By request: My take on goggles.

Often times after piloting my steam dirigible, I arrive at my destination only to find my eyelashes and eyebrows have collected a mass of gnats, fleas, and small birds. What to do? My last three windscreens have been stolen by flying glass pirates, so I decided to make two smaller windscreens and an apparatus to hold them securely to my head. ha HA! Those scoundrels will have to take my head before they they pilfer these!

These are the goggles that I set out to make when I found the Batman character that was the inspiration for my costume.

*note: anytime a say "an inch" or "half an inch" these are really just rough guesses as I didn't actually measure anything

Step 1: Ingredients

OK here's what I used, and I spent under $30:

Leather - leather coat purchased at salvation army for $9
Small buckle - from women's shoes at salvation army $3
Waxed sinew - from leather supplier $5
Metal rings - these I had lying around, I think they came from a craft store $?
Plumbing coupler - Home Depot $3
Plastic sheet - also had lying around

Tools:
Dremel with cutting wheel
Curved needle
Sewing machine
Liquid Nails Clear
Leather punch (you could actually use just a small nail or something, a leather punch just makes nicer holes)

Step 2: Lenses and Lense Holders

I started but cutting off the threads on both ends of the coupled, and grinding off the chrome from the insides. I did this just so that they would be brass on the inside, unfortunately the outside rings were not brass and therefore would always be silver no matter how much I ground them. They could be painted I suppose, but I left them silver.

I cut two circles out of a clear plastic sheet the same diameter of the inside of the outer ring. I screwed the threads back in to hold the lenses in place.

Step 3: Eye Cups

I took a piece of leather about about three inched wide and wrapped it around one of the lenses, cutting the length so that there was about a quarter inch overlap. I folded over the bottom edge around the front of the lens holders, pulled it tight then used the curved needle and sinew to stitch it together where it overlaps. Repeat for each eye. Hopefully the pictures explain this a little better.

Next I cut what was now a leather tube on an angle downwards toward the overlap. This keeps the slightly bulky overlap in the middle near the nose. I folded over the edges a wrap stitched them with the sinew and needle to put a better looking edge on them.

I cut a small strip of leather about an inch and a half long by an inch wide for the nose bridge. I actually had to cut this twice, because the first time it was to big for my face, you may have to adjust this to your own face.

I stitched this piece just above the overlap on the lenses.

Hopefully the pictures will make sense...

Step 4: Back Pad

I took a rough measurement around the back of my head from just over my ears, and cut a inch and a half strip to match the length. I folded the strip over itself twice so that it became half an inch thick but three layers. I put a thin bead of Liquid Nails between each layer and clamped it all together. I don't think it was entirely necessary, but it made the next part easier. I ran the whole thing through my sewing machine with a leather needle and denim thread using a stitch that my machine has built in that looks like a heartbeat pattern. This obviously was just an aesthetic choice.

This is the one part that I don't have many pics, but it's also probably the simplest and easiest to change pieces. You could really make this out a lot of different ways. I chose to make it thicker than the side strips to give the whole things a little more weight, both actually and visually.

Step 5: Head Band Part 2

I used the metal rings to act as a transition between the thinner adjusting and side straps, and the thicker back pad.

I cut strips of leather the the right width for the buckle ,there are five pieces total: 2 short ones that are attach the metal rings to the pad in the back, 1 longer piece to attach the metal ring on the left side to the eye cup, 1 long piece to connect buckle to right eye cup, and 1 long piece for the adjusting strap through the buckle.

Each one of these pieces is stitched with the sinew to it's appropriate place... it's hard to explain so the pictures are probably easier than words.

I cut the adjusting piece to a point at one end and used a small leather punch to make holes.

Step 6: Finished

Strap on you goggles, shout "Full Steam Ahead" and pilot your skyship to the nearest mad scientist convention!