I’ve always wanted to make a medieval cuir bouilli case ever since seeing one at the Musée de Cluny (Musée national du Moyen Âge) in Paris years ago. I found a tutorial by Barry Hicks that I mostly followed (linked here), grabbed some supplies lying around, and just went for it.
 |
| Inspiration Case at the CLUNY |
I wanted to make a phone case sized case, but didn’t have any wood in that size. I did have a small piece of wood that’s an ink well holder, so I wrapped it up in plastic wrap to prevent the spilled ink from staining my leather. I figured a smaller case would make a nice practice piece.
First layer was made from some stiffer, dryer cowhide leather I had (not sure what cut as it was a destash gift from a friend). For thread, I used Carriage(hemp) Hand Sewing Thread I bought at Tandy Leather leftover from another project, and coated it in beeswax.
For the second layer, I used a lambskin hide I had leftover from making medieval turnshoes a few years ago. To glue the second layer on, I didn’t have hide glue as suggested by Barry Hick’s tutorial, so I used some Barge contact cement I had lying around. I do not recommend it. I forgot how much I dislike working with Barge because 1) the fumes are awful and you need a really well ventilated workspace while wearing a ventilator 2) it’s fast acting and I wasn’t able to smooth out a wrinkle.
So I looked up where I could buy hide glue ASAP and fortunately, hide glue is also used for woodworking and there’s a local woodworking store near me. I picked up some BT&C hide glue in the 192 gram strength (longest open time). I like that it’s in a dry granular format so you can mix only as much as you need and not worry about the entire bottle drying out.
For the third layer, I used the same stiffer, drying cowhide again. I tried to used the same cowhide for the fourth and final layer, but it was so dry, that while skiving the edges, it was coming apart almost like sawdust. I had been trying to avoid using the lambskin since it was a little too stretchy when I was skiving the second layer, but I ended up using the lambskin for the fourth layer. I struggled with skiving some of the edges – some irregularities in the hide meant I ended up just tearing out entire chunks when skiving, while some edges skived down really easily. The location of the missing chunks didn’t matter since I’d be overlapping the edges anyways.
I mixed up some hide glue and started wrapping the last layer, taking my time to mold it over the first three layers. I’m really happy with how thin and almost unnoticeable I manager to get the side flap, but the top and bottom edges could’ve been neater. Notes for next time.
I let the hide glue dry overnight and got started on designing the outside. Yes, I jumped into this project without knowing what design I wanted. At first I tired to scale down a version of the design on the original inspiration case (above), but it didn’t really fit in this small of a scale. Then I remembered how much I loved the fighting rabbits often found in the marginalia of medieval manuscripts. I love rabbits and I also practice historical European martial arts (HEMA) and archery (mostly Olympic recurve, but I occasionally try traditional/barebow), so combining the two would be perfect for me.
After tooling the leather, came the scariest part. Cutting the case open. I went slowly with an X-Acto knife while checking to see if I had cut through the first two layers. This took a while and I was having trouble getting under the two layers to help loosen and separate them. After a while, it finally started sliding apart and…. I then I realized I had tooled the design/cut it open upside down. The lid should’ve been the shorter side with only the outer two layers. I reminded myself that this is why we make practice pieces. Also made a mental note to find a way to mark up and down next time.
I dyed the pieces with Eco-Flo Leather Dye, added silver to the weapons with Eco-Flo Waterstain, then used some Eco-Flo Hi-Lite Color Stain for contrast in the cuts, and sealed it with Eco-Flo Professional Finish in Matte. The edges were burnished with some gum tragacanth.
For the strap, I finally made use of this lucet I bought at ren faire two years ago. I used some cotton kitchen twine and followed Fabric & Fiction’s tutorial (linked here).
So what does this tiny medieval cuir bouilli case fit? The originals often held books or were used as an etui case. Fortunately, I happen to enjoy collecting miniature books, so here are some of my books that I could carry around in the case.
I tried fitting some sewing supplies, but it didn’t hold enough. So the most practical use for this is… for my AirPods! Great for taking a stroll in my cotehardie, surcoat, and liripipe hood, and listening to some bops. Hildegard von Blingin’ anyone?
If you’ve read this far, you may be interested in the little video I put together of the making of, plus some action shots of the AirPods case in action.
For more cuir bouilli case awesomeness, check out Morgan Donner and Tuscany Posey.
Outfit details:
Cotehardie and surcoat are self-drafted patterns inspired by medieval garments. I made them out of linen to wear in warmer weather.
Liripipe hood made by me following Morgan Donner’s pattern.
No comments:
Post a Comment