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sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Saira Workshop
@sairaworkshop.bsky.social
1.7K followers 880 following 1.4K posts
Alternative artisan. Leathercrafter, former foamsmith, propmaker. LARP, softcombat, geek stuff. Part-time mamarracha. #SaveWarriorNun
(ES/GL/EN) She/her
Terra de meigas
https://linktr.ee/SairaWorkshop
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sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Since this was planned as a whole armour but wasn't possible to craft it all at once, I decided to make a copy in EVA foam to keep and keep working on it even after deliver this pieces. That means using the leather armour to mould the foam copy... or the prev one since this is still strapless!
Pic of the red leather armour corset put on the adjustable mannequin, sandwiching both the front and back parts of the corset pieces in the measures of the black armour corset to mould it Pic of the red leather armour cuirass put on the fiberglass male mannequin sandwiching the back part of the foam cuirass copy with the measures of the black armor cuirass Inner view of the front pieces of the black cuirass copy in foam, put on the black leather cuirass itself to mould it by hand since the volumes are not exactly like any of the mannequins Pic of the foam copied pieces on the black leather cuirass, facing down and the front of the black corset used to force them a more curved shape while the foam cool down
October 31, 2025 at 10:24 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Lots of edge burnishing, not really visible without dye but still shiny af, so gold painting can start, from first to last layer of acrylic paint. Buckles attached to their respective pieces, and also last layers on the corset front, both the emblem as the edges!
#leatherwork #handmade
Very close pic focusing the edge of one of the buckle attachment pieces, already bent as it will be riveted, and burnished without colour, the light striking from the side and shining on the smooth rounded edge. On the background, more pieces bent and burnished too Pic of all the straps dyed in black and with a thin layer of metallic golden painting all around on the tooled and burnished edges Pic of all the straps and the buckle attachment pieces, with the buckles already in place, with a bright metallic colour around, and with the holes punched Close pic of the corset frontal piece, light hitting hard from the side highlighting the volumes, the tooled emblem and all the border painted in a uniform light golden too
October 22, 2025 at 12:09 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
This is where things started to get nuts and I failed to photographied most of processes... Dying the rest of pieces, preparing all the edges (aka the leather noodles and some sanding) and a bit of skiving too for the buckle attachments
Pic of the marble stone on my workbench, straps piled at the sides, buckle attachments on top, and in the middle a whole pile of leather trimmed edges All straps and buckle attachments aligned and edges sanded All the buckle attachment leather pieces aligned and facing down, only the central part where they will be bent in half skived slightly Pic of the cuirass and the corset pieces on a bed, with the straps at their side, the buckles, the buckle attachments, a tube of golden acrylic painting, a thin brush and a burnisher
October 16, 2025 at 10:03 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Hahaha I'm in a Xena server where there is a redundant topic about most cursed centaur, let me share with you the reaction to this fanart xDDDDDDDD
October 15, 2025 at 2:53 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Some other references
October 11, 2025 at 11:52 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Between layers, I kept working on the straps and buckle pieces, hurrying up what I could but without the definite measures the straps were tooled in two times... Made it work, though, but at this point I was starting to lose my head. Anyway, I love this fleur-de-lis style so much...
Pic of the volumes process of the buckle attachment pieces, two with only the border decoration marked with the swivel knife, two with the inner part tooled so the border pops up, and the last three beveled so the edge is rounded Pic of all the buckle attachment pieces tooled and beveled in what the upper side will be Pic of four short straight straps, same attachment decoration as the buckle pieces but only one third of the decorative border tooled Four more straps, a bit longer and way curved, before tooled but with one third of the decorative border marked with the swivel knife
October 10, 2025 at 9:12 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
15 años que se dice pronto! La época en que empecé a descubrir quién era yo realmente... a través de experimentar mucho! A día de hoy echo de menos encontrar cargos vaqueros elásticos en los chinos, no os voy a engañar (esa camisa vaquera la he vuelto a empezar a usar hace poco!)
Foto cortada de grupo donde salgo al lado de otra chica en una estación de buses, pelo algo más largo de los hombros, camisa y pantalones vaqueros, camiseta negra, collar y pulsera de pinchos, colgante grande de acero y gafas de montura claras
October 8, 2025 at 6:28 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
And in the meanwhile, I was painting the decorations of the corset. I have to say, metallic painting means a lot of trust in the process, because look at those awful first layers of golden... Believe me, it was even worst in person xD
First layer of light golden acrylic paint over the black leather, brushstrokes very visible and a layer so thin that looks like very old brass Third layer of light golden, brushstrokes still noticing, but at least it starts to look a bit more metallic and homogeneous Fifth layer of light golden, these last two layers applied with sponge so the brushstrokes are almost gone
October 6, 2025 at 8:52 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
I was a bit in a rush, so obv my brain decided the strap design I had wasn't the propper and I needed a new cooler one... So yep, let's complicate this even more! What's life without challenges?
