There doesn't seem to be many sewing "threads" (pun intended) in the archives. Just wondering what the go to stitch is, can one sew a tanned hide, should one sew before or after fleshing? Basically just a sewing tutorial in general, thanks from a Greenhorn!

I'm sure more people will chime in that have way more experience than I do, but any holes that do need to get sewn (and not all do, it depends on the size - some of the smaller ones you don't even need to) I use just cheap dental floss to sew them shut. I started out using standard sewing needles until a taxidermist friend of mine told me to invest in some "glovers needles," which have a triangle/pyramid type point on them, and they are way better. And they're not hard to find. I have some straight ones, some curved ones, depends on what I'm doing and where the hole is. And sewing always comes after fleshing - it's basically the last thing I do before I put the pelts on the boards. I love when I finish skinning/fleshing and there are no holes to be sewn but because I'm not the most experienced flesher out there - I do my fair share of sewing. But usually it's pretty minimal.

In raw fur,holes should be trimmed of any rough edges if any,then sewn with a whip stitch after fleshing.Like said use a glovers needle,a #5 or #7(get good quality glovers needles) and I use upholstry thread.it makes for a nice fine finish.make sure all hair is pushed thru to the fur side while sewing,so no fur gets caught up in the stitches.
Tanned pelts are examined closely when they are recieved from the tannery. any and all defects on both the fur and leather side are repaired by cutting out and sewing before blocking.

I use a blanket stitch to close any holes that need it. Clean up the edges like Boco, and be sure all the fur is on the fur side, none poking back through. I use upholstery thread in a color similar to the leather side of the pelt, Obviously sew the leather sides up so you can see what you are doing.

Thanks gents, I do like the looks of that blanket stitch!

i always had a devil of a time pushing needles through the hide. I now use a sewing awl from Harbor Freight, it makes pushing the needle through the hide much easier. The stitch used is outlined in the instructions. I have never had any negative comments on the job it does sewing up hides.

Fur sewing machines use a locked whipstitch.
Whipstitch is used for sewing fur to allow the two pieces to butt up to each other thus the seam becomes invisible on the fur side.
After sewing, the seam is flattened with something smooth(scissor handle etc) from the leather side.

Let's say I have a couple hides that are tanned already...can I sew any holes that may be present? I tanned a couple coon that were worthless last winter, but didn't sew the holes. Just wondering if I could wet the hide and sew, or are they a lost cause?

Never thought about "flattening" the seam, great advice!

No problem repairing tanned hides.As long as you have stretchy leather.Round holes,if small can be made oblong and sewn,then when you block (stretch) the skin to take out the excess stretch any small puckers from sewing will be removed.You can sew before or after dampening the leather.Any cutting for repairs should be done before wetting the leather.

Larger holes or odd shaped holes are cut and pieced in different ways to minimize fur loss and close the holes without ruining the character of the fur.

Thanks! Just looking to practice, I'll give it a shot!

Best way to learn stuff,jump in and do it.More you do the better you get-dont get discouraged if stuff doesnt work out perfect every time at first.

I ordered 2 different books on sewing fur. Neither one is great but the both have good info. One is "how to sew leather, suede, fur" by Schwebke & Krohn; the other is "how to sew a rabbit fur trapping hat" by Brummett. The biggest problem with Schwebke & Krohn is seems more about 60's fashion than fur sewing and it's not a great read. Brummett is more of a working manual and is a better read but has no measurements! I want to get patterns for hats and other outerwear I can alter so it seems pinterest in my best choice.

Take old stuff apart and use that for a pattern to start out.
Then you can tweak it to start learning how to design your own patterns thru measurement.
Pretty soon you will be designing different patterns to fit different sizes and species of skins to make stuff with minimal wasteage.

I guess deep in my brain I already knew that...that's called reverse engineering I think. I get the feeling this is going to be a lifelong learning curve kind of thing. I am, however, excited to make my first coon skin Ushanka! I didn't really think about different pelts sewing differently. I am hoping, that by learning how to tan my own pelts, I can make locally sourced cold weather hunting garments for winter stand hunting. Buying pelts for making this stuff is out of the question, much less paying someone else to tan them. Again, thank you. I will post pics as I make progress.

I sew with braided fishing line..seems to work

Bringing thread to life again, I may have stumbled onto something. While sewing today, and had trouble to start, I found that if i started toward the butt end of the animal it was much easier to keep the hair out of the stitch. I'm still new to sewing hides, but I hope this helps you. I'm sure all the old hats knew this already, but I didn't.