I. Choosing the leather

Leather for straps comes in long, thin strips (2-3m/6-9ft). The Weyrherders provide the leather, but it is a rider's responsibility to make sure the leather is still in good repair before using it for straps. There are several common types of damage that would make leather unusable:

1. Water damage: indicated by "rotting" of the leather, discoloration, thinning, or smell.
2. Improper tanning: indicated by fraying leather, inflexibility, weakness, or a rough feel.
3. Wear and tear: indicated by holes, discoloration, stiffness, tearing, etc.

For a first set of Weyrling straps, there needs to be enough leather to encircle the dragon’s neck once, plus around 2 meters to "grow into". Depending on the dragon's size, a Weyrling will need between 3 to 6 strips of leather. For adult straps, up to 10 may be needed.

II. Dying the leather

Dying is optional. It can be nice to add a personal touch, but it's also time consuming. Many riders end up using the natural and variant shades of leather itself. However, there are dyes and buckets in the Weyrling barracks.

Though time consuming, it's a relatively easy process:
1. Rinse a dye bucket, eliminating any dye residue.
2. Fill it with hot water.
3. Add the dye.
4. Put in the straps and stir until the leather is a shade or two darker than the shade desired.
5. Dump the dye and rinse the straps with cold water several times.

III. Cleaning the leather

Whether or not the straps were dyed, they must be cleaned using saddle soap and sponges, which are available in the Weyrling barracks. Scrub and rinse the strips with clean, cold water. The saddle soap helps to cure the leather and prevent it from drying and cracking; however, leather that is wet too long or dries under extreme heat and retain water damage or become brittle. Dry the leather in a warm, dry place for a day or two.

IV. Design

For adult dragons, straps consist of two parts: the straps looping about the dragon’s neck between the 4th and 5th neckridge, and the riding belt the rider wears. Passenger straps are just one part, with the riding belt attached to the straps themselves. The main difference for Weyrling straps is that there is only one loop for a single rider.

Every loop has two buckles; one allows you to put on and remove the straps with ease, and the second acts to loosen or tighten. During Weyrlinghood, the second buckle saves Weyrlings from making new straps every week.

Adult straps and passenger straps are made during the first few weeks of Senior Weyrlinghood, just in time for taxi duty. Another difference between Weyrling and adult straps is that adult straps have foot loops sewn into them at regular intervals. For large dragons, they may even be added to Weyrling straps. Other optional accessories for adult straps include strap bags (similar to saddle bags), helmet and goggle hooks, and sheepskin pads to protect the dragon's skin where chaffing is common, etc.

V. Assembly

Assembly is difficult at first, but by the time a rider is done with their first set they're an expert. Stitching especially requires practice, and is done with a large leather punch called an "awl" and a "leather needle".

Here is a basic guide to assembly:
1. Leather is doubled over lengthwise, making it 2-ply and increasing its strength, and stitched along the edge.
2. Go over the stitches with a hammer to flatten them and turn rough edges.
3. Strips are sewn together lengthwise, and the buckles stitched in.

OOC information:

You can now set your @straps message on your dragon. Once this is done, you can add or remove the @straps description to the end of your lifemate’s description with straps dragon and unstrap dragon.