PDF of Male Bondage Hood pattern now available...

By popular request I've digitized the pattern for a male hood with the new 2-part tongue and split-chin design. This is a great pattern to use for hoods in heavier leather. For a PDF of the male hood pattern, click here.

Heavy Leather Sleepsack photo shoot

I'm finally getting around to sharing some images from a photo shoot I did a few weeks ago. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time, and it was an incredible experience. I have worked with other photographers before, and even done a few shoots of my own, but this is the first time I've made a set of things to fit a specific model, and made something as elaborate as a total-enclosure sleepsack with attached hood. Someday I'd like to put a book together of images of girls wearing the most beautiful elaborate bondage gear I can make... This is the start of that project.

Being a perfectionist, there were a couple of things I want to do again, although from the photos it may look like everything turned out allright. First off, the leather I used for this sack was buffalo - this is the first time I've tried working with it. The buffalo hide is quite heavy, and I didn't like the way it didn't really stretch at all. I thought it would be good for a restrictive, bondage-y feel. But, because of the lack of stretch, the fit was very tight - too tight even! I felt bad for my poor model, and at first was going to call off even trying to get her zipped in completely for the shoot. Fortunately, she was a great sport, and she was willing to try to wiggle and squeeze her way into the sack, even though it took a lot of effort on her part. I can assure you, it was difficult for me to even pull the zipper up all the way up with the rear laces pulled as far apart as they could go. That girl was a trooper!
Fortunately, the hood fit her perfectly, and the nose holes aligned just right - there was no trouble with her breathing. You can see how tight the fit of the shoulder and hood is in the photo below:
Another issue for me to fix for next time is the fit at the chest area. My model has great boobs, and I need to make more room for them in the next version! If I can fix the fit there, it will make the midsection fit a little better and more closely follow her contour as well.

Overall, it was a great thrill to do the shoot. I'm looking forward to refining the design and working with my model again to get it completely right... I have some more images with other setups from the shoot on the way.

Where to buy leather?

I am often asked where I buy the leather for my projects, and one place I go is called Sav-Mor leather. They're located near the garment district near downtown LA, and they have a great selection of leather with pretty competitive pricing. They also have a pretty lousy website, but don't judge them solely on that!

Please note: This isn't a paid endorsement or anything, just information I would pass along to a friend if someone I know needed a place to find leather.

Since there are so many different types of leather, I thought I'd share a couple of different hides I purchased on a recent trip, as they lend themselves quite well to general use for leather garments or restraints. Hopefully this will help you if you don't have a leather supplier nearby and need to make a purchase without being able to see (or smell) the leather in person.

The first hide is what Sav-mor refers to as "Leon" in black. This is a great jacket-weight cowhide leather in a full 56-square-foot size - large enough to make a sleepsack and hood, or several smaller projects.

Leon has a great combination of all the characteristics I look for in a hide: soft but strong, thick, but not too stiff. Supple, but restrictive, and something that could be used for a jacket or armbinder as well as a hood. Plus, it has that great leather smell!
The finish on the Leon hide has a nice sheen, without being too shiny, and the grain has a natural, uncorrected texture that gives each piece it's own unique personality. There will be brand marks and occasional other defects on these hides, but for the price and size, they are a great value.
It's just a good general-use hide, appropriate for a wide variety of projects.
Next up: we have a "Lamba" side (or half-hide) in Cognac color. This hide measures 26.5 square feet, and the color and finish made me fall in love with it at first sight. The price is $3.95 a square foot - a bit more than the Leon - but these run at a smaller size because they are only half-hides, not full.
The "Lamb" part of the Lamba name refers to the fact that these hides are "lamb-tanned". That means cow tanned to be soft and supple, just like a lamb hide, but with the strength and thickness of cow. These are great for hoods and armbinders, things that benefit from a soft stretch.
The color on this hide is just so gorgeous, and I love the way the color darkens towards the edge.
The grain on this hide is tight and fine with few defects, and a rich, deep saturated beauty. I can't wait to work with this stuff...
The last hide is an "Artisan" in cream. This one is an upholstery-type hide, and the price is $3.35 per square foot. These are available in full-hides only, and have what looks to me like a corrected grain - a bit less natural than the "Leon" hide. Also, the coloration is a bit more like paint than the Lamba in cognac - probably to be more consistent in applications like upholstery, where matching color is more important than having a natural color variation.
The good thing about this hide is it does have the softness and thickness I need for a lot of my leather projects. Plus, the color gives whatever you make a clinical kind of quality... If you're into that sort of thing.
Aside from some minor blemishes, this hide is almost defect-free as well, so the piece will yield lots of usable square footage.

I'll be doing projects with each of these in the coming weeks, so you can see along with me how these hides actually perform...

Male Head Case

I just finished up a male version of the leather head case "experiment" I've been working on lately. This has involved making a molded-leather head "case" of sorts using a carved wooden hood form as a foundation, and a very heavy (7 to 8 oz.) vegetable-tanned leather. I was most curious to see what this type of hood actually felt like on.

To back up just a bit, this is what the hood looked like fresh off of the form, after drying overnight. To see the earlier steps which were the same as the female hood, look here.

