I want to learn to sew fur

The title says it all. This year I've really gotten into sewing,  and I have access to a lot of locally harvested fur (raccoon, fox, badger). It's harvested by farmers and given to me, else it would go to waste. A lot is prime winter fur.


I know how to tan if and have done so. The next obstacle is sewing it. I have one vintage book written by a woman by the name Phyllis Schwebke. I have also looked on the internet for videos and articles but have found little other than faux fur.


I am looking to make coats, scarves, mantles, etc, and to trim and line with it.

My request is, can anyone direct me to any books or resources?

I do a bunch of fur trapping, and have sewed a few hats. Mine aren't anything fancy though, just utilitarian stuff. What I've don is to take apart a hat (or other garment) and use it as a pattern, cut out my fur pieces from a tanned pelt, and sew them by hand with artificial sinew. Works good enough for me.  I'll try and get some pictures this evening.

I have done some fur sewing. Tons of fake but a bit of real.
I have used vintage fur so was taking apart things like coats, hats and shawls. That showed me how they had been put together. Most are joined with a zigzag type stitch and they are butted together rather than overlapped like fabric.
If you want to use a machine, then you need a pretty heavy duty one and there are needles that are made for sewing leather and fur. They have a slightly different shape and are very sharp.
For patterns, you may be able to find some vintage or copy existing pieces you like. Etsy and eBay can have those kind of vintage patterns and books on them but you will have to check regularly.

The book Secrets of Eskimo Skin Sewing by Edna Wilder would probably be a good resource. I'd think some of the mountain man/buckskinner type literature would have sections on fur sewing as well. Haven't messed with it much myself yet.

This might help:

Foe hand sewing, do you need a special needle? I have made coon hat before and used the strongest needle that came in the regular needle pack. It worked most of the time but had a hard time piercing through the skin behind the neck.

Anne Miller wrote:This might help:

Thank you Anne! I've seen this and it is helpful, I'm just hoping for more techniques

I am especially curious as to how to to link two panels of fur side to side, if that makes sense

May Lotito wrote:Foe hand sewing, do you need a special needle? I have made coon hat before and used the strongest needle that came in the regular needle pack. It worked most of the time but had a hard time piercing through the skin behind the neck.

There are needles that are designed for it. They are thicker, and some are sharp, and others not. Sometimes people use an awl to pierce the hide then sew through the holes

Found em. A trapper style hat with felt liner....the felt is sewed, and, no joke, glued in with Elmer's school glue. It's held really well. The other hat is a pillbox style with no liner, that the kids like to wear. For sewing, I use artificial sinew and a large needle, and force the needle through with pliers. These are just utilitarian pieces, nothing fancy.

A leather needle makes hand sewing much much easier. The tip is shaped very different.

A machine seam definitely needs the special needle. The thread is under enough tension it can tear the leather at the round needle holes. The longer piercing with the correct needle gives enough ease that it does not tear further.

Random leather needle From amazon.

This is a hat I did from salvaged fur and leather. Machine sewn mostly, except for hand sewing to attach the vintage watch band parts that make the chin strap.
At these weights of fur and leather, they sewed fine with my vintage Kenmore and it is solid but still a home-grade machine. I did not try to go through more than 2 layers at a time.
I did up a couple of versions in junk fabrics to work out the design and fit.
It is very comfortable but is too warm above about -15C.

Stitching fur could be seen as a hybrid between stitching leather, and stitching faux fur. Depending on the skin (rabbit being the thinnest, and most easily punctured by a needle, Buffalo being one of the toughest), one of the most important aspects of a nice finish is going to be how it's cut. Brushing/pushing the fur away from the cutting line, so only the skin gets cut - and sewn the same way, makes all the difference in the world, in the final look. While I've not done it, myself, I used to watch my dad hand-sew with fur, and with the exception of rabbit (which often sheds, terribly), he would usually tape the fur back, out of the cutting & stitching lines, with a medium-sticky tape. With rabbit, he used painter's tape, because it is a lighter adhesive, and doesn't pull as much of the fur out. Beyond that, he and my maternal uncle, who mostly sewed furless leather, both used many of the same tools and techniques. Tandy Leather has many books, tools, and even some free instructional information.

Here's a tidbit that may help, somewhat:
https://sewguide.com/hand-sewing-leather-tools-supplies/

This one is, I think more basic than what you're looking for, but may help someone else, later:
https://www.montanaleather.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-sewing-leather-by-hand/

These tools can make all the difference in the world:
https://favoredleather.com/best-leather-stitching-diamond-chisels-plus-10-hacks/

Carla is right about just cutting the skin, not the fur. ( I forgot about mentioning that aspect)

For both faux and real, I cut from the back and use a razor blade. Sewers chalk or pencils can work to mark the pattern lines on the skin. I have also just used waterbased markers like the crayola ones, in cases where it cannot be seen and the fur is dark enough that it wouldn't show even if a bit of colour bled through.

General sewing books such as Vouge Sewing usually have chapters about specialty fabrics of leather and fur. The Fabric Sewing Guide by Claire Shaffer also has a chapter on fur with both hand and machine stitching (home sewing machine, not special fur machine).

