A fetish leathercrafters journal

Harness Hood

2012-02-09T23:19:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to make something like this project for a while now. It's sort of a cross between a hood and a harness, with wide-open cutouts forming strap-like lines across the face. The opportunity came about after discussions with Karen Hsiao about hood designs where more of the model's face is visible.

I started with a duct-tape wrap:

I used my wooden head form to create the design. I love the look of a strap around the forehead. Also, the harnesses with straps on both sides of the nose are very cool. This kind of combines the two ideas, with a hood as well. I have seen lots of bondage harnesses out there, but they often don't fit very well, especially with a petite model.
Once my wrap is done, and I'm happy with the way it looks, I cut it off and test fit on my model. After a few tweaks, everything looks OK, so I go ahead and use it to create the pattern.
I went with a split-chin on this pattern, to get that front piece to make the contour of the chin. It's a challenge to sew it and flatten it, as the dimensions are so small. But I am considering this design a kind of experiment anyway, so why not?
Ready for sewing:
The trickiest part of this hood is all the topstitching on the front straps. It is highly-visible, and the tolerances are very tight - because I want that stitching very close to the edge.
Front and rear panels complete...
Wow, it looks bad-ass (as my brother would say)...
I'm a little bummed that the strap on top isn't laying flat. But, for a first go at the pattern, overall it's pretty cool.
With some fine-tuning, I think this design has potential...

Red Patent Leather hoods

2012-02-08T00:34:00.000-08:00

Today we're going to make a couple of hoods in red patent leather. I am going to detail a new approach I'm using on the tongue that makes it a bit easier to sew this type of hood together, and reduces the bulk of a one-piece tongue. We start out with a patent pig hide. Patent leather can be from a cow as well, but it's much heavier, and doesn't stretch much - so I prefer to use the pig for patent leather hoods. Also, because these hoods are to be used for photo shoots, it is important that they fit skin-tight. These hoods will almost take on the look of rubber, they are so shiny... they should look fantastic. Here are our pattern pieces, including the new 2-piece tongue, the rear panel (which is the same on both hoods), the open-mouth and open-face front panels. It's kinda' hard to see, but here's the pattern traced out on the back side. And all the parts cut out. The first sewing we'll do is on the front-halves, and the tops of the rear panels. I've loaded up the red thread to keep the stitching tone-on-tone. I wanted to share with you a little tip that has helped me out. Even though my machine can backstitch, I find it hard to control sometimes, especially when sewing on a curved seam because it can be hard to see where you are placing your stitch when sewing towards yourself. So instead, I start my backstitch by flipping the workpiece around first. Like so: Now I can backstitch towards the end of my seam (just 6-8 stitches) with a clear view, and move the workpiece away from me. Once I get to the end of the stitch I swing the workpiece around (180º)... You'll need to lift the presser-foot and use the needle as a pivot.

...and now proceed with the stitching along my outline. If you are wondering why the backstitch is necessary, it traps the thread to keep it from unraveling. Even with a reverse-feed, I find this method sometimes makes getting perfect alignment easier. When I get to the end of the line, I do the same thing: flip the workpiece 180º, and "backstitch" going forward. I have been using this one trick a lot lately. Now our fronts and top rear seams are sewn, it's time to clip out the seam allowance and glue and fold those seams flat. Remember, you just snip little V-shaped pieces for outer curves, and straight line snips for inside curves. I end up doing lots of cuts at the mouth to ensure a smooth shape for the mouth opening. Once the snips are cut, apply glue and wait for it to set up. Also, time to glue the tops of the rear panels, along with the edge along what will become the rear opening. On the open-face hood, the opening seam is glued and folded down. Same for the mouth-only hood. It can be tricky to deal with this relatively thin leather. It wants to curl up, and generally misbehave. Once the rear seams are folded over we can topstitch along the edge. The open mouth and open-face edges and front-seams can all be topstitched as well. Our next step is to set the tongue in the back panel. I am starting to like this new 2-piece tongue instead of a larger one-piece that I used to use. This is easier to sew, allows for the hood to open wider, and uses less material, and therefore creates less bulk at the rear of the hood. The mini-tongue keeps the hair from being pulled through the lacing holes, and the larger tongue covers the rest of the rear opening when the hood is laced on. The first step is to set the mini-tongue in place. You can see the shape has been contoured to fit the rear panel precisely. I use a couple of pieces of tape to secure it. Next, the larger main tongue, which is shaped with a notch at the top. The idea is to have the notch align with the center-seam. This shape is also contoured to follow the edge of the rear of the hood. Both pieces have enough overlap to make room for the lacing grommets between the edge of the stitching and the rear opening. With the second tongue taped down, we're ready to sew. Into the machine for a careful topstitch - following along the first row of stitching, but leaving room for the grommets to come later - right around a half an inch.
And there we have it, topstitch complete. Now we can remove the tape, and trim the excess leather from the seam we just completed. Now we're ready to join the front and rear halves together. Align them on the center seam at the top of the hood... ...and use binder-clips to hold the pieces together for sewing. Back to the sewing machine for stitching. Looking good... Next up, time to trim the seam allowances as before,

then glue... and fold-down the side seams. This is where the ability to open that rear panel wide comes in handy. It makes the topstitching of the side seams much easier, as the hood can be laid flat on the flatbed machine for stitching. Now that is done... At this stage, we're ready to close off the bottom edge. Because leather can stretch as you are sewing it, you may have to fine-tune the pattern line along the bottom edge so your pieces line up correctly, and you have a symmetrical, even finished result. I just draw a new line if necessary, and trim the new seam allowance making sure everything is even. Then, it's just glue & fold, and we're ready to sew. This leather is so thin, I am sewing very close to the edge and using a finer stitch length than I would with a heavier leather. Now with out bottom seams closed up, we're done with the sewing. Only the grommets are left. I mark out the position with a sharpie and the tape measure. These were spaced 1.125" apart. Punch the holes... ...and set the grommets. Our 2 hoods are complete! I lace them each on to the hood form overnight, just to break them in a bit, and help them take on the contour of the head. These are going to the artist Karen Hsiao to work with, so I'm looking forward to seeing what she does with them... She has been shooting this past week with these hoods and several other pieces I made for her. If possible, I hope to share images when they are available. For those of you that are interested, I will be posting the patterns for the new 2-piece tongue and the open-faced hood variation shortly, so stay tuned... And thanks for visiting!

Tan leather hoods

2012-01-31T23:39:00.000-08:00

I'm still busy working on some new pieces for Karen Hsiao, the super-talented artist and photographer I am current collaborating with.

The latest project for her is a pair of light tan colored hoods - one mouth-only, and one open-face. The color of the leather takes on an almost flesh-tone appearance if the lighting is right. My wife said "creepy" when she saw it... I think that was the desired effect! I love working with the lamb leather, as it is perfect for hoods: soft and stretchy, so it will conform to the wearer's face. The photos don't do this one justice - it's one sexy hood.
I have fine-tuned the pattern so that it completely matches the hood last I have carved. This makes a couple of production techniques easier, which I plan to share with you on an upcoming post.
I also have been experimenting with a different method for the tongue and lacing panel in the rear of the hood. My previous pattern had a one-piece tongue that was sewn all around. The problem was, to make the opening large enough to get your head in, the tongue had to be quite large. And large could mean bulky.

This new approach uses more of a half-tongue, which reduces the bulk. It also allows me to open the hood wide to topstitch the side seams, even after the back and front panels are sewn together. I use a mini-tongue on the other side to prevent hair from being pulled through the grommet holes as they laces are drawn tight. Don't worry, I'll explain it more clearly later!
I'll post new patterns, too.
For now, I'm off to bed...

Miu Miu inspired Sleepsack in black vinyl

2012-01-24T18:10:00.000-08:00

The inspiration for this project is a pair of boots from Prada's Miu-Miu line from a few years ago - they were something I came across on eBay, at a price I couldn't pass up. They were stunning, black patent, lined in white leather. What can I say, it's a weakness. Plus, as I always say: "My wife can never have too many pairs of boots."

The contrasting white stitching against the black patent leather just pops - so graphic and bold.
Since I saw them I have wanted to make a sleepsack with the same contrasting topstitching.

Normally I work only in leather, but for this project I'm experimenting with a vinyl I found at Michael Levine's in downtown LA's garment district. They have a couple of stores, one for garment fabric, and one with upholstery fabric and findings across the street. This vinyl was about $15 per linear yard - so it's much cheaper than leather.

Usually the stock upholstery vinyl is just so-so, but this stuff was incredibly shiny and glossy - it looks like well-polished, shiny rubber. It's very sexy.
Most upholstery vinyls are too stiff as well, but this stuff was so stretchy and pliable - but not too thin. I just had to try it out.
It's sort of a prototype/experiment at this point. I am able to use my new hood last to stretch and shape the vinyl. I recently found out that some vinyls take to heat-forming - so that's something else I am looking into playing with. The problems are: it's not breathable at all (as leather would be). It doesn't take to glue, so making the seam allowances behave is a problem. I'm also not sure how durable it will be.
This is going to be a complete enclosure sleepsack - no access holes anywhere. Just a sleek, shiny frustrating enclosure. At the very least, this thing is going to look great in photos.

In progress...
More to come...

Making a sleepsack pattern from a duct-tape wrap

2012-01-24T00:51:00.000-08:00

I have a current client that was able to provide me with a duct-tape wrap to use as a pattern for making his sleepsack. I was glad to work with this, as there are so many unique body shapes out there - this is one way to get hundreds of measurements without actually having to take hundreds of measurements...

Of course, not all wraps are created equal, and ideally I would be able to make the wrap myself, but in this case I felt it could still be of some use. It was of stiff tape (there are different kinds of duct-tape out there, and I think the cheaper, thinner tape can sometimes make a more close-fitting wrap). Also, it was only one layer over cling-wrap in most areas - enough to hold it together, but not exactly smooth-contoured, as you would get with 2 or three layers. Still, there was lots of great information contained within the wrap, so I was happy to have it.
My first step is to straighten and even out the wrap as much as possible, taping the shape closed. I then mark lines corresponding to the shapes of my master pattern. Basically, I look for the centerline from both the front and sides - so the 4 pieces are roughly equal in dimension. Next, I cut out the shoulders, again referring to my master pattern for guidance on the shape. Usually I will take the first one cut out, and use it as a rough guide for the second shoulder.
On a clean sheet of butcher paper, I have traced the master pattern in pencil first. Then I lay the duct-tape cutout shapes on top and trace the outlines - first one side, then the other.
I usually use the neck opening as the starting point - it helps to have a common reference point between the three shapes.
Here you can see the black pencil, showing the master pattern, and the green and orange outlines for the duct-tape pattern. I knew the height of my client was a couple inches taller than the master pattern, so I was glad to see this came through in his wrap.

The same idea for the shoulder. I know the overall shape of my master pattern will work, it is just a matter of integrating the size differences without compromising the shape.

