Mirkwood Bow, Arrows, & Quiver
Completion Date: October, 2003
Last Page Update: December 12, 2003
The Bow: - The search for
the right Legolas bow started fall, 2002, and finally ended in May 2003. I was
starting to despair because everything that I came up with cost anywhere from $150 - $550,
so I turned to e-Bay. I lucked out and found a prefect bow! It is a hunting-weight
fiberglass recurve bow that has about a 45# pull on it and stands a little under 5 feet.
This one I could actually afford at the moment - it was only $15!!! Still can't believe
it. Anyway, when I bought it, and when it came, it had old camouflage tape wrapped all the
way around it as well as little tufts of fur intertwined into the string. 
Here's what it looked like when I got it, I'm not sure if you can pick up on all the tape and tufts of fur. <--
When it arrived I went about peeling off the old cammo tape
as well as freeing the fur from the string. (After of course playing around with it and
sending arrows flying in the backyard!) I then lightly sanded the whole frame to remove
any imperfections and sticky residue that the tape may have left behind. (Thanks, Laird
for the tip!!) It was so smooth! Anyway, it was time to go about painting it. All in all I
think it has about four coats of paint on it; I probably could have gotten away with just
three, but four is pretty safe. I used acrylic paint in two colors: black and burnt umber.
Here it is in the first stages of paint, only half of it is done. -->
The first two coats are burnt umber, the second being a much darker mixture of black and burnt umber, and the fourth and final coat is burnt umber again. It turned out really nice and looks like, well, dark wood instead of fiberglass. :-)
Once everything was dry, I took my gold leafing pen and drew
on the "Elvish" designs along the front t part of the bow. That's pretty much
it, and this particular piece of the Legolas costume didn't take me any time at all. It
was just the getting around to doing it that took so long! The reference that I used for
my designs was from looking at one that another person had done. I cannot for the life of
me remember where it was that I got it! So, if this looks like yours, PLEASE email me and
I'll give you your rightful credit ASAP! :-)
Here at the right is what the bow looks like all finished. --> Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.
The Quiver: This is the first thing I have ever made
out of leather, and I was actually pleasantly surprised at how nice it turned out. :-) My
quiver is made out of kind of light-weight dark-brown leather that I got from ACS Trading
Post online. I made my "pattern" out of a couple of pieces of newspaper then
tried it out on some brown fake-leather that I had in my stash. I basically just made my
pattern based on looking at a picture of another fan's Mirkwood quiver. At the bottom, I
gave myself about a two inch seam allowance and about 1/2 an inch on the sides. For the
height, I took my arrows and made sure that the top of the quiver would end at about 5 or
6 inches below the tops of the arrows once they were in the quiver. 
This is before I stitched, etched, or painted anything. Seen at right is the quiver and arrow, and below is the quiver along with the bow and arrows. The quiver is not finished here.
To stitch it up, I took my leather punch that I
bought at Micheal's and put it on it's smallest hole setting and went about punching holes
all aound the bottom and left edge of the quiver. I started from the bottom, with the two
rights sides of the leather facing eachother and punching the holes about 2 inches from
the edge. Then I turned it right side out and just punched the holes about 1/2 an inch
from the edges, leaving the seam on the outside. Once the holes were in, I went back and
stitched it up with my leather thread and needle, also bought at Micheal's. When that was
all done I then went about buring my designs onto the top and bottom of the quiver with my
woodburner. I've got to warn you, this stinks so you may want to do it outside!
Though, it still stinks, at least your house won't! Next I went along the eteches I had
just burned with the same gold leafing pen that I used for the bow, making sure to stay in
the lines. 
Finished quiver, with my very "un-Elvish" Easton arrows, LOL!! I don't have time to do it all. ;-)
The final thing was to cut a long and narrow piece of leather to make the strap. My strap makes an "X" at the back (outside) of the quiver and comes around to the front like Orlando Bloom's and is fastened with a silver buckle that I bought at the Ren Fest.
That's about all I can remember! If you need any help, drop me a line at Ice_Hockey_Lass@hotmail.com
Here are two more pics of everything in it's finished state:
Gathering the Materials for
the Legolas Jerkin
Making the Legolas
Jerkin
Legolas Blue Tunic (Shirt)
Boot-Toppers & Vambraces
Fellowship Cloak
Lorien Brooch
Finished Costume Photos
Back to Main