1 ½ Day

$160 / person

8 Students

All Skill levels welcome

Whether you are preparing for a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a high-fantasy battlefield, or the front row of a convention, a layered leather pauldron is an amazing statement piece.

In this workshop, we aren’t just making gear; we’re “leveling up” your craft. You’ll learn how to transform flat sheets of leather into a fully functional, multi-tiered, articulated, metallic-looking leather pauldron (shoulder guard) featuring an adjustable harness system.

Key Learning Objectives:

-Mechanics of Articulation – Understand the placement of “floating” rivets and internal strapping to allow the armor to expand and contract with arm movement.

-Hardening and Forming – Techniques for wet-molding veg. tanned leather to maintain a rigid, protective shell.

-Advanced Finishing – Distressing techniques to give your leather the appearance of forged iron.

-Harnessing & Hardware – Constructing a secure, adjustable chest and underarm strap system using buckles and rivets.

custom, hand-crafted pauldron with adjustable harness.

Are you ready to suit up? Spaces are limited – don’t let your guard down!

Materials needed:

Cutting mat, poundo board, stamping surface, knife or scissors, mist spray bottle, strop, mallet or maul, stylus, wing divider, 1/8 hole punch, slicker/burnisher, #0 -#1 edge beveler

Class Instructor:

Abegail is a Master Leathersmith as of 2023 and the owner of a brick and mortar store Mabuhay Leather Craft (MLC) in Peoria, Illinois.

Abegail has been awarded the Designer of the Year 2024 for Peoria Fashion Week and was invited back to be the opener of the 2025 Peoria Fashion Week show with her all leather outfits.

She received multiple awards for Best in Show for several years from the PeoriaCon Cosplay competition.

She loves sharing her knowledge about leathercrafting! She has trained and mentored junior/local artisans in leatherworking, creating new opportunities for the community.

It is important for leather crafting to embrace artists to use leather and expand into new areas of creativity and to help keep this centuries old craft alive. She hopes that other leathersmiths will join her on these new adventures!