Aye, what ye need is a good scabbard!
by Cookster on Apr.18, 2009, under Costumes, Props
While David took on the task of weathering the sword, I began to create a cover for the plastic sheath. Leather would have been the preferable material to make this with, but I prefer to cut costs by using vinyl. This is costuming on a budget, you know.
The ones on the left are the original pieces as you buy them. Most of the work on the right cutlass was to the grip and handle. Flecks of black paint were added along with a turquoise wash for a patina look. I covered the grip with a very thin leather spiraled to fit and finished the ends with black leather lacing. David chose to leave the original blade as it was.
For the sheath, David painted the upper half gold to match the sword handle. I drew a pattern on some vinyl for the cover, cut it and sewed it with the sewing machine. After sliding it over the plastic sheath, I didn’t quite like the way it looked so I decided to whip stitch along the edge by hand. I finished up the top of the scabbard with another strip of black lacing. Now all we needed was a belt or something to hold the sheath so it could be worn. At Goodwill, I found this great old leather belt that I thought would be perfect for a pirate because it was laced together in sections. This gave me an opportunity to be able to expand its length while still keeping the integrity of the belt intact. With a scrap piece of leather, I created a frog and attatched it to the belt and the scabbard with the same lacing technique.
In the end, I think we managed a pretty decent accessory for David’s costume.
April 18th, 2009 on 4:34 pm
Aye, Ye make a fine sword! Too good for such a foul tempered, sea dog!
April 22nd, 2009 on 5:09 pm
I was so intrigued by Hoisting the colors . . .I had to come back tonight and read more. This was fantastic! But I have one question–was the sword all plastic? Tell David he looks like a million bucks or many pieces of eight! LOL I’ve got to dig out our pirate pics too . . . nothing like yours but it got us by.
) This is fun!!
Sarah
April 22nd, 2009 on 6:51 pm
The swords were all plastic. We saw them at the Halloween Express store for $12.99, but found them at Savers for $7.99. There were only three left. Never could find more, so I am glad I got at least those. The point to this blog is to help people know that they can make great looking costumes and props that don’t have to cost a lot.
Put your pirate pics on your blog, I would love to see them! Thanks again for commenting. I was starting to get a little discouraged. You have re-energized me!