Create: Fire Emblem Awakening Lucina Sword Scabbard

Hi everyone! Today I will be showing you how to make a scabbard for a sword. This scabbard is specifically for my Fire Emblem Awakening Lucina wooden sword, and I will be using her model from Super Smash Bros for Wii U as a reference. Unfortunately, I do not have any in-progress or up-to-date pictures for my scabbard, but I will link a video similar to how I completed the first part of my scabbard here. 

You will need:

• Cardboard
• Duck Tape
• Markers
• Faux Leather
• Scissors
• Sewing Machine and Thread
• Fabric to line inside of scabbard
• Fabric or craft glue
• Foam paintbrushes

I absolutely love making props and working on costumes, and I hope you will too! Now that we have covered what you will need let’s start going through the steps. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Step One: Making the base for the scabbard

The first step to making your scabbard is making the base that your sword will actually go into. Start by placing your blade down on a piece of cardboard and outlining the blade. Leave around a half inch (depending on how big your blade is) for the blade to actually slide into. This will be the inner layer of our scabbard. I made mine a little tight and it pulls on the paint of my blade so make sure you have a comfortable fit before you go any farther. Once you are comfortable with the size of the scabbard, cut it out. Wrap the cut-out shape around your blade and make sure it is a little big. The next step will be lining the scabbard with fabric to help protect the paint.

Step Two: Lining the scabbard with fabric

This is the time where you will want to add any cosmetic changes that will go under the paint. The boots that I am making require laces, so I cut a tongue into my shoes then added eyelets using a grommet. To do this, I first traced the design and measured where the eyelets would need to go. After figuring out where I needed to alter the boots, I did so. After this, it is time to start painting

Step Three: Painting on the color

This step is pretty simple. Take the fabric you decided to use for the inside of your scabbard and glue it to the cardboard. Start by cutting two pieces of fabric just a little larger than your cardboard. You will want it larger so you can wrap it completely behind and onto the outside of the piece. This will prevent the fabric from moving or coming unglued.Once the fabric is secured and the glue is dry, put the two fabric covered faces together for the next step. At this point, you have finished the inner lining of your scabbard.

Step Four: Taping the scabbard together

This part can be tough if done incorrectly. Before we tape anything together you will want to take your two pieces and bend them slightly to make sure they will properly fit your blade. Make sure the bends stay consistent throughout the taping or it will be more difficult to make your sword fit later. Once you have a curve large enough to fit your blade, Take some duck tape (color does not matter) and begin wrapping your scabbard until it is completely covered in duck tape. This step will also give you scabbard a good amount of support and mass, making it look more realistic. 

Step Five: Making the leather sleeve

This step will involve sewing. Take your faux leather and cut it to fit your scabbard. This means taking the measurements you used when cutting out the cardboard and going a half inch outside of it. Sew the pieces together and leave the top open so you have what looks like a big leather pocket. Test fit it to your scabbard to make sure it is snug then take it off. In the next step, we will be gluing the leather sleeve to the scabbard.

Step Six: Gluing leather sleeve to scabbard base

Cover you scabbard in craft glue or fabric glue. To do this, use your foam paintbrush and saturate it with glue, then brush it up and down your scabbard. Wait for the glue to become tacky them find another person to help you push the scabbard into the leather sleeve. Push the scabbard into the leather sleeve and you are done!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Let me know how your own project went or if you have questions/comments below. Thanks again! Have fun crafting!