Monday, August 29, 2011

Side Project: "Fabbard"


I like to carry a fan with me when it's hot out, don't you? Especially since air-conditioning is exceedingly rare at Renaissance Faires. I kept my fan stuck in my belt until the time it fell out unnoticed and I had to trace my steps to recover it, hoping all the while that it had not been trampled by a horse, the pickle wench, or some hapless commoner with a head brimming with ale.

"Never again," I vowed, "shall my fan fall to ground unheeded!" Plans fomented then and there for a scabbard for my fan -- a "fabbard", as my new friend Carrie Soderquist named it.

After futzing around with bits of scrap this-n-that from my stash, I decided on a simple tube-like design in leather, lined with wool to cushion and protect the fan and add a more substantial and finished look and feel to the scabbard itself. Some leftover copper wire twisted into a braid and threaded between the leather and wool forms loops through which I can pass a bit of woven cord and tie the fabbard to my belt.

I'm kinda making it up as I go, so the finished product might be a little rough-looking. It will also be functional, though, and a conversation piece, and will serve just fine until I feel the need to make another -- probably better -- one.

(The black ribbon is just there to hold the seam steady until a little bit of glue on the seam dries. Then I'll stitch the seam more easily.)

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