I’ve mostly had sedentary hobbies. I’m a writer, a book reader. I like smoking bowls and watching British dramas. I’d never really known the satisfaction that can come from an active hobby, using my hands. I’d always wanted to make things, but have historically been bad at it – all my high school woodwork projects were wonky, every item I’ve sewn has come out too small. I always measured twice, but I’d get a different number every time.
During lockdown in 2020, surging with manic energy, I was compelled by an irresistible desire to build shit. I can’t explain exactly why, but I did need to use my hands for things other than typing unhinged tweets. Years ago, a pal taught me some basic leatherwork skills and I made some cuffs and a few other things, then put away my tools and never picked them up again. So, when I was stuck in the house 23 hours a day and desperately needing a hobby, I decided to teach myself how to do some simple leatherwork again. I still had some of my tools, and over a few months I ordered the others I’d need one by one.
I took a mass-produced strap-on harness I already owned and used it to make a template, then cut out some leather, finished the edges, and bashed it together. My first few attempts were pretty rough, with wobbly edges and weird measurements, but I got better over time.
Leatherwork is an unforgiving hobby with an expensive learning curve. Learning to finish the edges of the leather caused me so much trouble, and it took forever to get the process down. The finishing is the most important part of the piece, it’s what elevates the item from looking amateur to professional. I can’t tell you how many times I have cut leather, painstakingly finished the edges, and marked it up, only to punch a hole in the wrong place and ruin the strap.
Despite my lifetime love of fine leather goods, I don’t eat meat. I am the worst vegetarian ever. It does mean that I absolutely hate wasting leather and I often bash together pieces out of scrap that I give to friends. I’ve been on the lookout for a vegan alternative, but don’t want to use a plastic or vinyl. Plant-based leathers are amazing—I’ve seen pineapple, cactus, and mushroom leather alternatives but they are really expensive at the moment. As they gain popularity, hopefully the production prices come down.
Being a good little millennial, I turned my hobby into a bit of a side hustle. Leatherwork is costly, plus there are only so many harnesses I can make for myself and my friends. Once I felt confident enough in my product to sell it for cash money, I opened an Etsy store. I offered strap-on harnesses, plus chest and hip harnesses as well. I got my hot Mistress friends to model my shit for the product images. The store did well for a while there, but I closed it when making leather shit started to feel more like work than a hobby. Etsy fees and postage costs rising didn’t help either. I still take custom orders and I do repairs on friends’ leather pieces, and I’m proud of my little Etsy store—I had consistent 5-star ratings.
The connection between leatherwork and my former chosen profession—domination—wasn’t lost on me. I’ve been working with leather for years. I like the smell, the feel of it. I like the way it softens over time, with use. I know what a quality harness looks like, what useful cuffs need. I had colleagues who wanted leather goods, and I could be the one to provide! I can whip up almost any restraint that my Domme friends can describe.
Leatherwork is great fun if you like bashing things with mallets and making lots of noise. My neighbours would hate me if I wasn’t so quiet the rest of the time. You’ve gotta take care, though—I’ve cut myself more times than I can count with the edging tool, burnt myself on the Dremel finishing edges, and once hit my finger so hard with a mallet that the fingertip was numb for a week.
I liked learning to make harnesses because it was a simple process that I was able to teach myself. I’ve always been an autodidact. Someone can show me something all they want—I won’t get it until I have the chance to explore it myself, read up, get in there, and fuck around with it. I wanted something simple I could learn on my own, at my own pace. I wanted something I could get good at—and I feel like I mastered making harnesses. It’s not hard, it just takes practice! I can look at any body harness and figure out how to make something similar. My edges are perfect. I rarely rivet pieces together upside down anymore. Well, sometimes…
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