Bell pads

Something completely different.

I've mentioned before that I've taken up morris dancing, and for that you need kit. Bell pads are a part of that kit and are strapped to your calves and are, as the name suggests, covered in bells. 20 per leg in fact (the side supply the bells). Now, you can buy these, but I want to make my own kit (within reason, top hats are beyond most peoples skill sets). I found some instructions on-line courtesy of Berkeley Morris and those formed the basis of my plan.

As most bell pads are made of leather I started by buying a secondhand leather skirt from Vinted, a M&S one which cost me £4 plus postage;

It didn't fit me...

This I cut up into several panels;

I cut two of my panels down to 330 x 160mm, then marked out where I wanted the bells to sit as well as where the top and bottom folds over;

The punched holes (5mm) are for the ends of the slits, and are there to stop the slits from getting longer.

I then sewed the folds at the top and bottom, these are for the leg straps;

Leather is a sod to sew, at least in my hands. I used my 1960s Singer, which has just come back from being repaired (needle height problem), and I had to increase the foot pressure to get the material to feed properly. My sewing here is not the neatest, in fact it's pretty rubbish truth be told, but it will do. Thread is just normal Gutterman black.

To reinforce the area where the bells will sit I cut out strips of leather which I then glued behind the pads before re-marking out the bell positions and punching a series of 4mm holes using a home made punch;

For glue I used Evo-Stick, I find contact adhesive to be horrible stuff but it does the job. Please ignore the messy workmanship! Once the glue had set I cut three slits in each pad, so they could flex as I'm moving.

To hold the pads onto my legs I bought a pair of ready made straps complete with buckles from eBay, I did look at buying the webbing and buckles separately but ready made straps were a bit cheaper. These thread through the larger 'tunnel' at the top, the smaller 'tunnel' at the bottom has shoelaces threaded through. These are tied as loops, so I just need to step into them and pull the pads up to just under my knees and do the buckles up. The bottom of the pads sit fairly loose on the legs. More shoelaces are used to hold the bells in place, being threaded through the loops on the bells;

From the front;

And on me legs;

I decided that they were a little plain, so I punched three more holes in each to thread some ribbons through;

Much better.

I've enjoyed the challenge of making these, although I did find sewing the leather to be frustrating, maybe a walking foot would have helped. I have enough material to make another pair if these fail, or as a pair for someone else if I'm feeling generous.

Perhaps I'll wear them to exhibitions, after all they can't be any more irritating then those noisy diesel depots with the DCC sound turned up to 11. Or maybe I'll wear them on the bike, which would be especially useful on the Monsal Trail on a busy summers day.

Paul.