Vacuum Formed Skin Tight Leather Mask

Here is a way to make a different kind of leather mask than I usually do, using the power of a vacuum to shape the leather.

Pictured above is my set up, consisting of a vacuum pump and hose connected to a piece of iron pipe. The bottom of the pipe is closed off, so that when the pump is engaged a strong vacuum pulls from the top of the vertical pipe. Into the open pipe I place the form that I am going to use, in this case a life casting of a woman's face poured in plaster, with a smaller diameter iron pipe protruding from the bottom.

The smaller pipe inside the larger pipe still allows the vacuum to suck air. For my leather I have chosen a very thin lambskin, as it will absorb water when immersed, and then become plastic. At the same time it won't allow any air to pass through it, so that when I firmly wrap the lambskin around the larger pipe, the vacuum pulls the damp leather down around the face.

To ensure a good pulldown all around, I drilled small holes in the recesses of the face: The inside corners of the eyes, the nostrils, and the outer corners of the mouth. I also worked it with some dull metal tools to help the leather conform.

Once it drys it can be removed from the form, and it will retain its shape. Here is the mask after it is cut off of the plaster face.

This view shows it from the inside. You can see that at the chin and forehead I was unable to stretch it sufficiently to remove all of the wrinkles.

Pachy Trunk Hose Covering

This piece is part of the gas mask worn by Packrat, in the upcoming film After The Fall.


It consists of a piece of vacuum cleaner tubing covered in leather. I've chosen lambskin as it is my favorite garment weight leather, and will conform easily to the corrugations on the hose. I've marked out a rectangle on the grain side of the leather.

I'm making it with the flesh (suede) side out, so I've stitched it the normal way on a regular home sewing machine.

Here I've turned the leather right side out, and soaked it in warm water so that it will stretch slightly, which makes the leather darker.

Here it is half way pulled on. The damp lambskin pulls easily over the tubing. Once dry it will shrink back to its original size, making a snug fit.

The sleeve is completely on now, and even though still damp, you can easily see the corrugations through it. The pressure gauge (which is part of the finished mask) has been inserted to test the fit.

While still in this damp, plastic state, I wrap waxed thread down the length of the hose to emphasize the corrugations. I start by taking two spools of thread and tying their ends together. Then, beginning at the top, I wrap it around the tubing, pulling the thread into the grooves. With the back seam facing me, I cross each row over the seam and proceed working down one corrugation at a time.

Here is a close-up of the finished front of the trunk hose.

And here is a detail of the back, showing the crossing threads over the leather seam.