Now all the pattern pieces have been re-drawn with the new sizes, and the shapes are cut out. Here we have the hood, shoulder, foot pocket bottom and side...
...and the large panels for the front and rear of the sleepsack.
At this stage, I want to proof the pattern before making the final in leather. It's better to catch any mistakes or problems in the pattern now, as it will be a much more expensive proposition later.

I just finished reading a great book on custom shoemaking, and was suprised to find that they make test-fit shoes as well - to proof both the last and the pattern. Our test will be in vinyl, and should give us a good idea of the overall fit.
Here we have all the pieces cut out, and ready for sewing.
A few hours later, and we have the prototype ready to send off to the client. Since I have already covered the process of making a sleepsack on this blog, I won't go into all the details again here.
It is a lot of work to go through just for a prototype, but it will be worth it to know that the pattern is good, and that the leather final version will fit like a glove.

Until next time, take care...

Butterfly SJ Hogtie on Captive Kink...

2012-01-23T23:42:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this really nice set of images by Captive Kink of a lovely young lady in a beautiful butterfly straitjacket. Not one that I made, but it looks very well-done. The link to the full set of images is here. There is even a video of her wiggling around in this hogtie position, with her hood chained to her legs - the poor thing. She's not going anywhere!

Karen Hsiao - F-suit beauty

2012-01-19T01:08:00.000-08:00

Another cool shot courtesy of Karen Hsiao, this time of a beautiful Asian model wearing the f-suit squatting on that incredible chair. I'm so loving this series... just stunning!

Ballet boot last - done for now...

2012-01-19T00:47:00.000-08:00

I wrapped up the lasts for the ballet boot project I was working on, and wanted to share a couple of pictures of the final steps. Actually, I have more to do on these to fine-tune the fit, but I have to set these aside for now, as I have other projects pending.

I ended up taking the left foot shape almost to completion, and then I had to play catch-up with the right. As I got closer to being finished, the final shaping around the instep and heel really made the last look like a foot. I wanted a tight, anatomically correct fit, but also didn't want the final shape to be too literal - I still want a sleek, stylized form as well.

You can see by the image below how much wood had to be removed to get the final shape.
From the front, the last took on an even straighter shape.
Below are images of the final form (for now, at least)...
I am really looking forward to making a pair of boots from these, but it will have to wait for now.
Stay tuned for more...
Until next time...

Karen Hsiao - open face and puffy hood pix

2012-01-12T22:45:00.000-08:00

I have some more great images to share taken by Karen Hsiao - an incredible artist and photographer I am currently working with. She was kind enough to allow me to post these photos here, for which I am most grateful - thank you Karen!
If you follow my blog you'll recognize the recently completed puffy-hood project in use by the model. This hood is made of a soft lamb leather, and is fully lined with a layer of foam in between.

I love the way these pictures capture the altered mood a hood can create for the person wearing it. It can be quiet in there closed off from the outside world, a calming and almost meditative experience at times. Of course, it can be erotic, stimulating and sensual as well. I love the way the pony tail is pulled out at the top of the hood.
Until next time...

How to make a Locking Posture Collar

2012-01-06T00:23:00.000-08:00

This is a fun and relatively easy project that doesn't even require a sewing machine if you don't have one - it can be hand-stitched.

I came up with the original pattern for this posture collar a number of years ago, and I really love it. The posture collars on the market at the time didn't fit very well, so this was my attempt to make one that fits better. I like this one because it does fit extremely well, and it is nice and tall and restrictive. You could always modify the pattern to make it shorter, or to fit a larger neck.

We start with the pattern, which is available here as a PDF. Please ignore the writing on my pattern in the photo below - the collar is actually 3.5 inches tall in front (not 2-1/2").
Unlike most of my projects, which are made of garment leather, this one is going to be made out of what is called vegetable-tanned leather. It is stiffer, heavier, and used for making belts, holsters, and basically anything that you want to be tough, strong, and to last forever. This hide is a 7-8 oz weight, and I ordered it from the Hide House in Nappa Valley, CA.
Because I'm not too worried about leaving marks on the edge (as it will be rounded off later), I just use a ball-point pen to trace out the pattern on the leather.
Next, I use my straight-edge knife to rough-cut out the workpiece. This blade is by Osbourne tools, and can be easily resharpened. Leather, especially this heavy-weight veg-tanned stuff is very abrasive, and will dull your blade quickly. It is way too heavy and tough for the scalpel or scissors I usually use.
Rough cut complete...
Next up, time to pull out the x-acto. You should use a fresh blade, as ideally you will cut through the entire thickness in one stroke. You can pull the knife more than once through the cut, but will need to keep the angle you are holding the blade as consistent as possible so you have a nice, clean, square edge. This can be extra hard to do on the curves, so a sharp blade is vital.
Now we're done with the finish cut stage. You can breathe again.
Next up, is the edge-beveller tool. This will round off the cut edge, and you will want to use it on both sides all the way around the piece.
Here's a closeup. See the cutting edge between the two guide posts? It forms a little channel to limit your cut, keeping it consistent all the way around. It's almost too easy.
Action shot!
And, here's how we look after that:
Normally, to finish a raw edge like this, you would now "slick" it using a burnisher and something like gum traganth. This smooths and polishes the leather fibers along the edge. But, initially I was planning on putting a rolled edge on this piece - so I didn't go through with that sort of edge treatment.

Next up, time for the patent leather that will go on the outside of the collar.
Because of the thickness of these 2 pieces of leather, you have to make sure your outer layer is longer than the inner layer - as it will take more room to cover the inner piece once you start to from the curve. Think about a racetrack: the outer car has further to go than the car on the inside lane. Same principal applies here.
Once I have my outer piece cut, they both get glued up.
At this point you can see the two pieces stuck together, and they are taking on the curved form.
If you glued them together flat, you would never get them to take on the shape of the curve. Once you have them curled and glued, they will have no chance of laying flat.
Once the glue has set up, I trim the outer patent to match up with the inner veg-tanned leather carefully with the x-acto knife. It's a tricky cut, as you don't want to cut into the veg-tanned leather if you can help it. Also, you need to cleanly cut the patent, as any mistakes will show in the final piece. There's no "undo" button.
This is the part where I go for the sewing machine. The cylinder bed is perfect for this curved collar shape, but if you don't have a sewing machine, you could always punch holes along the edge and hand stitch the two pieces together.
Stitching complete...
Now it's time for the hardware. I was looking around forever before I located a source for the little locking hasps I'm using on this project. I couldn't find them anywhere, partly because I had no idea what they were called which makes it difficult to do a google search. Well finally I discovered a place that has all kinds of hardware for leather craft - and not the usual tandy-type country/western conchos and stuff. More modern, chrome (and even some S&M style) hardware too. It's called Ohio Travel Bag and the part is a 1-1/8 inch welded chrome staple plate! I can't explain to you how happy I was to find that stupid part... STAPLE PLATE, STAPLE PLATE!

Anyway, first we need to mark a position for the staple plate to be attached, and because marks won't show up on the black patent leather very well, I use masking tape as a temporary surface.

Once the tape is down with the center marks, I can position the staple plate and mark the hole position.
Next, I punch out the holes and check for alignment. Looking good!
I am going to attach the staple plate with another new piece of equipment, this time from Weaver Leather. They have a little-wonder benchtop riveter that does a great job on projects like this. It's a bit snug because the holes are so close to the staple, but I just manage to set the rivet without a problem.
The trick with the rivets is selecting the right length. You need to be about 1\16" longer that the material you are setting through so there is enough room for the rivet to deform inside the cap. This "deformation" is what holds the cap in place.
All four rivets set:
And here's the view from the back side, with the rivet caps.
Next, it's time to cut the slots for the other side of the collar. I use the tape method again, so I can see the placement marks for the slot cutter.
I use the pattern with holed punched at either end of the desired slot position to make the guide marks.

Using those marks as a guide, I use the slot cutter to make the holes. I think I used the 7/8-inch slot cutter, which created a nice, snug-fitting slot for the staple to fit through. It fits like a charm!
That completes our posture collar project. Initially I thought of doing a rolled-edge at the top and bottom of this collar, but I really liked the look of it without. It's very sleek and clean with the black patent on the outside, and the contrasting fleshy-tan inside was just cool looking.
I decided to stop while I was ahead, and am happy I did. This collar will provide many years of play-time fun.
Until next time, take care...

Bondage hood and posture collar patterns

2012-01-05T23:52:00.000-08:00

In response to numerous requests, I have posted some new PDFs of a few of my project patterns on a Google Docs site. These are available for you to download and use to make your own projects. I am starting with a male and female bondage hood, as well as a tall posture collar. You will need Acrobat reader to view and print the PDF (available for free) and you'll probably need to tile these out and tape them together to fit the entire pattern (unless you have really large printer).

Be sure to check the printing options to make sure you are outputting these at 100%, otherwise the sizing might be off. I think the default setting on Acrobat is a "reduce-to-fit", which can result in the wrong size printout. You can double-check the size by measuring the scale I included on each pattern - in both inches and millimeters.

The 3.5 inch posture collar pattern is here. I will take you through the production of this piece in a future post.

The male version of the bondage hood is here. This pattern is being posted for the first time. The shape of the pattern is similar to the female hood, only bigger. You should make adjustments as needed to make the pattern fit your size. Also, I always recommend using a cheap material to test the size of your pattern before you commit to making the final in leather.

And just to keep things all in one place, the female bondage hood pattern is reposted here.
Best of luck, and an armbinder pattern is in the works... Now, don't say I have never given you anything!

Karen Hsiao - Butterfly girls

2012-01-05T00:31:00.000-08:00

I am proud to present another set of images by Karen Hsiao, a talented photographer and artist I have been working with lately. I have made some pieces just for her to shoot, and am working on some new (and unusual) items for her to photograph as well.

You will not see these images anywhere but here, as Karen has allowed me to post these exclusively - at least for now! I really love these images, the mood and models remind me of Audrey Kawasaki, kind of innocent, sweet and sexy all at the same time.

Ballet boot last - tips & tricks

2012-01-03T01:08:00.000-08:00

Still in progress in the workshop is my latest obsession: making a boot last for a pair of custom-fit ballet-style boots. These are also sometimes known as toe-boots. I neglected to show a sketch before, so you can see where all this insanity is heading - please see above if you are interested. These won't be made for walking, but are more for bondage or bedroom playtime. I love the idea of clothing or shoes that restrict or change the way you move, and these definitely riff on that idea. I also wanted to make a boot where the heel is shaped like a loop, that can be used as a tie-down or a kind of handle.

Here are the lasts in their current state, one a little further along than the other:
This post will share a couple of tips that I think would have helped me had I known them before I started. I don't know how many people out there might be interested in this sort of thing, but you never know... I have searched all over for this kind of information, so there just might be someone else out there who is crazy enough to give this kind of project a shot.