Notebook paper with four different designs for the ornated part of the straps that goes riveted to the armor. The four of them are three rivets design, one with a clover shape, the second reminding a fleur de lis, the third is the original convex curved triangle design used in my first armor, and fourth is a concave curved triangle The chosen design is the fleur de lis shape, whose pattern is shown here already cut and over one of the red armor straps to compare (same size, more complicated perimetre) Pattern of the buckle attachments with the same shape but double, and three leather scraps with 12 pieces marked The 12 leather pieces for the buckles already cut and the border traced, with one of the buckles that will be used in the armor
September 30, 2025 at 11:18 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
And while I painted the decors in golden, since the acrylic painting has to dry between layers, I advanced through other steps, like re-moulding the already stitched pieces to make them more curvy and shaped. The metallic painting is also a bit tricky, so it takes time and patience
Pic of the black cuirass back on the mannequin, strapped by the red cuirass to help shaping it, while I force the bottom part to the outside using a wood burnisher and my hands Close pic of the central part of the cuirass front, the quince branch painted in a single layer of metallic golden and the black dye fading in some parts around the breasts where it was re-shaped using the wood burnisher Pic against the light of the same part of the cuirass, this time on its third metallic painting layer
September 26, 2025 at 6:47 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Making the 3 chest pieces work together was a bit of a nightmare but finally figured it out, glued them, punched the f holes and saddle stitched them with black waxed thread. A whole entire day plus 3 more after-work nights to do it all... Also, remember, 3 and 6mm hardened leather hand stitched...
The three frontal pieces of the cuirass attached together through clips, actually drying the glue that is not visible between them Detail pic of the bottom edge of the center part of the chest pieces, attached together, the needle going through the sewing hole, middle stitch, to show the thickness of the leather the needle is perforating, and my fingers grabbing it all to compare sizes Pic of the chest almost stitched completely, only part of the neckline left, the stitching line side by side with the decorative border painted in golden and the thread almost invisible in comparative with it Chest completely stitched and wrapped around the mannequin with a couple of belts to keep it there. It's more moulded than before the stitching, as the curve under the bust shows
September 25, 2025 at 9:15 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Last month was crazy, my total focus was to survive reg job and finish this on time. Barely did any of those.
But ready to update this thread (slowly, no hurry now that is done). next step was second colour of the braided lace stitching, easy and gorgeous! Also preparing the central deco for sewing
Pic of the unfinished braided lace stitch, one go of the golden lace upwards, and the starting of the way down with the actual braiding process. This is the back of the corset The whole braided stitching done in one side of the corset Pic of the three stitched pieces (back of the cuirass, back of the corset and front of the corset) with the lacing done and still all black otherwise. The central piece of the front cuirass has only the borders painted in gold Closer pic of the metallic golden painting on the border of the central piece. It's also already sanded and burnished, so it looks totally smooth now
September 22, 2025 at 10:41 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Ok, I finished this today at 7-8am after a maddening last week crunch and I'm too exhausted and frustrated to update the whole process, I need to rest urgently, and couldn't take decent pictures, but... a preview of a hopefully much better look on 2 weeks
#handmade #leather #leatherwork #larp
Pic front slightly towards right side of a black leather cuirass and corset. Both moulded for a female body type, thin waist, prominent hips and breasts, even though it's put on a male mannequin. Japanese inspired decorations tooled and embossed at the front (a quince branch on the cuirass, Nobunaga's emblem quince flower on the corset) and painted in golden Pic 3/4 left side and front of the same pieces, cuirass stitched in barely visible black thread, and corset stitched with a decorative braided stitch in golden and black lace Total lateral pic, the volumes more visible as well as the straps at the sides, also decorated in a golden tooled border with golden rounded buckles and rivets Really close pic of the quince branch at the front of the cuirass, very detailed and small, milliliter sized flowers and leaves, the branches textured
September 18, 2025 at 3:12 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Wednesday was dying day, and thursday lace stitching day! It's only half of the braid stitch, but I have to wait til monday because:
1. Regular job
2. I have to wait for the golden lace
But this is entering the final stages, guys! Just a bit more of leather, rivets, buckles and paint!
All the pieces together, halves side by side, facing up to the cam all and still not dyed All the pieces, halves side by side, all facing up to the cam, the front parts on the mannequin and the back parts behind, all dyed in black but still not stitched All pieces facing up to the cam, dyed in black and the corset front and both parts of the cuirass lace stitched together in a cross stitch pattern
August 14, 2025 at 11:50 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Rollercoaster weeks, sorry for the delay on updates! Just saying tits have been a nightmare and my hands went back to pain with them, but THEY ARE DONE!
Frontal pic of the finished moulded red cuirass and the left halft of the one in progress, light from side above so the moulded form of the breasts cast shadows that reveal the volume Same pieces but view from slightly down and light from above. The in progress piece is a bit longer behind the breast form Side pic of both halves of the cuirass molded and placed on the woman mannequin, with the middle piece placed on them Again, the three pieces of the cuirass, adjusted to the mannequin with one of the swordbelts just above the breasts volumes, and the corset in progress pieces under all it
August 14, 2025 at 1:35 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
There is a better western/cowboy Xena episode, actually!