Just like with the female version, I used the same pattern as if I was making the hood in a garment-weight leather. In this case, I used a split-chin pattern, which I have found useful when working with heavy-weight leathers. I was hoping the chin might be able to create a cool-looking form, but if I was doing this project again, I wouldn't use the split-chin design. I think, if the leather is worked enough, I could get it to take the contour of the chin without that seam.
Another issue I ran into was the wrinkles created when removing the hood from the wooden form. If I was to do this as a production piece, I would probably make a dedicated wood head with a wedge-shaped piece that could be removed, so the force of removing the hood won't leave behind these wrinkled marks. With the garment or upholstery leather I usually use, it stretches enough to come free of the form without damage.
For the coloring, I used a dye-prep first to remove any waxy residue or oils from the hide, and to help the dye penetrate deep into the leather.
For the actual dye color, I used Fiebing's USMC black - the blackest black there is... This is great stuff!
For the rough edges, I used edge kote - this helps bind the edge fibers together and helps create a smooth finish.
It takes multiple coats to get a good, rich black. You basically brush or daub the dye on, let it dry for a few minutes, then apply another coat. Each time, it gets darker, and darker... my precious!
I would probably do the edges first next time... in this case I've edge-coated the front and side seams and the nose-hole openings.
Also, edge-coat along the edge of the bottom opening.
Once it's to a level of blackness you like, you buff the hell out of it to get a nice, shiny finish.
I even went a little crazy and put some black shoe polish on it - just to see what it would do. It gave the whole piece a waxy, shiny - almost plastic look? It's kind of hard to see it in the photos. Don't know if I would do that again next time...
So, in the end, how did it feel? Honestly, it kind of feels like having a bucket on your head. You can hear the sound of your own breathing very loud. It isn't hard to breathe at all, as there is some space between your head and the hood. I imagine there would be in any case, unless you actually were working from a cast of someone's head - (file away under: ideas for future projects). The fit made me wish there was a thin layer of foam between the hood and my head - to create that combination of all-over pressure and sensory deprivation that other hoods provide. But visually, the hood is quite stunning. It lends itself to having straps and attachment points riveted all over it. And the psychological heft of such a heavy piece gives it a lot of weight - both physically and mentally. It definitely has the feel of a punishment slut's dream hood...

Leather Head Case - Part 2

I finished up a couple more molded head cases over the weekend, refined the process a bit and had some fun with the paint. Having completed the brown distressed version, I wanted to do one in a classic black, and one in a deep, rich blue - my model asked for me to match the color of the dress Lea Michelle wore to the Met Costume Institute Gala on one of them. It was a good challenge...

For the black hood I used Fiebring's USMC black dye. It goes on with the leather slightly damp, and you can get a real deep rich black if you keep applying a lot of coats. I applied about 2 or 3 coats, and wiped down between each to keep some transparency and give the finish an aged look. I wanted it a bit antique looking, but subtle.
Once dry, I buffed the leather smooth with a brush and applied a light application of "bag coat" for a subtle sheen.
I actually still need to glue down the seams, but am still toying with the idea of hand stitching the entire piece in a heavy tan thread.
For the blue hood, I used Angelus brand water-based acrylic paint in sapphire. The photo doesn't really show the color accurately - it's actually a pretty dark blue.
I applied 2 coats of the color, then for the third coat I mixed in some "pewter" color - which has little silver metal flakes. It added sparkle without diluting the color, and gave the hood a deep, almost automotive finish.
The acrylic paint dried with a pretty high level of gloss, and I didn't really need to add anything on top, although the instructions say you can add an acrylic finisher if you want a higher gloss or scuff protection.
These are very different from the hoods I normally make - they are so heavy and stiff they hold their shape all on their own. They're more like a gun holster or binocular case.
Based on the results I achieved with the paint, I am thinking of so many things I want to try with the vegetable-tanned leather. These experiments have been very inspiring, to say the least. I want to make about 50 of these, just so I can paint each one differently.
On the first version below, I trimmed the seams after assembling the hood completely. But I think it is better to trim as the seams are sewn, and while the piece can be laid flat. It is much easier than trimming once the hood has been stretched on the form. Also, it is easier to cut the leather when it is wet from soaking.
I don't know how practical these are to make for others, as the hood form is so specific, and I couldn't possibly carve one for each custom order. I don't even know how wearable they are, as I haven't even tried one on in my size. I suppose I should make one to find out...
Until next time...

Bondage Hood How-To

Here is a step-by-step process for making leather hoods that can be used with the open-faced and mouth-only patterns I posted here. These are perfect for a soft, stretchy lamb leather - and you can get a couple of hoods out of a 10 to 12 square-foot hide.

1. Refine pattern and edit for size if necessary.

2. Mark hide for defects to avoid when laying out pattern.

3. Layout pattern pieces, use weight and transfer shapes with colored pencil.
Parts list: Front panels x2, rear panels x2, large tongue, small tongue.
3. Cut out all parts.
4. Clip & sew front panel seam, top of rear panels.

5. Cut & fold down any access openings (optional). Clip, glue & fold down seam allowances: front, top of rear....
...and rear opening.
Open-face seam glued & turned in.
Detail of inside mouth opening.
Rear opening glued & folded.
Topstitch openings.

6. Set & tape small and large tongues in place.
6a. Topstitch tongues using width guide - leaving room for grommets.
7. Remove tape and trim excess from rear tongues.
8. Clip front to rear panels, aligning on center seam.
9. Sew front panels to back.
10. Remove clips, trim...
...glue, fold & flatten seam.

11. Re-draw bottom seam if necessary.
12. Trim seam allowance to prepare for folding (or trimming if doing a rolled-edge).
13. Glue, fold & flatten bottom edge seam. Trim tongue pieces if necessary to make room for rolled edge.

14. Topstitch folded edge. Be careful not to sew through tongues.


15. Mark position for grommet holes 1" apart with tape measure.
16. Punch holes - go slightly undersize for softer leather.
Punch nose holes too, if necessary.
17. Set grommets with washers. Size #0 on the left, #00 on the right.
18. Cut lace to length and lace through holes.

19. Lace hood on form & allow to stretch overnight (optional).

19a. Admire your handiwork...(optional).
20. Paint nose grommets matching red (optional).