the Argobuilder; Craftsmanship, Adventure, Enjoying Life!
  • Home
  • The Shipyard
    • Building SCAMP "ARGO"
    • Compac 16 Pilothouse
    • Building a Kaholo SUP
    • Making a SUP Paddle
    • Ships' Provisions
    • True Seafaring Tales: Book Reviews
    • Nautical Fiction: Book Reviews
    • Seafaring and Boat Building Reference Books
  • The Woods of Arcady
    • Wisconsin Mushroom Hunting
    • Wisconsin Wildflower Photo Gallery
    • Making Apple Cider
    • Making Maple Syrup
    • Building a Stone Arch
    • Making Traditional Wooden Skis
  • The Homestead
    • The Warp and Weft >
      • Making a Large Tapestry Loom
      • Making a Small Hand Loom
      • Weaving Projects for Small Hand Loom
      • Beautiful Handmade Tapestry Beaters
    • The Merry Blacksmith
    • Making Cheese
    • Wooden Cheese Boxes
    • How to Make Pickled Pike
    • Wisconsin Bluegill Fry
    • Making Wooden Spoons by Hand
    • Handmade Wooden Dustpans
    • Making Broom-Corn Brooms
    • Making Horsehair Brushes and Brooms
  • The Muse
    • Poetry
    • Antique Typewriters >
      • Underwood Standard Portable 3 Bank Typewriter
      • Corona 3 Folder Typewriter Refurbishment
      • Typewriter Platen Replacement
      • Design of Rubber Parts for Antique Typewriters
    • Making an Alphorn
    • Alphorn Gallery
    • Making an Alphorn Bag
    • Viking Lur
  • The Model Maker
    • Making a booknook
    • Krick Alexandra Steam Launch >
      • Assembling Miniature Steam Model Clyde Oscillating Steam Engine
    • Ship Model FD 10 Arnanes Fishing Smack Johanna
    • Artesania Latina, Cargo Ship "Capri"
    • Building a Ship in a Bottle
    • Model of a Disney Water Taxi
    • BlueJacket Optimist Sailboat Model
    • Oseberg Viking Ship Model
    • Making a Cuckoo Clock
    • 3D Print Workshop
    • 3D Printed Object Gallery
  • Tales of Adventure
    • Sailing from Door County to the UP Michigan
    • Sailing Northern Door County
    • Sailing Lake Superior Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
    • Sailing Lake Huron: St.Ignace, Mackinac Island, Les Cheneaux Islands, St Martin Islands
    • From Manitowoc to Algoma and back on a small boat, 2017

Take Your Alphorn Anywhere!

November 2022

I made a bag/backpack for carrying around my Alphorn. 

As with many things on this site, I post not as an expert, but as a person sharing how he did something.   I wanted a carrying case that I could also wear on my back, to carry the 3 piece Alphorn I made  link to my Alphorn building page here!. 
Alphorn Bag
Finished Alphorn Bag / Alphorn Backpack.
Picture
Picture
Full grain leather straps.
I will not get into too many details of how I stitched this Alphorn case/bag/backpack, because I do not feel qualified to give advice on sewing, but I wanted to share what my Alphorn bag looks like, so here goes.  We do have a basic sewing machine in the house, shown in the photo below, and I used that for this project, along with hand stitching.

Making felt sleeves for the alphorn bag:

There will be three felt "Bags" or what I would call "sleeves" that I will put the alphorn sections in before putting them in the Alphorn carrying bag.
Picture
First I stitched together 3 felt sleeves designed to fit the three sections of the alphorn. These sleeves are tapered to fit the alphorn sections. I stitched them on the sewing machine and then turned them inside out so that the stitched hems were on the inside of the bags. I used a zig zag stitch on the sewing machine to make a strong hem.
Picture
In this photo, the Alphorn sections are inside the felt sleeves.
Picture
I bought nylon webbing/strap material and two little plastic buckles and made two nylon straps to secure the sections tight to each other.
Picture
Here are my stitches securing the buckle in the nylon strap.

Making the Alphorn Carrying Bag:

My Alphorn sections are about 4' each, so I made the bag 54" long to leave fabric for when I cinch up the top.  I bundled up the alphorn sections as shown above, then measured the required diameter of the bag at various locations along the length of the bundle.  I multiplied these diameters by 3.14 to determine the fabric pattern.  I then added an extra inch for hems and 1/2" for foam in case I add that later.
Picture
I measured the bundled up Alphorn sections and came up with the shape I wanted to hold them. I left extra room to fit in 1/2" thick foam sheet around the inside of the bag. Here I have cut the shape into heavy cotton duck fabric. NOTE that in this photo the fabric is doubled up. The right edge of the fabric in the photo is where it is folded. I will open this up like a butterfly as seen in the next photo.
Picture
Here the heavy cotton duck fabric that I cut has been opened up and laid flat. Now I will fold over the top into a large hem, and I will stitch paracord (red) into the hem so that I can cinch up the top of the bag.
Picture
Picture
Next I stitched up the bottom and the side of the bag. I did two passes of zig-zag stitched along the whole bottom and side. Then I turned it inside out so that these stitched edges were on the inside of the bag.
Picture
Here is the stitched up and turned inside-out bag.
Picture
Next I positioned the bag, full of the horn sections, on my back to try to feel which orientation would be the most comfortable to carry it in. Then I marked where to put the shoulder-strap attachment points. I used spacing for the attachment points based on a backpack I have. I hand stitched circular patches of cotton duck fabric over the locations where I will stitch in the strap attachment points.
Picture
Next I will stitch in the D-Rings using braided high-test fishing line.
Picture
First I stitched the D rings on with tight loops around the ring, and then I made another pass with the stitches going through the fabric maybe about an 1/8" from the ring.....to distribute the pulling forces over a wider area.
Picture
Here are the D-rings stitched in. I am waiting for some leather to arrive, and then I will make the shoulder straps and hand carrying straps.
Picture
Making a pocket for the other side of the case. This will be for mouthpieces, etc..
Picture
Pocket closure flap, including 2 button holes that i stitched all around.
Picture
I hand stitched the pocket on , and the closure flap. I made the buttons from a 5/8" oak dowel and stitched them on also. Still using high test braided fishing line for all hand stitching.
Picture

Making Shoulder Straps for the Alphorn bag

I again used an existing backpack to determine how long to make the straps.  I found 27" complete length from where the strap leaves the bag to where is returns to the bag, to be the correct length.
Picture
2mm thick x 38mm wide full grain leather will be used for the straps.
Picture
I used a hammer and this punch to punch perfectly sized holes for the rivets.
Picture
Leather has been cut to the width of the hasp, and holes punched.
Picture
I used double head metal rapid leather rivets. The post should stand proud of the leather layers by about 1/8" as shown.
Picture
Hasps are riveted to the straps.
Picture
Copyright 2016 - 2022 www.argobuilder.com ALL photos and writing are by the Argo Builder and his crew, unless noted otherwise. Contact jason@argobuilder.com to request permission to use any writing or images from this site. Thanks. Use the information at your own risk, please ​make safety your first priority, the author does not claim responsibility for the accuracy ​or inaccuracy of any information on this site
  • Home
  • The Shipyard
    • Building SCAMP "ARGO"
    • Compac 16 Pilothouse
    • Building a Kaholo SUP
    • Making a SUP Paddle
    • Ships' Provisions
    • True Seafaring Tales: Book Reviews
    • Nautical Fiction: Book Reviews
    • Seafaring and Boat Building Reference Books
  • The Woods of Arcady
    • Wisconsin Mushroom Hunting
    • Wisconsin Wildflower Photo Gallery
    • Making Apple Cider
    • Making Maple Syrup
    • Building a Stone Arch
    • Making Traditional Wooden Skis
  • The Homestead
    • The Warp and Weft >
      • Making a Large Tapestry Loom
      • Making a Small Hand Loom
      • Weaving Projects for Small Hand Loom
      • Beautiful Handmade Tapestry Beaters
    • The Merry Blacksmith
    • Making Cheese
    • Wooden Cheese Boxes
    • How to Make Pickled Pike
    • Wisconsin Bluegill Fry
    • Making Wooden Spoons by Hand
    • Handmade Wooden Dustpans
    • Making Broom-Corn Brooms
    • Making Horsehair Brushes and Brooms
  • The Muse
    • Poetry
    • Antique Typewriters >
      • Underwood Standard Portable 3 Bank Typewriter
      • Corona 3 Folder Typewriter Refurbishment
      • Typewriter Platen Replacement
      • Design of Rubber Parts for Antique Typewriters
    • Making an Alphorn
    • Alphorn Gallery
    • Making an Alphorn Bag
    • Viking Lur
  • The Model Maker
    • Making a booknook
    • Krick Alexandra Steam Launch >
      • Assembling Miniature Steam Model Clyde Oscillating Steam Engine
    • Ship Model FD 10 Arnanes Fishing Smack Johanna
    • Artesania Latina, Cargo Ship "Capri"
    • Building a Ship in a Bottle
    • Model of a Disney Water Taxi
    • BlueJacket Optimist Sailboat Model
    • Oseberg Viking Ship Model
    • Making a Cuckoo Clock
    • 3D Print Workshop
    • 3D Printed Object Gallery
  • Tales of Adventure
    • Sailing from Door County to the UP Michigan
    • Sailing Northern Door County
    • Sailing Lake Superior Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
    • Sailing Lake Huron: St.Ignace, Mackinac Island, Les Cheneaux Islands, St Martin Islands
    • From Manitowoc to Algoma and back on a small boat, 2017