First up, I'm using a measurement device to make the diameter of both lasts the same at certain points along their length. This is based on the "story stick" idea from woodworking, where you transfer measurements on a stick rather than making a series of measurements and trying to remember them all.
I use a piece of card stock with marks indicating places where I took measurements of the diameter of the wrap I made of my model's leg. That is my target size, or the measurement I want to match with the last.

Next I place the "story stick" card on the last and transfer the marks so I know where to measure.
At the top of the card near the mark, I have indicated the size diameter I am working towards. The numbers on the bottom show the current measurement. As I remove material, I can get an idea of how far I have to go, and how much material still needs to be taken away. I cross out the old measurements, and know the most recent one is at the top of the list. There are 2 columns, one for the left last and one for the right.
One thing I found helpful is to have a flat area to securely clamp the last while I'm working on it with the rasps and sand paper. The foot naturally lends itself to being clamped, at least at this stage. I worked on the rounded part of the leg and calf first, and will work on the foot near the end.
To secure the workpiece, it helps to have additional clamps holding wood blocks against the last. Because I am working on all sides, it helps to have these easily re-positionable. The more contoured the shape, the harder it is to clamp it down properly, so it gets more difficult as you go along.
To help stabilize the workpiece further, I created a couple of curved-cutout holders which could be positioned under the curved parts of the last to hold it in place. These helped a lot.
It also helped to have a little flat spot at the back of the heel to provide a stable point to clamp when working on the front of the last.
The tape-wrap I made really comes in handy to refer to along the way.

I can take measurements from it, and get a sense of the contour I am trying to create. Here for the bottom of the foot, for example it really helps.

I also recently purchased a digital caliper which makes precise measurements a breeze. I can measure the wrap at different locations and compare those with the current state of the last to see how far I still have to go to.

Finally, although I am not there yet on the form of the foot, I can check the overall shape by wrapping the wood form in plastic wrap and duct tape.
I wrap it pretty tight and use a couple of layers, then cut the wrap off of the form to test on my model.
I'm happy to say it is getting close, the shape is good, and according to the test there are no major problems. Just a few more hours of shaping to go...
Of course, shaping the foot will be the hardest part. Then I get to do it again for the other foot. I always like to leave the best for last. (Not really!)

Until next time...

Karen Hsiao - Hooded Beauties

2012-01-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

I just received the first set of images from Karen Hsiao from her recent photo shoot using some leather gear I made. I contacted her a while ago when I came across her images on the web because I was completely enchanted by her work. I so loved the look of her photographs and artwork that I really wanted to collaborate with her, in any way possible. Some kind of project, anything, let me make some things for you, I told her. She was just bursting with creativity, and was also completely kind, intelligent and fun to boot. It was great to meet her.

Now, I have a certain ardent passion for beautiful Asian women, and of course a bit of a thing for leather gear, bondage and hoods as you might have guessed from this blog. Put the gear and girls together and you have the makings of some seriously powerful images to me - the photographs Karen has taken could have easily originated somewhere in my subconscious or in my deepest-kept dreams, but in this case the dream is made real. I find them just incredible. I just can't stop looking at them...

I love the soft, sensual feel she captures in these shots. For me, bondage is about trust, vulnerability, surrender. There is so much bondage imagery that doesn't click for me, with the whip-cracking domina towering over her cowering slave. Not that there's anything wrong with that if you like it, but I'm more into the playful, the sensual. The sadistic and painful? Not so much...

Plus, I really love hoods. To be hooded is to give up your sense of sight and sound, and this creates a focus on the 3 senses you have left: smell, taste and touch. These become amplified, more intense. It's a way to tweak your sensory system without drugs or alcohol. These open-mouth hood focus all the attention on the lips, both for the wearer and the viewer. The mouth is already one of the most sensual organs of the body. Can you look at those lips below, and not think of kissing or being kissed in a hood? Or fed a strawberry...

Some people think that hoods are about de-humanizing or de-personalizing someone, but that's just not what it's about for me at all. It is more about the sensory journey, the altered mindset a hood puts the wearer in. It lets some people relax and let go. It's not about hiding someone's face. I love the fact that inside those hoods are two very pretty girls.

It's almost dreamlike to have the things I made a few weeks ago come back to me in the form of images like these. I am just humbled and greatful for the opportunity. Thanks so much Karen, for allowing me to post and share the images. Your work is just awesome!

I am not sure if she will be making prints of this work available, but if you are interested, I would suggest you contact her directly. Karen Hsiao's website is here and her blog is here. If you want to see more of her work, please check it out!

Wishing a Happy New Year to you all...

Ballet boots - from scratch

2011-12-27T23:18:00.000-08:00

I recently started on a project I have wanted to do for a long time: a pair of custom-fit ballet boots. They're based loosely on a drawing I did a long time ago of a pair of boots that had a sort of closed-ring shape for the heel. Not anything you could walk in, but more of a kind of restraint. Bondage boots!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am pretty obsessed with boots in general: how they are made, the fact that they are a combination of design, engineering and art all in one. These have been kicking around in my subconscious long enough, it was time to make them real.

There are a lot of technical challenges to making a boot or shoe. Not the least of which is creating the "last" or form on which the boot is built. I am carving mine out of wood, but starting with a wrap of my model's foot and lower leg. This gives me a set of dimensions to work from when carving the last.

Here's the wrap:
I've indicated some measurement lines with a marker on the wrap, along with a rough indication of the sole shape on the bottom of the foot.
Using the wrap as a guide I came up with a couple of shapes to cut out of my wood blocks. I first needed a side profile, which I traced onto the block.
These shapes were cut out on the bandsaw.
Next, I sketch a contour of the front elevation to cut out.
I used tracing paper to transfer the lines from the first block to the second.
At this stage, I want to remove as much wood as possible with the bandsaw. All the rest of the shaping will be done by hand, which is a lot of work.
At this point, I think they look pretty good. I left the form a bit large, as I don't want to remove too much wood too soon. But I'm a little worried they will take a long time to carve down to size...
You can see by the shape of the wrap lying beside the two blocks, there is a lot of material left to remove!
At this stage you can see the last taking shape. The front one has been worked over a bit with the rasps, chisels and sandpaper to take on a more rounded shape.
And here they are in their current state, the left a little further along than the right. I am doing a matched pair, as although it is twice the work, it's important to me to get the differences between the left and right shape.
This is the first time I have tried to do this sort of thing, so bear with me if things don't turn out so great. I figure the best way to figure things out is sometimes to just go for it, and work out the problems along the way.
I'm thinking only about 12 to 14 more hours of carving to go...

Until next time, happy holidays!

Long bondage mittens - so pretty!

2011-12-16T19:20:00.000-08:00

Here are a few nice shots I just took of the long bondage mittens - a recent project. They came out so nice, it really makes me want to do more things in lamb leather.

It is very different from the cow hide, thinner, softer and more supple. Of course, it's not as strong. And it's a little more challenging to sew, because it's so delicate.
But for something like these mittens, it's perfect. And for hoods, it would be great as well. Soft, sensual, feminine and shiny. What's not to love?

How to Make Extra Long Bondage Mittens

2011-12-16T00:41:00.000-08:00

Working on these items for Karen Hsiao has given me an excuse to make several things I have wanted to produce for a while now. One of those things is a nice, tight-fitting pair of extra-long bondage mittens. My wife has particularly small wrists, so I have wanted to make a pair to fit her skin-tight all the way up the arm.

Because of the small wrist, you need to have some kind of opening for the hand to pass through. On old opera gloves, it was usually an opening with 3 buttons, but I am going to use a zipper for this project. I am making them out of a really gorgeous lamb leather from the Hide House in Nappa California.

Working with lamb can be kind of tricky, as it is very soft and stretchy. You have to use a lighter-weight needle than you would for cow hide, and it can be almost like working with tissue paper because it is so thin. But for a project like this, the stretch and sheen are going to make beautiful mittens.

I'm starting out with a pattern based on a previously-made mitten. But I've tapered in at the wrist a bit more, extended the length, and indicated placement of the zipper. The zip is starting just at the point at the forearm where the mitten will be too narrow to get the hand through, and ending in the palm of the hand.

I punch holes in the pattern to indicate the start and end points for the zipper.
Here I have all 4 main pieces cut out. The pattern is flopped for each side, as the halves are not symmetrical. You can see the hand is wider on the thumb side.
I also cut out 4 strips that will form the "lips" of the zipper opening. I don't know what you are supposed to call those things.
Since these will be one of the first things sewn-in, it's time to glue them up.
While the glue dries, I'll punch out the start and endpoints for the zipper.
Once the holes are punched, I carefully trim out between them with the x-acto knife. Go slow, use a fresh, sharp blade and a steel ruler to guide your cut.
Now our glued-up strips should be ready to fold in half. See, this is one of the things that makes lamb tricky - notice the strips want to curl up. A heavier leather would probably just lay flat, but the lamb has a mind of it's own. You have to put it in it's place.
We want to position those strips so they are centered on the openings we just cut.
Because that lamb has a tendency to curl, I use quite a bit of tape to secure it.
I am going to try and sew the zipper in at the same time as the lips, so I'm using double-sided tape to hold the zipper in position. I usually flip back and forth a bunch of times to check and recheck the position of the elements. Take your time here, as once it's sewn, it's sewn. There's no going back afterwards.
Here's the zip and lip in place:
You'll find with projects like these that you spend most of the time on the details - like this zipper. Sewing the actual mitten goes rather quickly, but the zipper takes forever!
Now we have the zipper sewn in, so we can remove all that tape, cut the zipper to size and singe the ends with a flame. Next, I want to put in a tongue, so the zipper won't press against the skin.
You want to make sure the tongue extends beyond the end of the zipper on both sides.
Held in place with a little tape, I stitch along side the previous row of stitches.
There we go. Now we have a nice, pretty tongue inside our zippered mittens.
Next, we trim the excess tongue to follow the contour of the mitten.
Finally, we're ready to sew the outside seam. This is pretty straightforward: just clip and sew.
And, stitching complete!
Now it's time to cut the little notches so we can glue down the seam allowance. Slits for inside curves, and little V-shaped notches for outside. Remember to not cut too close to the seam. Leave about 1/8 inch between your allowance cuts and your stitching.
Now it's time to glue up...
...both sides.
And press those seams flat. It is a pain to turn the mitten inside-out as the wrist is so small - this is about as small as you can go and still make it through. It is also a pain to turn down that edge because my hands are way too big to fit inside!

The last thing to do is glue down the seam at the top of the mitten. Taking a cue from some unlined vintage gloves I have seen, I won't bother topstitching that top seam. It looks great, and will stretch more over time that way.
That completes our bondage-mitten project. I am happy with them, and can't wait to see them on.
This is the kind of garment that will just get better-looking once it's worn a few times and broken in.
Until next time... thanks for visiting.