July 31, 2025 at 12:25 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
This week has been VERY slow, but we are getting there anyway! Fit test of the whole corset, remarking the form and border lines, and the front deco of the cuirass is also finished (one whole morning spent modelling each individual petal of each individual flower a bit...)
Front and back parts of the corset, put on the dressmaking mannequin and wrapped with a belt to keep them together Same corset wrapped in the same belt, but instead of the mannequin, put on myself, to test the fitting, appearing and comfortability Pic of the triangular piece that will be placed in the front of the cuirass, all the branches and tiny flowers and leaves tooled and textured in detail, and the background tooled with a grainy texture Same piece, view from side and sunlight from almost behind, to appreciate the volumes and textures more
July 26, 2025 at 9:59 AM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
I wasn't going to craft this weekend (I arrived home this afternoon after a wedding weekend), but took a powernap so powerful I needed to do something!!!
Leather has been much more cooperative today than the whole length of my vacations...
Close pic of the upper part of the front deco of the cuirass, all the tiny flowers and leaves tooled around, and one side of the branches too Pic with another shaper lighting with all the branches tooled Pic of the front piece of the corset damped (except for the mon embossing) and wrapped around the mannequin waist, secured with a belt and a piece of suede and moulded Pic of the same setting as the one before but from another angle, so the moulding is more appreciated
July 20, 2025 at 11:51 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Anyway, this was a few days ago, since then I stitched the rest of the corset, the back of the cuirass, finished the deco for the front of the cuirass and I'm now carving like crazy. In fact, here you have a vid of the deco outlining with the swivel knife, speed x10
July 17, 2025 at 3:20 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
I forgot two things about this process: the strength required (both arm force and hand grip) and to use protection, like a glove or something.
Now my hand is sore, cramped AND wounded...
Pic of the mannequin on a bed, back part of the corset on, leather really wet and half moulded, a belt wrapped in a piece of suede keeping the thin waist on place and a lot of tools placed under the bottom hem of the corset between the leather and the mannequin (even an small ball too). On the side, a wood burnisher and a plastic folder that I used to stretch the leather by hand (before putting the tools' handles sandwiched under the leather) Pic of the mannequin on the bed, the leather drier, still lots of tools sandwiched between leather and mannequin on the sides Pic of the mannequin from the back and the back part of the finished corset as a comparative of the moulding Pic of my right hand, knuckles raw and several friction wounds due to the moulding by hand, which I didn't realized I was ripping the skin against the felted fabric of the mannequin
July 17, 2025 at 2:51 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
1am self-esteem boost is always welcomed
Not only I fit it better because muscles, I also lost belly mass apparently hehehe 💪🏻
Mirror selfie wearing a gray tshirt and on top the red armor set corset, showing off a thin waist despite my big torso volume Mirror selfie with both the red armor set corset and the cuirass, flexing the arm to show off a bit. Also, very long hair reaching the low border of the cuirass
July 14, 2025 at 12:04 AM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
And so it begins: the hardest step...

Literally, kind of xD
Pic of the back of the corset in progress on the mannequin, the soaked leather pieces sewn together and wrapped around the waist of the femenine torso, with a belt covered in a long piece of suede gripping them in place. At its side, the full finished red corset back as a comparative of the moulded curves to achieve
July 13, 2025 at 10:47 AM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
While I keep fighting against my brain and the front deco of the cuirass, I started the fast-stitching of the corset pieces for the moulding step XD
Horizontal pic of the back piece of the finished corset, lace stitched and moulded, side to side with the unfinished one, not moulded yet and only cross stitched with thread, a bit bigger too Pic from above of the frontal piece of the finished corset, already have stitched and moulded, and the unfinished one, only two of the three parts cross stitched and not moulded yet Side pic of the front pieces again, from another angle where the two stitched parts are seen forming a weird angle towards the outside instead to the side it will curve to once it's moulded
July 11, 2025 at 5:27 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Vacations at last!!! And that means... fully working on this!!! I'm now stuck on the central cuirass deco, so my day is rotating between sit down looking to the piece of cardboard, read a #WarriorNun fanfic and do endless series of push-ups and rows for the wedding in two weeks XD
Several pieces of thick leather cut, two of the for the frontal of a cuirass, two for the back of it and two for the back of a corset. Also a couple of pieces of foam, the frontal of the corset and a triangular piece for the center of the front of the cuirass Closer pic of the corset frontal foam piece, worth a sheet of vegetable paper with a circular design at the center of the foam Really close pic of the circular design already traced and lightly tooled on the leather of the corset front. The design is the Oda symbol, a five petals flower that represents a Japanese quince Pic of the whole corset frontal piece of leather with the Oda quince tooled and embossed, sunset light from the side
July 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
sairaworkshop.bsky.social
Ohno, here we go again, through the rabbit hole...
Screenshot of the chrome explorer with 64 tabs open, most of them images from pinterest and other webs. The one open is an upload from wikipedia of the torso of a Doi clan samurai armor
July 2, 2025 at 9:29 PM