Gary Elsenbeck posted photos of a pouch he made with a beautiful shell pattern flap on it. I was in the process of designing a pouch and knew I had seen the core of my design. So, I'd like to share with you the Shameless Ripoff Shell Flap Pouch. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
I designed it initially with a full length flap, just like Gary's, but then realized I wanted a 2/3 length flap. Luckily I had done it on a CAD program so it was a "grab and pull" mouse operation.
The pouch is 8" wide and 7" tall. I made it with a tapered gusset so it is about 1/2" deep at the top and 2" at the bottom. It has a full back interior pocket with a flap. I left the flap without a button because I didn't want my hand to catch on it while reaching in. The back pocket is made out of a piece that is shorter than the back piece and spreads out wider at the top. This gives it a bit of "mouth." I couldn't get a full length strap in one piece so I stitched it together in the back with a miniature shell detail to make it look as if I meant it that way in the first place.
The strap and flap are 5-6 ounce veg tan leather and the rest is 4 ounce pseudo-brain-tan deerskin. I think that the thread I used has something artificial in it because it didn't take the dye - maybe just the wax. I used Fiebings mahogany dye and then neatsfoot oiled it. The dye job came out a bit mottled for some reason but in the end I like it that way. It looks much more uneven in the photos than it does in real life.