Red Butterfly Straitjacket beauty shots

2011-12-13T23:17:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a couple of pretty pictures of this recently-completed project. I can't wait to see what Karen Hsiao will do with it!
I want to make another version of this jacket, with open-breasts next time.
And I have wanted to make one of these with an attached hood for a long time. I can see it, can't you?

Making a Butterfly Straitjacket in Red Leather

2011-12-13T22:03:00.000-08:00

I have been busy as hell lately working on a few pieces for an artist named Karen Hsiao. Check out her website here. Or her blog here. She also does cute paintings as Miso, which can be found here. I first saw her photography and contacted her about working together, and she was interested. I was so excited, as I really love her stuff.

So we started discussing ideas and concepts for future collaborations. But I wanted to make some more basic things for her to shoot right away, including a butterfly straitjacket in red leather. I had this great hide, rich and dark, which I thought would be perfect for her to shoot.

Also, this was the first project on which I was able to use my new cylinder-bed sewing machine. Woo-hoo!

So we start off with all the pattern pieces cut out:

I mark the fronts of the arm-pocket sides.

Also, I mark the front and back panels for the arm pockets.
These get clipped together for sewing.
I also clip up the body pieces, front to back at the top and sides.
Those get sewn together.

Now I clip the back panels to the sides on the arm pockets, and those are sewn.
Now it's time for our first glue operation. But first I clip into the seam allowance to reduce bulk where the allowance lays flat.
On the front and back arm pocket panels, darts are snipped in so the seam allowance lays flat.
The sharper the curve, the wider the little "V" you cut out should be.
But, never cut all the way to the seam itself. You don't want to weaken the seam. I usually stop at least 1/8-inch short.
Once the little cuts have been made, time to glue the seams down. I used my little drying rig so I could have all the seams coated with glue at one time.
Same idea with the body: both sides can be glued and drying at once.
Once the glue is ready, the seams are pressed flat, and pounded gently with the mallet.

At the ends of the glued-down seam allowances, we have these little tails.

Remember, in order to not create a gap you can see through, trim only one side of the tail:
Then flip the other tail over:
This reduces the bulk at the seam, but won't create a gap at the intersection of the panels. Next, I clip the arm pocket in place inside the body.
Make sure you have the side you want facing out oriented correctly. It's easy to get mixed up at this stage.
Now, onto the cylinder-bed machine to attach the arm pocket. Here is where this machine excels. See how the arm-hole just slides over the cylinder arm?
Easy, peasy!
Have you ever wanted to kiss a machine? I have.
Here's the stitch after the fact. Now we have the arms in place.
Next, we'll join the 2 halves together at the front seam.
Once sewn, those seams all get the glue-and-flatten treatment.
The trickiest part of this is getting the glue neatly onto the inside seam.

Once those seams are glued down, here is the result:
Nice connection at the arm pocket.
That front seam looks great as well.

Next, it's time to attach the collar. Align on the center mark.
Use copious numbers of clips to hold it in place, and sew.
Since it's so cold in the workshop, I have to rig a hair-dryer to warm the glue.
At this point I want to glue down all the open seams at the collar and down the back of the jacket.
Only the collar and lower hem don't get glued, as they will both have a rolled-edge finish.

At this point I trim the collar to make sure the left and right heights match.
Then these little collar tabs are glued and folded down.
Now we move to the lower edge of the jacket. I cut a strip to create the rolled edge. The strip is clipped in place, good-side against good-side, aligned with the bottom, and sewn about 1/8-inch from the edge.
There should be a little overlap on either side when you are done.
You will need that little extra to create a tab to tuck in.
First, clip out leather from the stitch line to the edge of the jacket. Leave a little tab the size of your rolled edge.
The rolled edge folds down.
The little tab gets tucked around.
See him hiding on the other side?
Finally, the rolled edge comes up the backside, and traps the little tab in place.
Let's do that again, but with glue this time...
Here we are all glued up:
And fold, tuck and roll - voila! A rolled-edge seam.
Now you just topstitch to keep it all in place.
All done now, except for the collar.
This is the same treatment as the bottom edge. Clip the strip with a bit of overlap.
Sew along the edge of the seam.
Trim the tabs, glue, fold, tuck and roll.
Pretty as a picture.
Now that is starting to look like a jacket.
Now, time for some closure. In this case, a YKK Separating Zipper. I like to use masking tape to hold the zip in place during sewing.

Once the first side is sewn, I use tape to hold the other side so it is aligned perfectly.
Once I'm happy with the position, the zipper can be opened for sewing.
Here's with the 2nd side of the zipper sewn in.
Finally, last but not least, it's time for the tongue. I cut a strip about 19 inches long and about 2-1/2 inches wide.
This also gets the "tape in place" with the old masking tape.
And then the tongue is top-stitched into position.
And now we are done! Strip away the tape, trim a few loose threads, this one is complete.
The leather is just so pretty on this one. I am really happy with the way it turned out.
Until next time...

Long gloves co-star

2011-12-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I caught an old movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant on Netflix called Charade. It wasn't bad, kind of a mystery/comedy/romance sort of vibe straight from the 1950s - even though it was made in 1963.

One thing that stood out to me was all the long leather gloves Audrey Hepburn wore throughout the movie. They were just beautiful, tight-fitting. And really long!

I would recommend a watch if you are a fan of long gloves. Hopefully Netflix will upload a cleaner version of the movie in the future, as the sound and image on the one they stream is pretty darn crappy. But, even so, the gloves still shine!

Drool-inducing leather and chrome boot

2011-12-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

It is really a great time to be alive as a person with a thing for boots. There is so much creativity in the field of shoe and boot design right now, and I think the web makes available to a wide audience some styles that would otherwise never be seen. And the fact that thigh-high boots are this close to being acceptable as every-day footwear - it's more than this ardent boot-lover such as myself could ever have hoped for!

I came across this image on a shoe-fixated blog, and they stopped me in my tracks:
I just love everything about these, the color, that supertight fit (look how close it fits at the ankle!), and the shiny chrome element contrasting with the leather. Just pure boot artistry. I'm not sure if these were just a production sample, a runway only design or what. But could you imagine seeing these walking down the street? This is my fantasy of what 21st century footwear should be. If only we could be so lucky!

The original blog site where I found the link is here: urbansocialite.com and the direct link to Andrew Magtenyi's site: andrewmajtenyi.com. I definitely hope to see more from this designer in the future.

It's finally here!!

2011-12-13T18:07:00.000-08:00

For all you gear-heads and tool-queens out there, I'm posting some images of my newest toy/machine! It finally arrived, after what seems like an interminable wait. I have seriously been waiting over 6 months to get my hands on one of these. They kept selling out completely and didn't have any available. According to the vendor, they were bumped off the cargo boat twice by the likes of Wall-Mart. Next, they were delayed by bad weather. Then, the boat the shipment was on was selected to be inspected, which caused yet another delay. I was starting to feel like this thing was never going to get here, that I was somehow cursed, but finally here it is.

What is it you ask? Well, let me tell you: it's a sewing machine. "But Chris", you say, "you already HAVE a sewing machine!" But not one like this... It's a SPECIAL sewing machine. It lets you do special things. Like sew wings onto angels? No, but almost. Well, possibly. Anyway, it's called a "cylinder-bed" sewing machine. Here she is: Ta da!!!!

Worth the wait, don't you think? My preeecious. See how there's a post sticking out from the right side of the machine? As opposed to a regular (also known as a flat-bed) sewing machine, this post or cylinder allows you to get into small areas and enclosed shapes, and stitch to your heart's content. The bobbin lives in a little case at the far end of the post. It's perfect for stitching closed-end shapes. So sleeves for straitjackets, look out. You are no match for this beast. Same goes for arm-pockets and leg-pockets for butterfly straitjackets and f-suits. Mu-hu ha ha haaa!

See how the arm hangs over the edge of the table, so you can maneuver your workpiece any which way without obstruction? This beauty can also stitch quite thick leather and thread. So I can do collars, cuffs and harnesses on it as well.

These are things I COULD stitch before, maybe - but it was a pain in the ass. And now, I can do things that were pretty much impossible before. Like topstitching an arm-pocket connection, or doing that cool puffy hood I just blogged about. Here's the machine stitching the arm pocket to the body on a butterfly straitjacket:
I could do this stitch before, but it was much harder to accomplish. I had to pull the pieces to get the to lay flat, and the potential problem is that it would pull the 2 pieces (which are held by just the clips) out of alignment. Now, the stitching can be done in a more natural position, with less stress on the parts, and that equates to smoother stitching, straighter lines, and perfect alignment between the parts.

Why do I do this? Because I care. Because I am trying to make the best pieces of custom bondage gear that I possibly can. Because I am obsessed, and this will help me get closer the the never-quite-reached goal of perfection.

Thank you for your support.

The Puffy Leather Hood

2011-12-12T02:53:00.000-08:00

This has been one hood I have wanted to make for a while now, but haven't been able to until I got a particular machine - namely a cylinder-bed sewing machine. This is the one sewing machine I have been waiting for, and whining for, for almost a year now, and it finally came in last week!! I put it to use right away making some items for an artist named Karen Hsiao - including this double-layer puffy hood.

This is one of those things that I needed both the cylinder-bed machine, so I could sew inside the closed shape of the hood to create the quilted lines after the main seams of the hood were sewn shut, and the hood last - so I could stretch the 2 layers of soft lambskin leather, along with the foam inner layer, over the form - to take the shape of the head.
This hood is basically 2 hoods, one nested inside the other. At the mouth and rear, they meet, but in all other aspects the outer hood is larger than the inner.
Here are some views of the interior stitching. That cylinder-arm allows me to get inside that enclosed shape in a way that is just impossible with the flat-bed machine.
I love the way this looks on the inside. I could see doing something reversible, or with thicker, puffier down or foam between the layers. This is just scratching the surface of the possiblilities.

Hood last test fit

2011-12-12T02:36:00.000-08:00

Once I got the size and shape of the hood last where I wanted it, and after sanding the shape smooth I wanted to test the size with a hood. As you can see from the pictures, it fit just perfectly, and I am really happy with the way it turned out.
The sensory deprivation hood on the larger form is made of a pretty thick (and slightly spongy) leather, just the kind of hood I would want to place on the form to help shape and contour the leather to ensure a tight fit. The patent-leather hood on the smaller form is an example of another type of leather that would benefit from stretching over a wooden form to help fit a face contour better. Sure, they are a pain to make, but I will be able to make sculpted forms, casing and multi-layer hoods using these hood lasts as a foundation. Mu-hu ha ha (insert evil scientist laughter here!!) I can't wait!

Carving a hood form #2

2011-12-12T02:01:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I started on my new hood form (or hood last) which I hope to use to make better-fitting hoods. This should help especially on hoods made of heavier leather, which can be stretched a bit over the form to take on the contour of the head.

