I’ve been wanting to put one of these bags together for a while. The bags the Sami make are made from reindeer leather but as it’s not easy to get hold of in the uk so much I’ve used a 1.5mm veg tanned leather.
The actual use of the bag has many uses but I wanted 2 bags one for ground coffee and one for tinder.
I made the template out of cardboard and used the circumference of a cd and then just extended the neck, what I have done for future bags is extended the length of the neck from the original design as it was a little too short.
I cut out the back and front and measured the middle section and cut that out.
The weaved tin thread was purchased direct from Sweden it is a typical thread used in Sami craft (duodji).
First thing the thread is platted together and then using glue fixed to a piece of leather the same length as the area it will cover on the face of the bag.
Using thin nylon thread the weave is stitched to the leather then that piece of leather is glued to the front of the bag and then stitched.
Using a stitch marking wheel the stitch is marked out and the side panel is stitched onto the front (with bag inside out) using artificial sinew.
The securing leather is stitched onto the back panel then this is then stitched onto the side and front panel as before.
The bag is then turned the correct way and there you have it your own coffee/tinder bag.
My first attempt used a black spun copper thread and black thread. I wasn’t to happy with the stitching so changed the way it was stitched. Also this bag has a carved piece of antler as a clasp for the retaining straps
