I recently received a beautiful book by John Huxley titled: Fetishcraft. It's the best book of its type that I've ever seen: a great primer on making your own custom fetish gear in leather.
Mr. Huxley starts out talking about the tools you will need for production, and if you've been reading this blog for a while much of this will look familiar. I agree wholeheartedly with his statement: "When the fit should be precise, as is generally the case with fetishwear, making ones own garments is ideal."
I really like that it's more than just a how-to manual. The chapters begin with the author discussing different aspects of fetishism and the BD/SM sexual experience - almost a philosophical overview that frames the projects.
Production processes and techniques are spelled out clearly. The level of detail and the variety of projects makes this book a treasure trove of information.
Each project comes with a measured drawing, into which you can plug your own measurements for a custom-fit. Some unusual garments are covered, such as robes...
...and even zentai suits made of spandex.
There are patterns and tips for making bondage-style hoods in leather.
(I always love seeing how different people approach the problem of making a tight-fitting leather envelope for the human head out of what is essentially a flat material.) Many of the projects covered in the book could be adapted for latex construction as well.
Lots of creative ideas to get your mind going when it comes to customizing your designs to make them truly your own.
Some of the projects are more simple, like the fist mitts,
a ball gag,
harnesses,
and a cock sheath!
There are some pretty complex projects here as well, including a very thorough description for making weighted, plaited floggers - from cutting the strips of leather you'll need, to the turks-head knot used to finish the end of the handle.
Overall, I'd highly recommend this book for anyone interested in leathercraft, making their own gear, or even making things for others. It's detailed, thorough and organized, offers a comprehensive overview of tools, equipment and techniques.
I must say, I bought the book, and maybe it's me, but they use a very strange way to measure things. (multiplying with pi and such?) Maybe its just me who's not accustomed to this kind of measuring (I live in Belgium). It would have been great anyway to be able to download the patterns in pdf (I love the ones I can download from Christopher btw :) ) with some kind of code in the book (so only downloadble if you bought it).
ReplyDeleteOr does it excist and did I miss it? :)
It is a bit unusual in the way they handle the measurements in the book (using letters from the Greek alphabet as placeholders for body measurements). You do have to do a bit of math on those patterns to scale them correctly. But if you think of how hard it is to convey a pattern to an audience that will fit every individual in a wide range of sizes, you can see it's a challenge to keep it simple for inclusion in a book.
DeleteIt might help to think of it as a guide to creating your own pattern, and plan to test using muslin or denim before making the piece in leather. I don't think they offer PDF downloads, unfortunately.
For the patterns I post, they are only in one size - so it is up to you to scale them or make adjustments as needed for a proper fit.