Just like a shoemaker's last, the form will allow me to get shapes and contours out of the leather that would be impossible any other way. The bad news is, just like a shoemaker's last, I will need to have a range of sizes to fit the range of hoods I hope to make. This means I see a lot of woodchips in my future. I previously made one in a small size. This one will be made to fit my (extra large) head.
I start by tracing the pattern onto my block of glued-up planks. There are 8 layers measuring a total of 6 inches high.
Fortunately, the maximum depth of cut for my bandsaw is 6 inches.
Unfortunately, I discover that although my bandsaw has a capacity to the right of the blade of 6 inches, the blade guard to the left of the blade will only clear about 5.75 inches! So at some point I have to flip the workpiece over to complete the cut from the other side.

The hard part was aligning the outline of the shape I am trying to cut out on the other side of the wooden block. I was sweating bullets for a moment. Fortunately, it turned out OK, and the cuts aligned pretty well...

It's like the world's thickest jigsaw puzzle.
I was actually surprised at how well the saw went through such a thick piece. I definitely would be worried to try this with harder wood. The pine I am using is pretty soft.
This could make a nice bookend or something...
Next up: much planing and filing ensue.

Hood last #2 complete

2011-12-12T01:29:00.000-08:00

If you've read this blog for a while you may know that I am obsessed with a particular way of making hoods that depends on a wooden form to help create the curves needed to make a hood fit extremely well. This is especially useful when working with heavier, less stretchy leather, which may need some "encouragement" to stretch in certain areas in order to accommodate the chin for example. I got the idea from watching how shoes are made, typically over a last that helps shape the leather over the form of the foot. For many shoe-making procedures, it's indispensable.
I just finished carving my second head form, or hood last from wood a couple of weeks ago. It is sized to fit my extra-large head. At least I think my head is big - 24-inch diameter around the forehead at the brow line, and 28 inches from chin to crown. Let's just say I started with a pretty large block of wood.
I used these cardboard strips cut to create loops of a certain size to check the progress as I went along carving the form. I knew that once the loops fit the form, it would be the correct size.
Rather than trying to carve around the nose on the front of the face, I shaped the face first, then glued on a nose-piece after the fact. It made it a bit easier to shape the front of the head, as I didn't have to worry about being careful working around the nose. I could use coarse rasps and files to remove material more quickly.

Placed beside the previous form, you can see it's a bit smoother and better proportioned all around. I definitely learn a lot every time I do one of these... It makes me appreciate the subtle shapes of the different planes of the face, particularly around the chin, and the jaw to neck transition. Next up, I'll do a medium-size. Then one with an open mouth (for gags)? Then make them all in a harder wood? It's never ending, I tell you!

Benneton gets kinky

2011-12-12T01:17:00.000-08:00

I am not sure if you people have seen this art installation from Benneton, but it's pretty visually striking, and of interest to someone like me who goes for eroticism combined with total enclosure. Bondage and suspension as well, oh my!

I'm not sure if this is a new direction from a company known for incendiary ad campaigns, but from my perspective I'd much rather see this sort of thing than heads of state photoshopped to look like they're making out.
Usually I'm pissed off when mainstream companies co-opt fetish or bondage imagery to shill their goods, but in this case, it's so artistically done. I love the fact that they went all the way as well, depicting some good old-fashioned full-on fucking. I'll never look at those brightly-colored knit sweaters exactly the same way again.

More here, along with a bit of the behind-the-scenes making of:
http://www.benetton.com/lana-sutra/

Life and loss

2011-12-11T23:49:00.000-08:00

Machinist at William Doxford and Sons

I know I haven't posted much lately, but that doesn't mean things haven't been happening. If anything, it has been too hectic and busy to keep up with the regular blog posting. For those of you seeking regular updates, I do apologize.

The biggest thing that has happened since my last post is my Grandfather passed away. It was a pretty big surprise, as he was in excellent health for his age, and even though he was up there in years (in his 90s), it was still unexpected.

My grandpa has always been a kind of personal hero to me for as long as I can remember. He was one of those people who experienced the great depression first hand, and it left him with a sense of thrift and economy that never left him. He was super resourceful, and hardworking in the extreme. He had his own small business breaking up large boulders into tiny rocks so they could be hauled away. His hands were huge - from a lifetime of manual labor, and his wedding ring so big it was too large to even fit on my thumb. Those hands were like a catcher's mitts, or bear paws. He worked as a machinist for over 25 years at the same company, then spent 16 years working at General Motors. I remember him taking us on a tour of the factory when I was about 8 or 9 years old, and he held my hand with a paint marker to put a pinstripe on a car. It's something I'll always remember.

It was just magical to me, the kinds of things he did. He could fix or build just about anything mechanical. He never threw anything away. During one visit many years ago, I built a complete 10-speed bicycle out of spare parts he happened to have just lying around in the basement. The quick-release was broken on one of the wheels, so he showed me how to machine the broken part out of metal.
He built the house in which he lived, and in which my mom was born. Grandpa dug the entire basement by hand, and built the house a little at a time. At first there were only 2 rooms, but little by little it grew. The driveway, which must be 70 feet long was poured concrete on a hill, one hand-mixed batch at a time.

He built boats in the basement, from small speedboats to a large cabin cruiser, the plans for which he got from Popular Mechanics magazine. Grandpa loved being out on the water, and I imagine when he wasn't fishing he was probably thinking about fishing. Whenever I went out to visit, we would go to his old boat launch where he had moored his vessel. Eventually he got rid of the boats, as it wan't safe for him to go out on his own any more.

I always think of his inventions. He had rigged up a little knob on the wall next to his recliner that allowed him to turn the antenna on the roof for better television reception. The table saw he used to make things was something he made himself, with a huge electric motor, and a car jack used to adjust the depth of cut. He made a special lawn mower out of a 5-gallon bucket, a round snow sled an electric motor.

I don't think Grandpa had a pervy bone in his body. But I often find myself thinking, what would Grandpa do in this situation? How would he approach this production problem? When you are stuck with something and your time or resources are limited, how would he have solved it? I guess even though he isn't there to visit or talk to on the phone, my grandpa will live on in my memory of him, and in my imagination. He definitely inspired me to think if something can be done, then you can probably figure out a way to do it. Patience, persistence, resourcefulness. Keep trying. You'll get there eventually.

I'm not a big believer in the afterlife or anything, but if there is something beyond this existence, I hope Grandma was up there waiting for him. And wherever Grandpa is now, I hope the fishing is great.

Been a bit tied up lately...

2011-10-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted! For those of you who have written out of concern, thanks very much. Don't worry, nothing is wrong. I have just been busy with a couple of freelance projects that came my way, and I haven't had much time to dedicate to leather craft or blogging.
I wish I could say I've been tied up, but not in the "use all the straps and lock the zipper closed" sort of way... Unfortunately!
These pix are just the sleepsack stuffed with blankets and pillows... No actual fun total-enclosure bondage happening. Maybe next time...

In other boring news: I have also been busy trying to get a new sewing machine so I can do specific types of seams that aren't possible with a flat-bed machine. The process of getting one of these "cylinder-bed" machines is taking months for some reason. The vendor is out of stock, and each time I call, he says "Call back in 3 weeks". I call back and get the same story again, and again... This has been going on since March. See, I try to spare you guys all the boring details!

There is more to come. The blog is not abandoned. I have a couple of things cooking, so stay tuned, and thanks for your patience...

Book Review: Dressing for Pleasure

2011-07-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

This book is a little treasure - a collection of images and letters from AtomAge magazine, created by John Sutcliffe in 1957. It recounts the origins of the magazine and his leathercraft business. It all started with Mr. Sutcliffe making leathers for female motorcycle riders. The response was very positive, and it evolved into making more specialized fetish garments.

Mr. Sutcliffe's most widely-known work was probably making costumes for Emma Peel of the 1960s television show The Avengers, as well as the leather garments for Allan Jones' famous sculptures Chair, Table and Hat Stand.

My favorite story from the book recounts the tale of a chemical company that commissioned a skin-tight head-to-toe leather suit for a model to wear to draw attention to their booth at a trade show. She made appearances in the suit in Trafalgar Square, and captured quite a bit of notice, as you can imagine! She was a vision of total leather enclosure: hooded, booted, goggled, gloved - see the image below:
Can you imagine that suit being written off as a business expense? HA! The book is filled with old drawings and photos, which I always love to see. Certain elements of fetishism are just timeless.

Mr. Sutcliffe also created a title called AtomAge Rubberist, as well as AtomAge Bondage.

The brief biographical sketch in the book mentions the legal trouble Mr. Sutcliffe encountered as a result of a story he published. The police raided, his stock was confiscated and the printing plates from every past issue were destroyed. This was back in 1982, not so long ago... He kept designing and publishing until his sudden death (at his desk) in September 1987.
The publishers note: "With the publishing of this book hopefully the Sutcliffe name, reputation and influence will spread". I hope so too!

If this book looks like something that you would enjoy, it's available here.

Book Review: Savage Beauty by Alexander McQueen

2011-07-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

This is probably my favorite book at the moment, maybe one of my favorite books of all time. It's the exhibition catalog for the Savage Beauty show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, displaying the work of Alexander (Lee) McQueen. This immensely talented designer took his own life in February 2010 after the death of his mother. This exhibit at the Met captures just a small sample of work he created over the past few years. His work always dealt with themes of death, decay and renewal, so it's appropriate that the cover features a lenticular image that transforms his face into a skull... and back again. The effect is striking. The endpapers are just stunning, and they echo a design element from McQueen's own work, the symmetrical repeat of a natural pattern. As a designer and maker I have an appreciation for the hand work that goes into couture clothing. McQueen is quoted as saying "I never aspired to mass production. Because of my training as a tailor, my work involves lots of love and care, which is why so many of my clothes are made by hand here in London. Not to wow the crowd during a show, but because I love it." The book is made with love as well, just masterful photography and understated layout. The clothes really come forward. The quotes from Lee are interspersed connect his ideas and thought process with the imagery and design of the clothing. The photographs by Sølve Sundsbø just blew me away. Initially I though they had really nice mannequins. Later, I found out that in order to show the clothing draped properly, they shot on live models. Then, in post-production they digitally painted out the models faces and sometimes heads to keep the emphasis on the clothes. They even introduced seams at the arms and wrists to mimic a mannequin - such a great idea. You can tell a lot of care went into every photograph. Lee often used feathers in his work. Or seashells, Intricate, graphic, sculptural... Transformational, animal, aquatic reptile? Clothes have the ability to make you into another species altogether. Audacious, otherworldly, bizarre and extreme. Fetishism, but in the most non-conventional way you can imagine. McQueen was known for cutting his own patterns, something virtually unique in the world of couture. His background as a tailor gave him the technical chops to pull off amazing designs. I loved the way he synthesized a variety of influences from around the world. Take something that moves you, and put your own twist on it. The quote accompanying the image below: "I especially like the accessory for its sadomasochistic aspect." The sadomasochistic element is what first drew me into his work. But the technique, creativity and skill draw me back again and again. These molded leather pieces are unlike anything I have ever seen on a runway before. Just amazing... My only complaint about this book is that I wanted more. It all ended too soon. Lee is one designer where I wish there was a book this size just for his fall 2009 or spring 2010 shows - I would buy them both in a heartbeat. This book is definitely a must-have for McQueen fans. Available on Amazon or directly from the Met for a little bit more.

