Last part of my wizard costume and the final pictures!

The last part of my costume for Nullus Anxiatas IVwas a bit of an afterthought- all wizards are well known for their pipe habits.  That meant I needed a tobacco pouch- but what to make it of?  Well I had felt and other things handy so this is a no cost* DIY 'leather' pouch.

Materials

• Felt
• Brown permanent markers (Sharpies or similar)
• Rubbing Alcohol (isopropanol)
• Rivets
• Wool (brown or whatever coloured cord you desire)
• Scissors

Method

Cut a circle out of the felt.  The finished pouch will be a little under half the size of the diameter of the circle.  My felt was approximately A4 in size so that dictated my pouch size.


Now go to work with those brown markers!  There is no right way to do this, just scribble and make random lines everywhere in all different shades.  Pay careful attention to the edges so you don't end up with plain areas (or alternatively, cut out the felt after scribbling).

You may be happy with this but I found it a bit fake looking at this stage so I tried something sneaky.  Permanent markers are alcohol inks.  This means that the dye will dissolve in a non-polar solvent which in non chemistry speak means alcohol.  Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol (C3H8O),a slightly bigger alcohol molecule to ethyl alcohol, the stuff people drink (C2H6O).  This means you could in theory use a high proof spirit like vodka but it's easier and cheaper to use rubbing alcohol!   I directly applied just enough to make the whole thing wet but not dripping (or it would take the pigment with the drips).

When you do this the dye will run everywhere over the felt, blurring your lines.  BUT it will also mean the ink will transfer to whatever you leave it sitting on, so this might be a good outside step!
The nice thing about this step is that it means the ink will partially go through to the other side and give it a nice effect.

Other side of felt after soaking in alcohol

I actually preferred the reverse side, so that's what I used for the outside.  To make the pouch, just place rivets around the edge.  The number will depend on size, just make sure you have an odd number so the cord will come out.

Then just add your cord (I used a twisted cord of the same wool I made my beard from) and it's ready to go.

Finished Pouch

And as promised, here's me in the costume- sadly the pouch isn't visible but the important thing about them is that YOU know that you have all the details!

Buggarup University's Professor of Cruel and Unusual Pedagogy