hardened leather safety gorget with quilted lining

[John S.]

Worked up the attached project from some material I had sitting around. Still have to finish stitching in the lining and the straps. Anyone want a how-to guide for any part of the project or has this ground been thoroughly covered already?

[Keegan Ingrassia]

How are you going about attaching the lining? Some kind of permanent attachment, or is there a way to remove the lining to launder it?

[John S.]

My plan is to stitch in a few strategic "staples" with artificial sinew. Removing it would require cutting the staples and re-stitching--I'm hoping to only do that when I have to replace the padding. Maybe cleanliness can be maintained by dunking the entire piece (leather, padding, and all) in the sink with some detergent.

Not perfect, but less disgusting than the old school approach of contact cementing foam in and occasionally disinfecting it or just letting it slowly rot.

[losthelm]

A handful basting stiches should let you remove the padding without issue.
Over time the stich holes can start to wear.

Good solid brass snaps can also work but can detract from the overall look.

Velcro may also work but over time tend to collect random fuzz and become less effective.

[John S.]

Basting stitches is probably a better term than "staples," but we're visualizing the same solution.

[Alex Baird]

Hidden velcro works well. You can use a wire carding brush to clean the hook side.