Book Review: The Boot by Bradley Quinn

2011-07-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

It's a great time to be a boot lover, as the current fashion trend for tall, sexy, over-the-knee high-heeled boots is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime.

Thigh-high styles in particular were stigmatized not long ago, relegated to hooker-boot status, and something nobody would dare wear outside the bedroom, unless maybe you were in the sex trade. I just never thought they would break through into the world of mainstream fashion the way they have, and for that I am grateful.

I have been asking myself: why now? Ironically, the economy is in rough shape, unemployment is up, but these boots are luxurious in their use of material. Instead of reflecting austerity, these styles are opulent, and indulgent. Impractical, and sort of non-functional (have you ever tried walking in those things?). Ornamental, expensive and uncomfortable. It could be the influence of the Internet, and the widespread availability of online eroticism. Many celebrities are spotted wearing the tallest and sexiest boots available. (Check out celebrities in boots here.) Is it a type of status symbol? Maybe we are becoming desensitized, and it takes more extreme measures to get a thrill. There is an undeniable sensual and sexual nature to a tight-fitting boot. Both for the wearer and those of us who see them being worn. They are edgy and make a statement every time. Even non-fetishists can appreciate the sexual nature of these boots. They just are.

As it is, the more extreme styles of thigh-high boot appear mostly in high-end fashion and couture collections. It's the hang-out place for many articles of clothing that are steeped in fetishism, extremes of expression, fine materials and workmanship).

It's here that I get to the book which covers the world of boots in an up-to-the-minute way. Actually published in 2010, this is the only book I have seen of it's type that covers the boot exclusively. There are a lot of books on shoes, but this is the only one I have seen dedicated solely to the boot.

Bradley Quinn covers a bit of boot history, which of course is fascinating. Fashion and art always reflect the culture, technology and ideals of their times.

Styles that reference historical looks, like the swashbucklers below, are discussed.
Although there are examples of fetishistic styles, the book doesn't delve too deeply into the sexual aspects of the boot. It does give a number of profiles of specific designers, like the one on Joseph Azagury below:
Many of the book's pictures are taken from runway shows, like the Chanel images below.
Another typical spread, with couture boots on the left from Vivienne Westwood, Pucci, and Givenchy, and a 1890s fetish boot on the right.
Of course, Alexander McQueen is represented (below left facing page). The flesh-colored boots on the right are from Etro, and Givenchy rear-laced boots on the far right. Drool-worthy, all of them...
Boots are like chairs for designers; there is just an endless number of ways of covering the lower leg. I'm always inspired by the materials, colors, textures, patterns and techniques the shoe designers can come up with. And just when you think you've seen it all, up comes something new.
Christian Louboutin, one of the sexiest bootmakers on the planet. I love his last shape so much - it reminds me of how I draw boots and shoes in my fetish drawings. Fantasy made reality.
Viktor and Rolf's take on the motorcycle boot:

If you are into fashion, especially high-fashion boots, this is a great book for reference and inspiration. It's available here.

Laced sleepsack - step-by-step Part 6

2011-07-06T22:06:00.001-07:00

A few more steps and we'll have this one all wrapped up. It's time to set in the internal sleeves, which in this pattern start about 4 inches below the shoulder seam.
I hold the sleeve in position with tape and sew just inside the line, working inside the restraint.
Next, I topstitch a second row of stitches from the outside using the first seam as a guide. No margin for errors on this one!
I try to center the hand pocket on the side seam. Here's a closeup of the hand pocket:
And a closeup of the top of the 2 seams:

Now that we have both sleeves sewn in, major sewing operations are complete.
Oh, one more thing; I did take the time to topstitch the seam where the neck meets the body.
Finally I marked out the spacing for the lacing holes. I wanted a real fetish-y look for this project so I spaced the lacing holes pretty close together. Didn't you know more lacing = more fetish-y? It's true.

I ended up with 90 grommets on this sleepsack.
Plus the 2 on the front of the hood.
You can't really see it in this photo, but I did hand stitch the bottom of the lacing strip to the top of the heel piece. It is one seam I can't sew with the machine, as it is pretty much a closed bag at this point in the process.
That's about it. Another one for the history books.
Thanks for following along...

Laced sleepsack - step-by-step Part 5

2011-07-06T19:55:00.001-07:00

Now we're ready to close up our sleepsack.
We have an opening in the rear of our sleepsack with a lacing strip down the middle. Time to put in the zipper and a tongue behind the laced opening.

First I cut the zipper to length - heavyweight YKK #10 zipper chain. I'll use masking tape to hold it in place while sewing.
I start at the foot and slowly position the zipper, pressing the tape to hold it in just the right place.

The same zipper snakes up the neck, and ends at the top of the hood.
Once taped, the one side of the zip is sewn to the sack. The other side is then sewn to the lacing strip.
Once that connection is made, I use the bulldog clips to hold the tongue to the lacing strip. That seam is then sewn, glued and flattened.
Here we have the tongue, connected to the lacing strip, connected to the zipper, connected to the binder.
The last step is to sew the tongue to the other side of the laced opening. Because we are now sewing an enclosed shape, we need to access the seam through the zippered opening. I use tape on the outside to hold the tongue in place.

A word of CAUTION: I am only using tape to hold the tongue in position after testing to make sure it won't mark the leather or pull off the surface. I wouldn't recommend anyone use tape like this without testing it first! Some leathers are easily damaged by tape stuck to the surface.
I did use a lot of tape, as I didn't want the tongue to come out of position as I am feeding such a large item through the sewing machine. The closer you get to the end, the harder it is to handle.
Once the rear zipper is in, I sew a separate zipper in for the hood.

Now our zipper is set, our tongues are in...
Just a couple more steps, and our project will be complete...

Laced sleepsack - step-by-step Part 4

2011-07-06T19:33:00.001-07:00

Now we're ready to attach the hood and foot pocket to the main body of the sleepsack.
I align the hood on the sleepsack center seam, and hold in place with bulldog clips.
Once sewn, the seams are glued and pounded flat.

Now I adjust the top of the rear panel seam so it meets cleanly with the hood seam. There is some extra room in the rear panel pattern, so I have room to trim it to align with the hood seam and redraw the fold line. I also skive the seam allowances where the edge will fold over to keep it from becoming too bulky.

This happens on both sides of the rear panel where it meets the hood.
Once everything is trimmed and aligned, we can glue the entire rear opening edge seam. Also, it's time to glue up the lacing strip as well.
Wait for the glue to turn clear...
...then fold over and pound with the mallet.
Next up: attach the foot pocket. This is clipped and sewn along the top edge.
Then the seam is glued and flattened.

At this stage we are really starting to look like a sleepsack!
Front closeup:
Rear with opening for lacing and zipper...
Detail of head with lacing strip.
Bottom of foot pocket detail:
We're almost done...

Laced sleepsack - step-by-step Part 3

2011-07-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Here is the next step on our project and another tip - something you should consider doing to increase the comfort of your hoods - especially if you are working in heavier leather. It's called "skiving", and it rhymes with "diving" and "driving". Apparently I have been saying this wrong in my head for years. Anyway...

Skiving is cutting leather in order to reduce its thickness. It takes a really sharp blade, and most leather craft pros use a special knife or even a machine to do this. You may want to skive along an edge before you fold it to reduce the bulk. Or, for this project I want to create a smooth transition on the inside of the hood from the seam to the edge of the seam allowance. If I didn't do this, you could feel the edge of the seam when the hood was laced tightly to your face.

I usually hold the piece I'm working on so I can feel how deep the blade is going. You don't want to cut through the main leather, just through the seam allowance. It's a tricky cut, and I am always amazed at how quickly the blade dulls when doing it. You may make it only a couple of inches before the blade becomes dull.

And now for some skiving action shots:
Easy does it...
When you start having to push hard to get the blade through, you know it's is getting dull.
After skiving: a smooth transition from the seam to the edge of the allowance.
Here's the hood front post-skiving. I know what you're thinking: that doesn't look so great. But, it feels much better, believe me.
Over the years I have tried a variety of tools to skive, from scary-sharp surgical blades to scalpels and straight-razors. It seems like they all dull rather quickly, and I end up going through a number of blades on each project.
One thing I have tried recently to keep the edge sharp is a powerstrop - circular discs of leather that go into your drill press or grinder that allow you to quickly strop the blade back to razor sharpness. You charge the strop with a honing compound that does the actual work of abrading the blade.
I use pliers to hold the blade, and can get about 3 times the use out of the blade before it gives out completely.
I'd be happy to share any tips you may have about skiving, so comments are welcome.

Laced sleepsack - step-by-step Part 2

2011-07-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

At this point I want to work on the foot-pocket, and this presents the opportunity to talk about a cool tip - this is a good one.

When you are sewing with leather you often have a point where 2 seams come together and meet a third - this forms a T-shaped seam. I have found that if you trim your seam allowances too closely, you will end up with a gap where these seams meet because of the thickness of the leather. It is even worse when 4 panels come together (like at the top of a hood). The gap can become quite large. To avoid the gap, trim your seam allowances with a flap on one side as shown below:

First we start with a seam sewn, glued and flattened, with the initial trim of the seam allowances creating little wings.
The key is to just snip off just ONE SIDE of the seam allowance (not both)!
Then FOLD OVER the other seam allowance (enlarge the image if you need to) creating a little flap. I also clip off a little corner of that flap so the seam is not too thick with too many overlapping layers.
Same thing for the other seam: Trim one side only...
fold over the flap...
and cut away the little excess to keep the seam from getting too bulky.
That's perfect! Ready to clip and sew...
I know it seems simple, but really this helps a lot. No more gaps!
Here we have the side panel clipped to the bottom of the foot pocket, ready to sew.
And a post-sew, mid glue-up shot. Notice all the little wedges clipped out so the seam allowance will lay flat?
Here she is all glued down and pounded.
And now topstitched above and below the seam:
This concludes part 2, and the foot pocket sub assembly.

Laced sleepsack - step-by-step Part 1

2011-07-06T17:47:00.001-07:00

It's time to work on another project together. One we haven't done before - a zippered and laced sleepsack with attached hood. This project is a bit more complicated than others I have shared, but hopefully I can explain it so it all makes sense. Plus, I'll be showing a couple of tips that I wish someone had shown me when I was starting out... It's such a nice day in the studio, the weather is perfect - let's get started.
I'll be using a heavy-weight black buffalo hide for this restraint - the first time I have tried working with this type of leather. It is nice and heavy but soft, traits that can be hard to find in the same hide. It has a glossy, waxy finish which can be buffed to a high gloss, and the feel of this restraint will be very strict when laced tightly on. The occupant will not be going anywhere without her master's permission.
Because there will be a zipper running the complete length of the sleepsack, from the top of the head to the ankles, there will be 2 parts to the rear panel of the hood, as shown above. The other pattern pieces include the shoulders, foot pocket bottom and sides, internal sleeves, 2 front panels, 2 rear panels and a rear tongue. I'll also make a long thin strip to carry both the grommets and the zipper. More on that piece later...

