Square rawhide lantern DIY set – Sizes up to 22cm

Build your own rawhide lantern – with our high-quality materials!

This set enables you to build a lamp as shown in the example pictures here in the product.

To make it easier for you, we have listed a small construction guide below.

 

Materials of the DIY set (everything cut to size):

Rawhide

Hardwood or fruitwood base and lid

Chopsticks

Toothpicks, to secure the sticks

Wax thread for sewing the rawhide

Cord for the loop to hang up the rawhide lamp or to carry it (made of hemp fiber or sisal – whatever is in stock at the moment. Both look good)

Metal wire for the candle holder

 

You can choose between,

3 sizes

With or without pre-drilling + machining of the opening

 

Don’t feel like tinkering? Here and here our finished lamps

 

Size variants of the finished rawhide lantern

Variant 1 – Fruit wood small

Dimensions: h = 17.5cm / w+l= 10.8cm

Wood: cherry, apple, nut, plum

Rawhide: Beef, horse, deer, wild boar, goat

 

Variant 2 – Fruitwood medium

Dimensions: h = 19.6cm / w+l= 11.7cm

Wood: cherry, apple, nut, plum

Rawhide: Beef, horse, deer, wild boar, goat

 

Variant 3 – Fruitwood large

Dimensions: h = 22cm / w+l= 12.7cm

Wood: cherry, apple, nut, plum

Rawhide: Beef, horse, deer, wild boar, goat

 

Building instructions for the rawhide lantern

1. Depending on whether pre-drilling was ordered, you must first drill the holes.
   • You will need an 8 mm drill bit for the bars.
   • Also 8mm drill bit for the carrying cord holes
   • For the opening, use a pot drill, at your discretion. But, leave at least 2cm rim from the lid
2. Optional: Sand the base and lid with 120 grit if the wood is too rustic, too rough.
3. Break the edges off the base, lid and opening as you see fit using 120-grit sandpaper so that the edges of the rawhide lantern are pleasant to the touch
4. Optional: You can treat the base and lid with a hard wax oil to emphasize the wood structure
5. Insert the bars through the holes in the wood from the floor
   • You can recess the bars flush with the floor or let them protrude slightly. Do not leave too much sticking out, otherwise there will not be enough space for the rawhide. The base and lid will then be too close together.
6. Drill through the edge of the floor and through the bar with a 2mm drill bit, approx. 1.5cm-2cm deep (depending on how I made the holes for the bars in the floor)
   • Dip a toothpick in wood glue
   • Then insert it into the pre-drilled hole and break the toothpick off flush
   • Leave the whole thing to dry and then sand the edge until the broken toothpicks are flush with the surface of the edge or barely visible.
7. Sew the rawhide
   • The rawhide is long enough so that it can be overlapped. How you then sew them, with which seam pattern, is up to you.
   • Prepare the rawhide:
     • You can sew dry,
     • Or soak the rawhide beforehand (this makes sewing a little easier).
       IMPORTANT: Do NOT sew wet rawhide under tension. This is because the skin contracts as it dries. This can break or bend the bars of the rawhide lantern. If you sew wet skin without tension, it will simply cling to the skin and create a beautiful picture
   • We recommend laying the rawhide around the bars first so that you can estimate the overlap.
     • 2 variants for sewing
       • Variant 1: Then peel off the rawhide, fix the overlap, pre-pierce and then sew with the added wax thread. Turn the finished sewn cylinder onto the bars
       • 2nd variant: Place the skin around the bars (which are already connected to the base of the rawhide lantern – do not mount the lid for now, otherwise it will be too difficult to sew through the lid opening) and then sew it to the lantern.
8. Then (especially with wet-stitched items) fix the lid to the bars in a timely manner, similar to the base
9. Fitting the carrying cord
10. Bend the metal wire to the diameter of future tea lights (we recommend the large ones, no other candles due to fire hazard) using pliers. There are no limits to your imagination
11. Optional: As a finish, you can apply an oil (e.g. rapeseed or linseed oil) to the outside of the rawhide. This makes them more glassy and changes the light image
12. The rawhide lantern is ready!