Working with the hair-on the skin can provide a scrap of a challenge, we accept put together this guide with a few tips and hints.

Cut the hide:

Mark your cutting line on the dorsum of the hide or skin. Using a sharp fine bladed craft knife very gently slice through simply the leather skin part allowing the hairs to role and come away naturally. This will go along the natural 'fringed' expect to the projection. (Tip: it is a adept thought to start with a new blade to your knife.)

Stitching Tips

When adding a piece to the top of a project sometimes the stitching can leave the hide looking uneven, to remedy this use a blunt needle and pull all the pilus out from underneath the thread.

It is best to do this quickly before the hair wants to stay distorted. This method is the same whether you are sewing cowhide, sheepskins or rabbit, and is also used for both mitt sewing or automobile sewing.

Needles and Threads

The thread used needs to have a high tensile strength – the ane pictured is Coats Barbour 100% flax (linen) size 25/3) a cc in brown and a natural/white color.  For needles use a diamond tipped leather 'glovers' needle size ii, be aware the tips are very sharp.

Bachelor from http://www.identityleathercraft.com

Useful tools – sharp fine bladed pocketknife such every bit The Identity Store Precision arts and crafts knife, footling bulldog clips or quilting clips, stiff fine thread (we use Coats Barbour or Somac linen threads), a glovers needle (size #ii) or a Saddler'due south sharps needle. You will too find a thimble very useful.

Quilting clips – can be found on Ebay, Amazon or sewing craft shops

Sewing hair-on hides or pelts together: can be sewn together for the best result as long as the slant of the hair/fur on both parts is lying in the aforementioned direction. In addition a colour/design and length of hair/fur of both parts match, then a join of several pieces of hair/fur will exist imperceptible.

For a very good tutorial on hand stitching pelt to pelt together we suggest this article on Sewway which has very adept step by footstep photos and instructions:

www.sewway.com/sewing-of-fur-pelts-by-hand

With great thanks to Natalia for taking the time to put this together. See more than of her tutorials by following the link.

sewway 1
Photo credit: http://world wide web.sewway.com

Applique/To stitch a piece of hair on to a piece of leather (for example for a bag flap: brand the holes in the leather in the normal way (with a chisel or an awl). On the top side (grain) identify a row of narrow double-sided sticky tape and position hair-on piece where you want it to exist. Working from the dorsum apply the very abrupt glovers needle to exercise back stitch only only carefully picking up the peel of the leather rather than the hairs. Go on checking equally you work that you have picked up the skin. Also wait at from the front to ensure the stitch has not gone all the fashion through. If this has happened advisedly lift out the hairs with a blunt needle.  If you are sewing to a leather piece that is more than 1.5mm in thickness you lot may find a curved needle works better.

To shop for the leathercraft supplies mentioned click here