It's time to start clipping to prep the pieces for sewing. You can see the front center seam clipped below:
Also, the front of the hood:
The rear of the foot pocket, along with the lacing strip connected to the rear hood zipper strip. This will make more sense later, don't worry!
Also: the darts that help the shoulder pieces take shape.
On the front I want an access zipper, so the front seam is just sewn above and below the zipper opening.
I glue and flatten the seam around the opening, then set in the zipper and stitch it in place.
Before sewing the zipper in, I am sure to punch a small hole where the zipper slider can rest when it is pulled closed.
Next, I cut a tongue for the access zipper, and hold in place with tape for sewing.
That should keep any skin away from the zipper...

Here are the shoulder darts sewn, glued and flattened. These darts really help the leather conform to the rounded shape of the shoulder.
Notice I left the little wings at the seam allowance? You don't want to trim those yet. More on that later...

On what will become the zippered opening on the rear of the hood, you can see how the parts fit together in this picture. I need the seam allowance to give the leather strength, which is why this piece isn't cut out of a single piece of leather. I need a folded edge on both sides. That makes sense, right?
I placed the front of the hood on the new hood last I carved last month in order to begin shaping the leather. I really love the way this thing helps me get the form I want, especially with this heavy-weight leather.
Here are the darts at the top of the 2 rear panels, sewn, glued and flattened.
At this stage, we're ready to sew the side seam that connects the rear panels to the front panel. It starts coming together pretty fast, but we do have a ways to go yet.
Once sewn, we'll glue and flatten the side seams.

And pound the seams flat with the mallet.

Looking good...
Now we can set in the shoulders, with the usual clip, sew, glue and pound-it-flat technique.

Also, we can sew the top seam for the rear of the hood together. Then connect the front of the hood to the rear by sewing along the side seam.
I put the hood back on the form overnight, held in place with painter's tape. It just looks incredible on the form!
This concludes part 1... See you next time!

Lasted leather hood beauty shots

2011-06-26T00:19:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post some nice images of the first project created using the hood last. I am really excited about making a couple of these wood forms to use in my production process, as I think it will help improve the fit of the hood and allow me to do some things that would be difficult to do otherwise, like built-up designs.
Leather naturally has a bit of stretch, and a form like this helps to create the shape you need for a smooth, skintight fit with a minimum of seams - especially around the chin. I'm inspired by shoe production techniques, and feel like this is just scratching the surface of what's possible.
I am using a garment or chap-weight leather here, but the last is something I could use to make things using casing techniques - with veg-tanned or extremely heavy leather. There are definitely some experiments ahead...
I'm looking forward to feedback from the client on this one!

Shaping leather with the hood last

2011-06-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to use the carved hood form (hood last?) on a real-life project for the first time today. Using the same pattern and production method as usual for the hood itself, I took the final step of placing the finished hood on the wooden form in order to help "encourage" it to take shape.

In the past I had done this with a mannequin head made of foam, but I was never happy with the proportions of that head - the chin area in particular was too small and not the right proportion.
Surprisingly, this custom order was pretty close in size to the form I had just carved, so that worked out perfectly. It is actually slightly larger, so I stuffed some rags in at the back of the head for filler. It has to be tight for this to really do anything. Once I had it on, I was blown away - the shape just looks like there is a living person in there already. Very cool!!
I think the hardest part to get to fit correctly with a 4-panel hood like this is the chin. You have a couple of compound curves going on, and covering that with a flat material like leather is a challenge. I was hoping this form would act like the last used when making shoes. Traditionally, shoes were made by pulling the leather upper around the wood last and nailing it in place. I'm using the same idea here. Stretching the leather over the chin contour will help it fit perfectly... As you can see above, the fit along the jawline is pretty great.
The one thing I do want to tweak on the next hood last is the angle of the neck. It needs to go back a bit more, at a slightly sharper angle. You can see where the leather is a bit wrinkled on the front of the neck. Not acceptable! Something to fix for next time.
I am hoping to make these in a range of sizes, so all the hoods I make can be properly shaped. I see a lot of wood shavings in my future...

Hood form wrap test 1

2011-06-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm done carving the wooden head form it's time to test the thing to see if it actually works. Kind of like testing your answer in math class, where you put your answer into the original equation to see if it works out correctly...
In this case I'll be making a tight wrap of the form using plastic wrap and duct tape. If the form is accurate, the fit of the test wrap on my model should be perfect.
I draw a line at the rear where I am going to cut off the wrap.
Here's the wrap cut off of the form. It's amazing how well it holds the shape.
Now, where did my fit model go...?
The final result? It fits incredibly well, save for the chin - which is a bit too snug. I am going to add some wood there, and fine tune the shape until it is just right. I am really looking forward to using this form, as it will allow designs that I couldn't accomplish any other way.

Carving a hood form

2011-05-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

Hello folks! Hope you are all doing well... This past weekend I finally got around to a project I have wanted to do for a while now: to carve a 3-dimensional head out of wood. The reason I want a head shape in wood is to use it as a kind of last, the kind that a shoemaker would use to build a shoe around. I also was hoping to use it as a sort of stretching form, for breaking in the hoods I make. Up to this point I have done this breaking in on a Styrofoam head, like you might find at a wig shop, but there are problems with the proportions on those - the lower half of the face is way too small, and that's one area where I want to help stretch and form the leather - particularly around the chin. I have never carved anything out of wood before, so I won't even pretend to know what I'm doing, but as usual I wanted to share in case anyone can learn from what I have done. I started off by gluing 9 pine boards together, forming a solid block measuring 6.75 inches wide, 9 inches deep and 12 inches tall. These were clamped together and left to dry overnight. I then traced the shape of the head profile on both sides of the block, and the widest head circumference on the top.
I tried to remove as much material as possible with the table saw first, so I made angled cuts at all four corners. This gave me a rough octagon shape.
Next I made a series of cuts on the table saw, moving the fence about a quarter inch between cuts. The height was adjusted each time to follow the contour of the outlined profile.
Here we have the front...
...and the rear.

At this stage I chipped out the slits with a hammer and chisel, giving me a rough profile shape.

Next, I made a couple more cuts at the table saw, taking out a slice at the top of the head, and at the neck. The less I have to take out with the micro plane and chisels, the better. A very cubist-looking rough cut.
Now the shaping begins. I started to round off the form using a micro plane.

I used paper guides to help me get the proportions right - the idea came from a book I just read about carved wooden masks for the Japanese Noh Theater. Apparently, the mask makers use paper guides as well.
These were the main carving implements used on this project. The micro planes were handy for large areas that needed to be removed, and the Pfeil chisels were for the more subtle, nuanced work. These chisels come sharp, and cut through the wood cleanly and beautifully. I bought 3 sizes for this project, one with a slight sweep (or curve) a 2/25, one with a more pronounced curve (the 6/25) and a small one with a deep sweep (the 9/13). For those of you who care, the first number refers to the depth of the sweep, the second number is the width of the blade in millimeters.

It's the first time I have carved with chisels, and I must say it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.

At this point we skip way ahead, as I didn't take many progress shots along the way. Suffice to say there were chisels involved, lots of hammering and sweating, some cursing, a trip or two to the hardware store, sore muscles, heat exhaustion and lingering body aches. The 5-inch deep pile of wood shavings on the floor is testament to the battle that took place, and the end result was this not-too-shabby wooden form:
No, the knot in the middle of the forehead was not intentional... It just turned out that way!
I really like the way the wood grain runs top to bottom, helping describe the form. Seeing the different layers is pretty cool as well...
The grain in back almost makes a bulls-eye.
Overall, I feel like I learned a lot from this project. I have now tackled a carving project, and it didn't turn out too bad. I would do a few things differently next time (like leaving a bit more material to work with at the chin and nose), but in general I am getting over any fear I might have had about carving in wood. Just do it, right? Until next time...

Sleepsack pattern making

2011-05-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me how I go about making patterns. In my opinion, the best way to start off (in order to get a detailed, custom-fit) is to make the pattern directly from a wrap of the slave or subject, in this case a complete head-to-toe mummification wrap. The objective isn't to create a bondage experience, but to create an envelope that records every contour of our subject, so THAT can be used to create a leather restraint that can provide a bondage experience. I use a layer of plastic wrap, followed by the duct-tape. It usually takes two to three rolls.
It's a particular challenge to make these larger pieces, like sleepsacks and f-suits with integrated hoods. Doing this sort of work made me realize why attached hoods aren't commercially available as a standard item: there are just too many variables in the way people are shaped, and making something that would fit someone "off-the-shelf" would be almost impossible. We are all unique.
I have probably mentioned this before, but I am always amazed at the variation between two models of the same height and weight. They could have vastly different proportions, including waist size, breast, hips and feet. The more fitted you want something to be, and the more picky you are about it, the more likely you will need to start with a wrap. I think of it like taking thousands of measurements all at the same time, and without using a ruler.

Note: You don't want the wrap to be too tight. Although duct-tape is pretty good at holding it's shape, if you make it tight, it will shrink after you remove your subject - resulting in a pattern that is too small. Keep it contoured and snug, but don't over do it. I try to use at least 2 layers of tape throughout. This also helps hold the shape.
Once the wrap is made, I mark seam lines on the duct-tape using a sharpie. Of course, I first cut the subject out, and re-tape the wrap closed. Unless I'm feeling mean. Then they stay in for this part...

These lines guide me when I cut apart the pieces and transfer them onto paper to make the pattern. Ideally, the left and right pattern pieces would be the same size and shape, but there is always variation between the sides. I use a process of averaging to make the pattern pieces symmetrical.

Where the seams go and the shapes of the pieces are guided by experience. In general, I try to keep the number of seams to a minimum. Certain shapes suggest themselves: when you try and flatten a complex shape like the shoulder, a single seam can help create the ball-like shape of the shoulder at the top of the arm. I try to pick lines that will be clean and pleasing to the eye.
At some point along the way, I'll make a drawing showing the piece, with seams, zips, closures and construction details in place. It helps me visualize all the patten pieces, how they relate to each other, and where I will cut them out of the hide. Finally, we can move on to the fun part: actually making the piece.

Zippered Armbinder on Anna Rose!

