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| Leather Bottle Patterns | |||||||||||||||||||||
| There are basically two methods to shaping your bottle...the 2 pieces sandwiched together, or the 3 dimensional pieced together. This second method is more difficult, and I would recommend not doing that as your first type unless you have good sewing skills and patience. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| One of the most common shapes and the easiest to sew is the rounded gourd. This is formed by 2 pieces of leather sewn together flat and then stretched out to create the cavity. The original pattern had only one stiching line around the body, but I added another to create a better seal. You can resize this to create the size you desire. You can even dramatically change the shape (See Students page). The important things to remember are to keep a NECK sewn into it, and to leave tabs to attach it with. |
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| This pattern is from the Compleat Anachronist, #8, Leathercraft for Common Usage, 1983. It is for the more 3 dimensional barrel shape. I have found the dimensions on this pattern to not quite fit properly AND to be a much larger bottle than most people want to carry. Translation of how to recreate this for your needs. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| This is the main piece. The CA article recommends this being cut from a leather side. It basically is one piece that goes from the top front of your bottle, all the way underneath, and then back up the other side. In this manner, the two ends are sewn together and form the neck and mouth of the bottle. You can play with the dimensions a bit to create the size and shape you want. You would cut only one of these. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| The next step would be to cut the end pieces. This could be perfectly round if you wanted your bottle to be very barrel shaped, or they could be more tapered toward the top (this will be a little easier to sew). You would pick a shape and then cut 2 of them. The CA article recommends they be cut of belly leather. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| If you choose to cut the "plug" piece, it should be the same shape as the area next to the mouth and neck of your bottle. This plug helps to ease the angle between the flat seams between front and back, and the funky 3 way join with the sides. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Images of Leather Bottles and Costrels | |||||||||||||||||||||
| The Warship, the Mary Rose sank in 1545. The wreck was left undisturbed until the it's discovery in 1971 and subsequent raising in 1982. It provided a troved of Tudor aritfacts! As you can see, we have examples of both the 2 piece "gourd" shape and the 3 piece "barrel" shape. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| On the left, we have the archiological drawings from the Mary Rose Trust. (I got these from a handout from Lord Gawain Kilgore's University class years back) On the right, someone's reproduction of this bottle |
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| Once again, on the left the drawings of the costrel found on the wreck from the Mary Rose Trust. On the right, the top picture is a photo of the actual aritfact (from The Mary Rose website) and the bottom is a sketch of the same bottle from the book, The Story of the Mary Rose. | |||||||||||||||||||||