Tartan Tidy 2023

 Tartan Tidy 2023

 This was a quick off the cuff project.

 Tartan Waistband

 

Quite some time ago, I had to have a Tartan Skirt altered. I had the Waistband Removed and elastic put in. Being me, I had decided to keep the Waistband in case it came in useful.

 Remove Threads and Open

 

First, I had to Open up the Waistband and Remove all the loose Threads.

 Pin Tartan

 

I reversed the Tartan and Pinned in place ready to Sew.

Tartan Blanket

 

I used my favourite Stitch, Blanket and Sewed up the sides. I stopped Sewing roughly a quarter of the way from the End.

Blanket Buttonhole

 

I then turned my attention to the Buttonhole End. This area was quite frayed so I had to tidy up before sewing. Time for a break.

Pointy Pieces 2024 Part 2

 Pointy Pieces 2024 Part 2

Greetings. Again I must apologise for delayed posting. I have a new laptop and am having to learn how to use it along with the updated Windows.

Brilliant Brasso

Now all the Deburring has been done I need to Polish. So with the purchase of some Brasso I am ready to start. This tin has the wadding in so no need to look for cloths

Mucky Sword

With such a big object it took me several goes to cover it all. Here is a photograph that shows it covered with Brasso.

Shiny Sword

Above is a photograph with the Sword all Shiny along with its Sheath. Note for future. Remember to put paper down because when I lifted the Mucky Sword I had a lovely Sword Pattern in Brasso on the carpet. This is another reason why I had to Polish more than once.

Arabian Dagger

So whilst I had the Brasso out I thought it was a good time to do the other Pointy Pieces I had around. This is an Arabian Dagger that I picked up on Holiday in Tunisia.

Arabian Polish

Here is the Arabian Dagger Polished. To be honest the Blade was not that bad. It was the Handle and Cover that need the work as they had been exposed to the elements.

Letter Openers

Finally here are some Letter Openers. These Blades were in Bad Condition due to the fact they were covered in bits of Sellotape. They took nearly as much work as the Sword. 

All my Pointy Pieces are as good as new. The only thing now is to tackle cleaning the Carpet!

Pointy Pieces 2024 Part 1

 Pointy Pieces 2024 Part 1

Here is a blog on something completely different. I used to do Re-enactment. I needed to take care of my Weapon but I got let down at the time by somebody who was going to help. Now I have a moment I am going to tackle the problem myself although it will be sometime before I would be well enough to use it.

Diamond Files

Before I could do anything, I needed some tools. These are a two Piece Diamond File Set which are 120mm,Half Round Taper and Flat. They can be used on Glass and Metal that I purchased from eBay.

Sword Length

My Sword is 27 Inches (68.5 cm). You can see from the above photograph that the Files arrived much smaller than I anticipated. That is late night shopping for you.

Incidentally, the original Sword was much longer. I received it from the previous owner who was a good foot in height taller than I am. Another Re-enactor cut it down for me. The joke was that if he cut it down much further it would be a Dagger. You could say that my Sword is Hobbit sized.

Bottom Burrs

Unfortunately, quite a few photographs got lost in the ether. Therefore, this is not as detailed as it should be. With constant Metal on Metal during Sword Fighting there is bound to be a lot of Burrs and Gouges.

Bottom Deburred

 

Using the Files I have done my best to Deburr the Sword. Since the Files are much smaller than I was expecting I have had to do this in Smaller Sections.

I started on the Bottom or End of the Sword. This did not have as much damage as further up the Sword. This meant that by Filing the Edges (one Side of the Sword Edge then the other) the Sword Blade was quite easily fixed.

Top Damage

The Top had a few more Burrs and Gouges. I had already had a go at Filing this before I took the photograph. The worst section was the Middle of the Sword. This is because that is usually the area that takes the most force especially when Defending.

I had huge Burrs and Gouges in the Middle Section and could only partially Smooth them out. If I had Filed much further, I would have taken sections out of the Width. Unfortunately, these photographs disappeared.

Top Deburred

I think that I have done a decent job at Deburring this area of the Sword. It has taken longer than expected due to the smallness of the Tools.

However, I am quite happy with how the Tools performed and that is the main thing. The bonus is that with these Tools they will be ideal for smaller projects.

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 65

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 65

Eureka! This is the final blog for this project. It has taken me far longer than I thought due to ill health. I am so happy that now I can move on to other projects.

Press Stud Leaves

I Sewed the Leaves above the Pocket. It took a while to get them placed. I needed to Cover enough of the Rat without messing up the way I had arranged the Leaves to compliment the rest of the Bags Colours.

I have matched up the Press Studs Sewn on the Pocket with the Leaves and Sewn on the other Halves. This was far trickier. I needed to Sew them on firmly but without coming through the other side.

Hidden Rat

As you can see in the above photograph, I managed to avoid Sewing through the Leaves. To make it easier I had used Thread rather than Wool. Since it was underneath, I did not chop and change Colours but used a simple Beige Colour.

Finished Front

Voila! One Autumn Cape Bag Front Side completely Finished.

Finished Back

Here is the Back. I love the little Rat Tail tantalisingly poking out from underneath the Leaves. I took it out yesterday for a test run and it worked beautifully.

It was a very long project but I am very happy with the result.

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 64

Autumn Cape Bag 2022 Part 64

I finally feel like I am getting to see the light at the end of the Tunnel

Sew Pair

Naturally, all the Pins came out of the Leaves so I had to sort them all out again. Starting at one End I began to Sew a Pair of Leaves together. I did this by Partially Overlapping. I then Sewed with Yellow Wool down the Inner Edge of the Yellow Leaf.

All Sewn

As you can imagine it has taken quite a while to Sew All of the leaves together. I kept having to Swap Coloured Wool.

Curled Top

One of the main problems with Stocking Stitch is it tends to Curl. I am going to have to do something with the Top of the Pocket. It not only looks bad but also is slightly obscuring the Rat’s Ears.

Fold and Sew

I have Folded and Sewn the Top with a Backstitch. I am going to go across again with a Tacking Stitch to bring it together more.

Press Stud Pocket

I have a small collection of Press Studs. I selected the best size and Sewed them on to the Pocket. I put three on so as to spread the wear on the Top when Opening.