2011-05-09T22:05:00.001-07:00

I just received some pictures of the zippered armbinder from Anna Rose, of Alterpic and KinkyPonyGirl.com fame. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!) This was the armbinder construction project detailed step-by-step in back in February. She looks just incredible in it, don't you think? I love the action shot!
I was going to post the pattern for this design, but I wanted to make sure everything fit just right first. After seeing the pictures, I feel like I could make a few adjustments to the pattern. It fits nicely in the front, and the straps cross nicely across the chest.
The straps were made extra long, as they could be trimmed down pretty easily. But, I kind of wish the rear panel came up higher... (although this does show off her tattoo). I feel like it could go up another 3 or 4 inches... Plus, the bottom of the arm pocket could be a little tighter - I see wrinkles. =0( I do like the fit of the hand pocket, though.

Besides, these days I don't feel like I am done with a project until I've done it at least twice...

Well Anna Rose, what do you think? Let me know, and thanks again for letting me post the pix.

F-suit v2.0 Photos

2011-05-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I am lucky enough to have a client share images of the finished product with me. These are great to see from a production standpoint, as it helps me to know how things ended up fitting - or not fitting in some cases - so I can work towards improving my design patterns if necessary. In this case, the client not only allowed me to see images, but was OK with me sharing on my blog as well, which is really very generous of them. (Thank you client!) I was happy to see the final f-suit fit so perfectly, and paired with their own hood, these pictures are just as sexy as hell!
The f-suit is an unusual restraint, in that you are completely enclosed, but still have some form of restricted motion. You can wiggle around, but movement is limited, and escape is difficult, if not impossible. You become a sort of helpless leather-encased sex toy at the mercy of your partner/master... The shot above shows the pointed-toe pocket, fitting as it should, just like a glove. If you have been following my blog for a while, you may remember this was the problem in the last version I made: the foot pocket was too short. This time, we got it just right!
This picture is great, too. I love the position, and her pointed toes are just perfect!!
And for those of you who were wondering (SAMMY), this is what the 2 tongues at the crotch looks like... =0)

Take care, until next time...

Locking bondage hood v2.0

2011-04-29T23:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I'm posting some images of the hood I just finished up that goes with the armbinder from my last post. I decided to re-do this piece as well, as the tongue didn't allow an easy on-and-off experience for the client, and I felt that I could do a little better. Based on the photos and feedback they sent, I knew there were some things I wanted to change.

The tongue on this piece is made a bit larger, and made of a lighter matching leather, that will allow the tongue to stretch a bit more than in the previous version. It should make getting it on and off easier.

I also extended parts of the rear panels slightly, which should result in the lacing panels coming slightly closer together when the laces are pulled tight... Still not touching, though - it's always nice to have room to go tighter if you need to, don't you think?

Last time there was also a problem with a grommet whose backing washer came undone. This is probably because I was using a grommet that was too small for the thickness of the leather. I was trying to keep everything petite since the scale and size of these restraints is so small. Since I up sized the grommets on the armbinder, I wanted to also up size the grommets on the hood, to make sure both pieces would match perfectly.
This is a real intense hood to wear, as the leather is quite thick. It is soft, and will stretch some (especially over time), but the feeling inside this hood would be quite severe. Not for panickers or the claustrophobic... Unless you want to be really mean! For serious players only.
This time I tried a different approach on the locking strap. I sewed the strap from two parts, using the same leather as the hood on the outside, and a patent leather on the inside. I think it results in a thinner strap, and the patent (being stiffer) doesn't stretch as much. Stronger and thinner was the goal.
I think it came out nice...
Also, I managed to find a small D-ring (shorter than the hasp I used last time), and made the connection with a single rivet. It looks really clean, and anything that reduces bulk around the neck is a good thing. I think this is my new default method.

One final tweak to make sure it is easy to get this hood on: a zipper on the tongue itself. This allows you to open the rear quite wide. Pull the zipper down, and no hair in the laces - good times.
This hood (and matching armbinder) came out really great. Now that both pieces are done, I get to send them off to the client, and hopefully they are happy with their new toys as well.
I can't wait to hear what they think!

Square armbinder v2.0

2011-04-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

These are pictures of the square armbinder project I recently re-completed this past weekend. Yes, it seems like everything is taking 2 tries these days (welcome to perfectionist central)... Have I mentioned sometimes making leather bondage gear from scratch is a challenging thing to do?

Seriously, there were some problems with the first version of this restraint, and I wanted to make everything as right as I possibly could. In a quest for a tight fit we ended up with a restraint that was too much of a struggle to get into. Note for future reference: If it takes more than an hour to get into your restraint, it is probably too tight!

I also had reservations about the rolled seam around the arm opening. In order to make it as strong as possible, I turned the edge of the opening before applying the leather edging. This created 2 thicknesses of leather, plus the 2 thicknesses of the rolled edge, for a total of 4 layers - I felt it might be too much, but it was something I couldn't be sure of until it was tried on by the client. Sure enough, it seemed like it was a bit too stiff in practice.
So, numerous changes were made to the pattern, some quite minor, others more extreme. The entire body of the restraint was made a little longer - about 3/4 inch. The goal was to loosen things up a bit, without compromising the "inescapability" of the first version. I didn't want to go too far.

The width was increased by about one-quarter of an inch on each side. This means the laces, when pulled tight, should get closer together in the rear, but still not quite touch.

Based on the photos I received from the client, I noticed a little slack at the bottom of the "bag" that encases the arms, so that lower contour line has been straightened out a little, for a tighter fit.
The zipper was made beefier - I am using a custom-ordered (direct from YKK) #10 black-oxidized brass zipper - the entire exciting 2-month process of obtaining this zipper will be the feature of a future post. It was not easy to get that zipper, let me tell you.
Finally, the tongue in the rear was widened by about 2 inches, which should make getting into this restraint much easier... It now opens to about 5 inches wide, compared to about 3 inches before.

Oh, and the grommets have been placed a little closer together - 1 inch spacing, vs. the 1.25 inches used last time.

And just completely list all the changes, the grommet moved up from the size "00" to just plain old "0" - it's a slightly larger grommet. There was a grommet failure on the previous version, where the back part of the grommet became separated from the front part. This probably stemmed from me using a grommet that was too small for the thickness of the leather, which kept the grommet from getting enough of a grip on the rear part. You see, the smaller the grommet, the shorter the length.

It was completely my fault, as I was trying to keep all the hardware as petite as possible on this petite piece. Sometimes slightly bigger is better. And sometimes it takes another try to get to everything "just right". Another lesson learned...

F-suit v2.0

2011-04-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

I finished up another f-suit this past weekend, and I think it came out very nice. This is my second attempt at a pointed-toe foot pocket for this client. The first one I made was too short at the toe, even after all the measurements and the prototype. I probably made too many changes between the prototype and the final, which is where the problem creeped in. I am hoping this one fits just perfect... fingers crossed!
Since we were making a new suit anyway, there were several other tweaks to the design: The arm pocket holes were enlarged to make getting in and out of the suit a bit easier. The collar was enlarged slightly - more room for a collar or hood underneath.
I also added a second tongue at the crotch so the zipper teeth could be completely covered on both sides when the zipper is opened. Clever idea from the client...
Finally, the bottom of the foot pocket is made to fit the outline of the client's foot.

Many great design ideas come from the people I work with, and it often surprises me with the types of ideas they have. I often have that "I wish I'd thought of that" feeling... There is always a different way of looking at things, and for me the collaboration is one of the best parts of doing custom work.

Patent Butterfly Straitjacket photos

2011-04-14T00:04:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to do a proper photo shoot with the black patent butterfly straitjacket I completed a while back. I paired it with the hood design I have been working on recently, which gives the ensemble an incredible integrated look.
The black patent cowhide is very restrictive, and oh-so fetishy. Unfortunately, it is really difficult to find the patent cow in just the right weight for restraint work. It's often too heavy, which is like working with cardboard, as it doesn't bend at all... and that makes it uncomfortable or impractical to use for making a straitjacket or armbinder.

The hood is actually made of a lighter-weight pig leather, which gives it a good amount of stretch, and really allows it to conform to the face. Unfortunately, that weight would not be strong enough to use for a straitjacket.

I just love the stuff, and hope to find a reliable supplier of the patent cow soon...

As a side note, I wanted to announce that I am no longer taking orders for custom work at this time. I have too many projects in the queue, and hope to finish them all up before taking on any new orders. It has been about a year since I started the blog, and I have been really overwhelmed with the positive response and feedback I have gotten as a result. Many creative and friendly kinky people have contacted me from all over the world, and it has been great to get to know you all. I am really impressed with the talent of some of my contacts, who produce incredible fetish and bondage works of their own.

If you already have contacted me for custom work, I am making my way through the queue, and will contact you as soon as I am ready to start your project in earnest. Thank you for your patience, and I look forward to making and sharing the many exciting, pervy projects that lie ahead.

Had to share...

2011-04-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I am lucky enough to get an image of something I made in use from a client after a project is delivered. And occasionally, they also allow me to post the picture on my blog.
In this case, the slave involved happens to be completely gorgeous as well. I am just in awe of these beautiful shots of the recent square armbinder and hood project, tightly laced on...

Somtimes, all the hard work pays off...

I hope you all appreciate the images as much as I do. Dear client, Thank you so much for sharing!

F-suit in HEAVY LEATHER!

2011-03-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hello, folks! I have finished work this past week on an f-suit in a very beautiful heavy-weight leather. It's much thicker than the leather I normally use for this project, which means the end result an extremely restrictive restraint.

The gorgeous black leather hide was an odd-lot that I picked up at an upholstery shop in LA's garment district a couple of years ago. I had set it aside for a special project, and this turned out to be the perfect project I was waiting for. It has a nice shiny finish, and is that rare combination of thickness, shine and softness (or pliablity) that is so hard for me to find. If I could find more of this stuff I would buy it in a heartbeat...

This project was born of a mishap with a current order, my first attempt at making an f-suit with a pointed toe at the foot pocket. In spite of the fact that I made a prototype, and many careful measurements, the fit was off on the final piece - a total disaster!! The client's foot didn't even come close to fitting in the pocket. I want to re-make the suit for the client, but am petrified about getting it right this time. It is all about having confidence in the pattern.

I decided to try to make the suit with the same pointed-toe style foot pocket for a model I have worked with over the years, and then translate what I learn to the revised client project.
The finished Heavy Leather f-suit looks just incredible on, with an extremely close, tight fit on the torso. The arm-pockets (or wings) on this suit have also been altered for an even tighter-than-normal fit.

Because of the weight of the leather, this suit is not something you could use for puppy-play or crawling around in. It's all about restriction, and slave control. The model couldn't even roll over on her own once inside this suit, and had to struggle to move at all.

The one thing I noticed is that the foot-pockets could get even smaller at the knees:

I'll have to tweak the pattern for next time... (Mu-hu ha ha!*)
* Insert diabolical laughter here.

Other design ideas in this suit are D-rings at the arm pockets, at the knees and toes, so the occupant can be completely chained down to the bed. Also, the bottom of the foot pocket actually follows the shape of the foot.
I am really happy with the way this test design came out, and look forward to making a new version for my client.

Now, if I can just find more of that heavy leather...