HOW TO MAKE A SHEEPSKIN COAT

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TOM ISGAR

Sheepskins, interestingly enough, still come from sheep. Most of them, once they take leave of their original inhabitant, get dyed ugly colors-after first being bleached white-and then end up as doormats, teddy bear skins or bed rugs. A few go to head shops or exotic import places as novelties, where they can be purchased for the average price of $25.00. And a select handful actually become sheepskin coats which can be admired from a distance, but which are really just too expensive for the average person to buy.

Expensive or not, however, a sheepskin coat will probably sound like a pretty good idea to you when the snow begins to fly and the temperature drops and drops and drops. Well, before winter completely takes hold, you can-with a little patience, a few tools, not a great deal of money and even less skill-make a sheepskin coat that will be both luxuriously warm and your very own work of art.

FIRST THE SHEEPSKIN...

You can find sheepskins for sale in most large cities, usually as part of a leather jobber's stock. If you live in the West, Southwest or parts of Canada, you may be close to a tannery... which is the ultimate source, outside of the sheep themselves. The skins can be mailed or shipped by UPS, so you don't necessarily have to make your purchases in person.

The hides come either bleached white, dyed-any variety of colors-or natural. The naturals, which are neither bleached nor dyed, are most exciting to me because of their varied shades and patterns. You can't expect a perfect match in naturals, but you do get beautiful skins that will allow you to produce highly individualistic creations.

You also have a choice of wool length. Fleece that's 1/4 to 1/2 inch long is called shearling and is the shortest length available. This is what you want if you're going to make coats with the wool on the inside. Next is a length of 5/8 inch, followed by 1 inch and sometimes 1-1/2 to 2 inches. These longer fleeces make impressive coats when you put the wool on the outside.

Sheepskins are sold by the foot or by the skin. The individual hides, on an average, are 7 to 8 feet long... with 6 feet being considered a small skin and 10 feet a large one. I presently pay $6.00 for shearlings and $10.00 to $12.00 for skins with longer fleece. (The cost of sheepskins, like everything else, has probably skyrocketed since this article was written. - MOTHER.) I also buy - from Chicago Tanning - shearlings that have their leather sides dyed a light brown. These cost $1.00 per foot. The advantage here is that you can make a coat from these without worrying about dying the hides yourself.

You can make most coats from four skins. It's even possible, with some piecing, to whip up a small jacket out of three hides... but I always allow four skins for all coats and then make rugs and blankets from the scraps.