A couple of pouch questians

[Leithan]

I received "The kentucky Long Rifle Hunting Pouch" book in the mail a few days ago, Alot of the bags had the powder horn atached to the shooting bag straps. Was this a normal practice? To me anyways it would seem to make alot of sence, less gear to throw on in an emergency, horn always stays in the right place to keap the pouch flap closed etc. Also in reading up on pouch construction they mention the "welt" and I see how it is sown on and such but I have yet to see an explenation of why a welt is sown on. If I was planing on adding a fringe to my bag would I make the welt wider and fringe the edge of it?

 

[crockett]

We have talked about this in the past and most folks prefer the horn on its own string/strap. If you have a really soft bag and position the horn over the flap, the horn will rest against the flap and keep it closed. That said, most folks like the horn very high, above the bag.
The welt was supposed to make a tighter seam. If you leave the welt extra wide the excess can be scalloped or cut into fringe. Sew the bag inside out.

 

[Norskie]

Regarding horn carry, I think what happened is that late in the muzzleloading era folks started attaching the horns to the bag straps. I say that because the stitching mostly looks 'home made' where they sew them on. Perhaps when the horn straps wore out it was the easy thing to do.
We have to remember that when we look at original examples, nobody put a bag away in, say 1810, and saved it for us to look at. They kept using and modifiying to suit their needs as the decades rolled by.
Good leather workers used welts to hide their stitches and protect them from wear. Also, as Crockett says, a welt makes a tighter seam. Its remarkable how water tight a welted seam can be.

 

[rice1817]

I second Leathermoose. If using Veg.tanned leather of 3-5 oz wt, you will want to sew it inside out using a welt. Rule of thumb is to make the welt twice as wide as the distance from the edge of the leather to the sewing line, wider of course if you want to pink the exposed edge. With the heavier leather that makes the most durable bag, if you don't welt it the threads will be exposed when you turn the leather rightside out. Best to use a two-needle saddle stitch for this. You best soak the leather in water to soften it before doing this, and it will still fight being turned right side out! I use a broom handle and sometimes you really have to bear down on it to force the leather to reverse itself. And, as Leathermoose said, it WILL hold water, at least for a while! With softer leathers, like elk, you can get away with no welt and just whip stitch the seams. They won't show, especially if you press the seam flat, which you can do with the softer leather.

 

[Leithan]

Great thanks! :thumbsup: The few books I have show what a welt is, just not what a Welt is.