HOW TO TAN RABBIT HIDES
(Page 4 of 8)
January/February 1983
By Kathy Kellogg
When the pelts are just barely damp, toss them in an electric dryer, with no heat, for 15 to 45 minutes. This step can be omitted . . . but the machine fluffing does make the fur easier to work with and the next procedure less difficult.
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WORKING THE LEATHER
Ever since animal hides were first turned into leather, they've been pounded, rubbed, chewed, and beaten — and often annointed with grease or oils — to make (and keep) them flexible and soft. I stretch partially dried hides to soften the leather, using a process known as breaking the skin.
Pull the skin of your damp pelt in all directions, working only a small area at a time. The leather will begin to turn soft and white. The trick is to catch the hide while it's still slightly wet and limp. If it becomes too dry and turns hard, resoak it with a wet sponge (this is called damping back ) until it's pliable enough to stretch again. Be firm as you pull the leather, but don't use too much force, or you might tear it. Keep up the skin-breaking procedure as long as necessary . . , until the pelt remains soft as it dries. ("Broken" hides may be tacked to a board or frame to encourage them to dry flat.)
FINISHING AND STORAGE
After the hide has dried and is sufficiently soft, give the fur a good brushing with a small hairbrush. Then massage mink oil (I buy it at shoe stores . . . where an eight-ounce container, which is enough for several dozen pelts, costs about $2.00) into the skin side of the hide with your fingers. (You'll be glad to know that mink oil is a wonderful hand conditioner.) As a final — optional — step, try buffing the leather with pumice or fine sandpaper to give it a soft, velvety feel.
Rabbit fur, like all leathers, breathes . . . that is, it contains microscopic spaces for air circulation. Therefore, it's best not to store rabbit pelts (or any other fur or leather) in airtight containers (except, of course, when you're freezing them before tanning). I keep my finished hides in a cardboard box with a bar of sweet-smelling soap, which repels insects and helps to scent the furs.
SEWING RABBIT FUR
Working with thin leather — such as rabbit skin — isn't all that different from working with thick cloth. Therefore, any person who sews should have no great difficulty making the transition from fabric to fur.
The following list should serve to give you an idea of the variety of items an ingenious homesteader can craft with rabbit pelts: bedspreads, coverlets, robes, cushion covers, pillows, handbags, toys, hats, caps, hoods, mittens, baby bootees, vests, coats, capes . . . in short, the scope of your furs-titching projects is limited only by your imagination!
The first step in constructing any article of rabbit hide is to make (or buy) a full-sized pattern for each piece to be cut (the jacket shown in the accompanying photos was made from a purchased pattern). If you're not sure about the fit of the finished product, sew a muslin dummy and make any necessary adjustments to the sections before cutting into the pelts.
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