Jedi Leatherworking Workshop

Today Russ, Jessie, Jose and I delved into a little Jedi arts-and-crafts. Peggy forgot and slept in! It was a very long day--we met at Tandy Leather shortly after 11AM and left at 8PM--but the hours flew by as we measured, cut, dyed, punched, set and chatted away. Jessie and I both found the activity relaxing (kind of like sewing), but we were both showing wear at the end of the day! Eric at Tandy was generous enough to stay and help us finish after the store closed at 6PM.

We spent the first 3-4 hours making decisions about our hardware, preparing all the pieces, and dyeing them. Then we broke for a yummy lunch at Steak-n-Shake across the street while our dye jobs dried. After that we assembled and finished the belts, divvied up the leftover supplies and cashed out. (Photos of the workshop here.)

I couldn't find a buckle I liked, but I had seen a couple of ring-and-loop closures on fashion belts I liked. Also, I like the way Scott's rifle slings look after he treats them with mink oil, so I decided to do the same to my main belt instead of dyeing it. Here are a few ideas I sketched using a ring, rivets and/or conchos with a two-toned color scheme:


My final design wound up being a combination of the first two sketches:


I chose a warm chocolate brown for the narrow belt, but even with one coat it turned out much darker than I expected.

The concho I found is a match for the necklace I usually wear with my Jedi costume, a triskele that symbolizes an inner spiritual journey:


I was hoping to have a new costume ready for Star Wars Weekends, but time is getting away from me. I think my new belt and the boots Scott gave me last fall will at least be a nice update to last year's costume. :)