TheDragonKeepers
Sub-Adult Member
First of all, I'd like to introduce my helper, Robert. He's our newcomer, and is turning out to be a real asset to the team.
Now, we were asked how to make a simple leather harness. First of all, you'll need some stuff:
Essential:
A lizard
A swatch of strong leather or suede
A pair of sharp scissors
A pen (not pictured)
A tub of dragon treats (also not pictured)
Strong, non-fray cord, ribbon or thong (ditto)
Useful:
A leather punch
A bag of eyelets and washers
A rivet punch
A hammer
A hammer-block
First, measure up your dragon. Ask him or her nicely to hold still whilst you wrap a length of leather or suede round his/her body, under their arms.
Word of advice - keep all sharp/heavy/eatable-sized objects well away from lizards to avoid injury.
Trim the leather to the right length, and about an inch-and-a-half wide. Then, with the assistance of your dragon, mark where the armholes will need to be with your pen on the inside of the leather/suede. You will need to mark just INSIDE their armpits, as the space between the arms (the chest-piece) has the least room for error.
It's easier to cut into leather by folding it, and snipping into the folded edge. From the points you marked, cut ovals lengthways of about an inch long, and half-an-inch wide. Leaving the ends of it long, you'll need to trim it into a TMNT-style "mask" shape so it fits snugly under your dragon's beard and round their arms - make sure to test the fit at this stage. Trim the ends into nice curves, making sure the "points" meet comfortably in the middle of your dragon's back.
If you have a leather punch, find the right size for your eyelets and punch through the ends, leaving a safe margin - a few millimetres should do. If you don't have a punch, don't worry. You can still do it with scissors, using the fold and snip technique, but GO SLOW so you don't snip right through and trash your so-far-so-good harness
Fit your eyelets sharp-side out by pushing them through from the inside - if there are any edges, they'll be well away from your dragon
Pop the washer on, then hammer the eyelets smooth and secure, with your hammer-block underneath the eyelet punch. The pointy bit goes in through the front, to force the lip over the washer.
To fit the harness, politely request that your dragon puts his or her hands through the holes. (Look how nice those eyelets look!) Gently draw the armholes past the elbow, and snug up against their ribs.
It should now look like this. Run your cord/ribbon/thong through the eyelets. I've used a strip of leather for demo-purposes, but I wouldn't recommend using it as the final product, as it would likely snap - dragons are strong animals, and can move fast!
Make a fixed loop at one end of your cord, and run the tail through the loop. This will act as a cinch - make sure it runs freely up and down the cord, or you'll have a job getting the poor crittur back out
You're all done. Slide the loop up the cord to open the harness and let your dragon out. To fit, just slide the cord over his/her head when you're putting their arms through the holes, and slide the loop back down to secure. You're both ready for walkabouts!
Now, we were asked how to make a simple leather harness. First of all, you'll need some stuff:
Essential:
A lizard
A swatch of strong leather or suede
A pair of sharp scissors
A pen (not pictured)
A tub of dragon treats (also not pictured)
Strong, non-fray cord, ribbon or thong (ditto)
Useful:
A leather punch
A bag of eyelets and washers
A rivet punch
A hammer
A hammer-block
First, measure up your dragon. Ask him or her nicely to hold still whilst you wrap a length of leather or suede round his/her body, under their arms.
Word of advice - keep all sharp/heavy/eatable-sized objects well away from lizards to avoid injury.
Trim the leather to the right length, and about an inch-and-a-half wide. Then, with the assistance of your dragon, mark where the armholes will need to be with your pen on the inside of the leather/suede. You will need to mark just INSIDE their armpits, as the space between the arms (the chest-piece) has the least room for error.
It's easier to cut into leather by folding it, and snipping into the folded edge. From the points you marked, cut ovals lengthways of about an inch long, and half-an-inch wide. Leaving the ends of it long, you'll need to trim it into a TMNT-style "mask" shape so it fits snugly under your dragon's beard and round their arms - make sure to test the fit at this stage. Trim the ends into nice curves, making sure the "points" meet comfortably in the middle of your dragon's back.
If you have a leather punch, find the right size for your eyelets and punch through the ends, leaving a safe margin - a few millimetres should do. If you don't have a punch, don't worry. You can still do it with scissors, using the fold and snip technique, but GO SLOW so you don't snip right through and trash your so-far-so-good harness
Fit your eyelets sharp-side out by pushing them through from the inside - if there are any edges, they'll be well away from your dragon
Pop the washer on, then hammer the eyelets smooth and secure, with your hammer-block underneath the eyelet punch. The pointy bit goes in through the front, to force the lip over the washer.
To fit the harness, politely request that your dragon puts his or her hands through the holes. (Look how nice those eyelets look!) Gently draw the armholes past the elbow, and snug up against their ribs.
It should now look like this. Run your cord/ribbon/thong through the eyelets. I've used a strip of leather for demo-purposes, but I wouldn't recommend using it as the final product, as it would likely snap - dragons are strong animals, and can move fast!
Make a fixed loop at one end of your cord, and run the tail through the loop. This will act as a cinch - make sure it runs freely up and down the cord, or you'll have a job getting the poor crittur back out
You're all done. Slide the loop up the cord to open the harness and let your dragon out. To fit, just slide the cord over his/her head when you're putting their arms through the holes, and slide the loop back down to secure. You're both ready for walkabouts!
