#leather work

Lemme explain what's going on.

A harness is basically made of belts connected by O-rings. It essentially uses three kinds of straps: double O-rings, buckles, and adjusters.

The straps in the very front and very back, the ones that sit along the pecs and along the shoulders, connect two O-rings together. They look like the top strip.

The straps that wrap along the left and right side of the ribcage, as well as the straps that go over the shoulders, each form a belt. One shoulder strap, for example is composed of two leather strips: one that has a buckle (like the middle strip), and one that has an adjuster (like the bottom strip.)

These strips will differ in size from one another. The shoulder straps are longer than the side straps, and i chose to make the adjuster sides longer than the buckle sides in order to allow the buckles to sit on the back.

After measuring my partner, I used a belt I'd made a while ago as a template for how much length to leave for rivets and buckles. I then cut a half hide of 8oz leather into strips.

After that, I also spent several nights dismantling an old leather jacket in order to make a liner.

I'm making a liner because I opted for single-cap tubular rivets. I find they're easier to attach and create a more reliable hold, with the downside of being rough and scratchy on one side after installation. The liner is there to cover the scratchy underside.

Next, I cut my leather strips to size, beveled the edges, and sanded them. I've heard that sanding makes your edges way cleaner - so far, the results are promising!

Then, I stamped the little stars into it. After that, I dyed everything.

If the dye looks a little patchy to you, it does to me, too. It's better off-camera, but I still see it. I use a water-based dye, which I find is less patchy than alcohol-based, but seems more patchy than oil-based. There may be a thing or two I can improve in my technique.

That said, I also haven't buffed anthying yet. I've spent two days layering two coats of paint onto each little star. It's important to paint before buffing, while the leather is relatively non-oily, so that the paint can stick.

While waiting for this paint to fully cure, I've made the belt savers (the little loops that keep the adjuster end of a belt in place). I cut and dyed them yesterday, and buffed them with a bit of conditioner today. Buffing definitely darkened and evened out the appearance of the dye.