Here I took a few pictures of the pages.

May Lotito wrote:General sewing books such as Vouge Sewing usually have chapters about specialty fabrics of leather and fur. The Fabric Sewing Guide by Claire Shaffer also has a chapter on fur with both hand and machine stitching (home sewing machine, not special fur machine).

Here I took a few pictures of the pages.

This looks like a gold mine. The pictures are from The Fabric Sewing Guide by Claire Shaffer, right? (as opposed to a Vogue book)

James Landreth wrote:

May Lotito wrote:Foe hand sewing, do you need a special needle? I have made coon hat before and used the strongest needle that came in the regular needle pack. It worked most of the time but had a hard time piercing through the skin behind the neck.

There are needles that are designed for it. They are thicker, and some are sharp, and others not. Sometimes people use an awl to pierce the hide then sew through the holes

yes its enormously helpful to pre make each hole with an awl. you can get faster at it as you go, but you can pre mark them and measure in one step, then make all the hole in another, then actually sew it together. i guess its harder on fur, not sure how you could mark it to see, but possible on the backside? you can just skip the measuring....and go straight to punching out holes in a resonably straight ish line, probably would work ok as fur would sort of fill in any slight measurement and alignment mistakes.

leila hamaya wrote:

James Landreth wrote:

May Lotito wrote:Foe hand sewing, do you need a special needle? I have made coon hat before and used the strongest needle that came in the regular needle pack. It worked most of the time but had a hard time piercing through the skin behind the neck.

There are needles that are designed for it. They are thicker, and some are sharp, and others not. Sometimes people use an awl to pierce the hide then sew through the holes

yes its enormously helpful to pre make each hole with an awl. you can get faster at it as you go, but you can pre mark them and measure in one step, then make all the hole in another, then actually sew it together. i guess its harder on fur, not sure how you could mark it to see, but possible on the backside? you can just skip the measuring....and go straight to punching out holes in a resonably straight ish line, probably would work ok as fur would sort of fill in any slight measurement and alignment mistakes.

The chisels I mentioned above, for punching stitch holes, come in quite a few variations, including up to a few inches worth of stitches. And yup - punching the holes from the back, on fur, is pretty much standard. I'm sorry I didn't mention that, above.

I bought a pair of coyote fur mittens from a northern MN man named Elmer a few years ago (i don't think he was on etsy but maybe).  When he announced he was retiring after the next season, I bought them. I'd seen his glorious shop IRL and kept thinking about them. Depending on how serious this hobby of yours is, you could cold call a couple small businesses like Elmer's and see if you can get an invitation to come help them for a couple days and learn from them. You'd learn so much more than you can from books or online.

Another option is gatherings like Traditional Ways Gathering (near Lake Superior but there must be these happening all over the north. Buckskin Revolution is a super cool woman that sews a lot with leather and fur and teaches many workshops. She has a big online presence.

May Lotito wrote:Foe hand sewing, do you need a special needle? I have made coon hat before and used the strongest needle that came in the regular needle pack. It worked most of the time but had a hard time piercing through the skin behind the neck.

there are special needles for leather (incl. fur) that have a three-cornered point.
A different way is: first make small holes with an awl (or another hole-making tool), then you can put an ordinary blunt needle through to sew.

Going back to read all comments I see my suggestions were already there ... No problem

Because I do Stone Age reenactment (for educational purposes) I made clothes out of leather, with a little fur trimming and a fur hat. It wasn't professional, but looked 'authentic'. I used real sinew and plant fiber cordage (made myself) for sewing, so the holes for the (bone) needle had to be made first. I even have an antler-point tool for making holes!

James, may I ask how do you tan your fur? Years ago I made a kid's coon hat for a neighbor. The pelt he gave me was very stiff. I rubbed some leather conditioner lotion on it and it turned soft for sewing. I don't know if that's the same as tanning or not.

This morning I spotted a road kill skunk near my house so I picked it up and skinned it. Now I salted the pelt to air dry. I am going to make another hat out of it and will probably try tanning this time. Thanks.

I used a chemical called Lutan to do my tanning. I've also brain tanned, too. The key to getting a soft tan is, first of all, to make sure the leather isn't too thick. Your skunk won't need any thinning, but something like a buffalo can have leather over an inch thick that requires a lot of skinning. Second, you have to "break" the hide as it dries after the tanning process. basically you're tearing at the fibers and working in the oil by bending, stretching, and working the leather.

Did you remove the fat from that skunk? Skins need to be fleshed before tanning, usually accomplished with a fleshing beam and fleshing knife (looks like a drawknife, but used in reverse). It can be accomplished with a regular knife and a lot of patience, but takes about 5 minutes with the right tools.

I'm right in the middle of fur-trapping season right now, so I'll share some pics of prepping raccoons this weekend.

These are the 'prehistoric warm shoes' I made, using sheep skin.
After cutting out the parts I made holes where I had to make the stitches of the seams. Then I used thin leather strap to sew through the holes, overhand stitch.