The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Crafts => Topic started by: Sonia in Cornwall on September 14, 2010, 01:32:07 pm
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Hi
The land we've got is overrun with rabbits, which we'll obviously have fun sorting out! While I have a whole load of gorgeous looking rabbit recipes to make use of now :yum: I was also wondering about curing the hides as rabbit fur is very soft. It seems a shame to waste them when we're eating the meat anyway.
Does anyone else do this already? Can I use standard hide curing recipes that I find on the internet, or do I need something more gentle for rabbit skin? And once it's cured does it sew just like leather? (I have visions of a rabbit fur rug on the floor in front of the rayburn!) Any tips from people who've tried would be welcome.
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there are different methods to tan your skins , basically it just depends which one suits you best really .
Check out about the time of year you kill the rabbits , as they may be in moult , and the skins would be useless then . The curing is the easiest bit , making them soft is the hard part . That takes elbow grease , you have to work the skins to make them soft . I don't mean the fluffy side , I mean the skin side of the pelt .
It is possible to do at home , and if you have enough rabbits you can make all sorts of things with them .
I used to make the Russian style hats out of them . I also worked in a skin and hide place , just salting them as they came from the abattoir , ready for delivery to the tanners etc.
I made sheepskin coats, and shoes and boots out of cow hide leather, that I 'borrowed' from work . So it is all possible to do at home , it is just s dirty smelly job at times . I can't remember the mix I used now ( it is 30 odd years ago !!) , but there are loads of web sites explaining the different methods .
Oh and yes it does sew like leather ( with fur on !!) .
cheers
Russ
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Hey am new to this site - just came across this post, I know it's a long time ago but how did the rabbit tanning go. Have just bought myself a real rabbit fur hat and i love it. Wold love to make myself one.
Happy New Year
Tim
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I can give you another market - wrap bits of fur round tennis balls and sell them to gun dog folk as training aids, you can sew them onto canvas dummies as well. I buy the rabbit skin balls for £3.50 each, an ordinary canvas dummy is about £3.50 too and with the skin properly sewn on would sell for £5 to £7. Try them on Ebay.
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thats good idea! ;D :D :bunny: