old buckle web mitt
Posted: September 28th, 2011, 1:58 pm
This mitt had been sitting in a box with my other projects for a while. I was always on the look out for a similar model in better condition so I wouldn't have to restore this one. It seemed like a daunting task. Finding another hadn't panned out so I decided to see If I could fix this one. The original buckle web strap had broken off long ago and someone along the way jury-rigged it together. It was a mess, but miraculously, the two D-rings and buckle were still intact. There was a small hole in the pocket and the pocket reinforcing stitching was all worn off. The buckle strap in the back had been broken and riveted back together and was very fragile. Someone had jammed square cut modern lacing through the heel grommets and it is a wonder the grommets weren't all ripped loose.
I cut the heel lacing flush with the grommets and carefully pushed the old lacing through with a nail punch. The padding came out intact in only three sections for which I was grateful. The pocket stitching pattern is visible inside the mitt but the reinforcing material was not attached. I looked through the front of the padding a little more and found the piece of canvas reinforcement so shredded that it had became part of padding. It must have come detached many decades ago. This is the back side of the padding which I stuck in a box to keep it together.