before i make my apron.

[@xback40verland38]

Great job love the choice in leather

[@GarageMisadventures]

Thank you

[@VWJawbreaker]

Turned out beautiful, awesome job!

[@GarageMisadventures]

Thanks Gary!

[@abdelkabirelmouhibb7352]

Good job !!

[@IveysFamilyFactotum]

I would suggest putting I slit in the middle at the bottom to allow for holding your material or tong reins with your legs as required.

[@GarageMisadventures]

Thanks! Yeah we might end up doing that, but the great thing about having the tools and learning the skill is we can modify and add pockets, or put a slit in in the future. Our idea was that we’d learn more about exactly what we needed once we started doing it.

[@IveysFamilyFactotum]

@@GarageMisadventures good luck with y'alls adventures in smithing...hit me up if you have any questions.

[@GarageMisadventures]

Ivey's Forge & Homestead thank you! We appreciate the input for sure.

[@rampanttricky17]

i am just a beginner and i am surprised how frequently one uses the "crotch clamp" to hold a work piece. it makes me consider incorporating farrier like chaps into the protective wear despite not needing a path for a horses lower leg .

[@eviltwinx]

Wow. Looks professional! Much better than my $10 Harbor Freight. Dang! Now I want to make my own! Here’s a filming suggestion. Any time I need to show something smaller than my hand, I do a close up shot. Not only does it help the viewer, it breaks up long video shots for better story telling. It’s a pain sometimes when filming by yourself, but it’s highly effective.

[@GarageMisadventures]

Thanks! The kodiak leather we used is very nice. And leatherworking tools are really pretty cheap. In person it’s certainly not perfect on the cut lines and stitches, but that’s just fine. We’d rather have something we made, built, or restored than store bought whenever we can. It’s just more meaningful to us. Thanks for the suggestion. The projects and tools are not new to me, but KZbin and filming in this way are. If you watch any of my very first videos you’ll see I’ve already come a long way (I think), but I’m still figuring out how to get the best shots and how to tell the story in the best way and also shorten some of my videos up so they stay interesting. And you’re right a lot of the time it’s just hard with filming myself! Hopefully if you stick around you’ll see them continue to improve though as I learn and get better at my camera work and editing.

[@rhybeka]

Just found you this evening. :) props for just jumping in! Working on a waxed canvas/leather apron myself! The hide you picked out is gorgeous and should wear well for smithing. :)

[@GarageMisadventures]

Awesome thank you! We have learned a lot just jumping in and trying new things, and try to encourage others as well. I agree, the leather we used is wearing in nicely, and has a great look to it. Very happy with it so far. Thanks for watching Becky! Good luck with your apron project. Let us know how it comes out.

[@paulorchard7960]

Nice apron, once you start smithing you should do a follow up with the MK 2. You will definitely be making changes as you progress and develop you skills and style! Before you find out why I would recommend you tie your hair back in a bun before you go anywhere near forge! Enjoy it, it’s loads of fun but hard work especially in the beginning, but well worth it!

[@ShugoAWay]

Yup as it only takes the 5th or 6th time of catching your hair on fire to learn to keep it away from the fire

[@SSSmithing]

Great work keep it up

[@GarageMisadventures]

Thanks! Glad you are enjoying it!

[@LonghornWorkshop]

Just started following your channel, and going through your vids. This apron came out real nice.

[@GarageMisadventures]

Thank you! Glad you are enjoying our channel!

[@tiredcreekironworks8123]

I need an apron..when I get ready I'll give yah a shout out.

[@GarageMisadventures]

Awesome. So glad that you enjoyed the video. We really like making our own tools and items.

[@WideFive]

Nice work, Mary! Very cool!

[@GarageMisadventures]

Thank you!

[@stevencurran2869]

I like it thanks. How it the forging going?

[@danielirvine7468]

I'm half way th making mine found you as I don't know how to do the straps on mine love you're design I see the two d rings up the top how have you done it down on the two lower straps ?

[@GarageMisadventures]

Great question! The lower straps are almost identical to the two on the top of the apron. The lower straps are doubled over with a D-loop for the straps to feed through. The only difference is the lower loops are a smudge longer for a better fit around. To secure them to the apron I placed a rivet in the center and hand stitched around for added support. I hope this helps!

[@StevenMendez]

I've been doing leather work on and off for a while and one thing I recommend is to not hammer your chisels with plywood underneath, I ruined my nicer one doing that. I have a cork board I use, if I can't find that I use a double layer of scrap leather.

[@GarageMisadventures]

Thanks for the tip. That table is a sacrificial MDF shop table, but I can see how over time it would have a dulling effect on the tools. The cork is a good idea. We don’t do a ton of leather work but we will try to get something different before the next project. Hope you enjoyed the video.

[@ShugoAWay]

Or 1 of those cheap white plastic kitchen cutting boards works pretty well