Making A Rabbit Fur Coat(for the Dog)(Progress Pictures Pg2)

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Bad Habit

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Sooooo... I've decided to try tanning the hides on these fryers. They're almost 15wks, so I'm hoping the pelts will be thick enough that I can use them to make a rabbit fur coat for the dog.

I have no idea what I'm doing, at all. Found some instructions online, going to follow those for the tanning. Don't know if the fur should go inside or outside of the coat. Don't know if a fabric backing or a knitted backing would be best. Don't know if the dog will try to eat it or not.

Anyone got any tips, suggestions, ideas?
 
No tips or suggestions here but I do ask to be kept posted. With pictures preferably. And how to steps. Been think of doing this myself. I would put fur on outside and would use backing. That's just me personally though. Please let us know.
 
Oh... There WILL be pictures. Especially of the dog, in the coat, chewing on some rabbit meat, with a live baby rabbit beside... Why? Because I'm just a troll like that.<br /><br />__________ Tue Dec 31, 2013 2:39 pm __________<br /><br />I guess I should phrase my question better... would it be warmer for the dog with the fur on the inside, or outside?
 
Bad Habit":3f38drb0 said:
I guess I should phrase my question better... would it be warmer for the dog with the fur on the inside, or outside?

Well, from what I've seen, all animals wear their fur on the outside, so they probably have good reason. :mrgreen: :twisted:

I think fur to fur wouldn't wear very well- too much friction.
 
Yeah, I missed the part about it being for the dog. Mine wouldn't be for the dog but the rest of my post still goes as I'm sure I can take lessons from you and apply them to my coat.

__________ Tue Dec 31, 2013 11:00 pm __________

MamaSheepdog":2y6n1u50 said:
Bad Habit":2y6n1u50 said:
I guess I should phrase my question better... would it be warmer for the dog with the fur on the inside, or outside?

Well, from what I've seen, all animals wear their fur on the outside, so they probably have good reason. :mrgreen: :twisted:

I lol'd.
 
It would take me a million years to grow enough rabbits to make a rabbit fur coat for my bulk...

I have 4 soaking now. The dog's coat should be neat... I've got a black/orange tri, a blue harlequin, a blue magpie and a black magpie. With future litters, it should all be black harlequin, I think. Buck's a NZR, though, so I might get some black magpies if he carries REW.
 
I've considered making a few items with my hides .... nothing as large as a coat just yet as I don't have many. Was thinking like gloves or a hat (something small) .... but I cant sew tho I have an .... ancient sewing machine that belonged to my great grandmother ..... maybe its time I learned.

How many pelts would it take to make an adult sized coat ?


.... Keep us posted. I'm curious to see the results.
 
At 15 weeks, are they not molting? I think you'd loose patches of hair on them. But give it a go :)
 
Zab that is a good question. That would be in between molts for most, jr prime is around 16 weeks, it's a pretty ideal time to take a pelt, then again between 6-9 mos.

I think the amount of pelts Ramjet depends on the size of the rabbit and the person. I'm pretty small, about 5'3 and not to much over 140, about 6-7 SF pelts would do for a vest, maybe a bit more for Rex. Think of it as a litter and a half worth of pelts.
 
They didn't appear to be in molt, however it is winter, and they live outside, so they probably wouldn't molt as drastically as indoor rabbits do.

I have 4 pelts, which are from 15wk old(ish) holland lop x harlequin crosses. I am hoping that they are enough to make a coat for my 15lb dog.
 
skysthelimit":3n01tl5z said:
Zab that is a good question. That would be in between molts for most, jr prime is around 16 weeks, it's a pretty ideal time to take a pelt, then again between 6-9 mos.

I think the amount of pelts Ramjet depends on the size of the rabbit and the person. I'm pretty small, about 5'3 and not to much over 140, about 6-7 SF pelts would do for a vest, maybe a bit more for Rex. Think of it as a litter and a half worth of pelts.

I was thinking of making one for my 8 year old daughter .... and she's tiny. I figure 6-7 would make a nice coat with sleeves for her. Thing is they would need to be uniform in texture and color & with my rainbow nest boxes , that may take a while as I only have two rex does. One produces dilute (lilac / chocolate) and the other broken and opal with my Chocolate buck. I wish I had more space but if I expanded even one more hole , I think my wife might kill me dead.


/Waiting patiently.
 
Tanning has been happening for the last almost 48hrs. Either tonight or tomorrow I have to pull them out, rinse them, flesh them, rinse them then replenish the tanning solution and soak them for another 7 days.

I haven't done pictures, because there's not much to see so far... Plus my hands were all gunky from processing the rabbits, and I didn't wanna get my camera all gunky as well. They're in a bucket, though. They started out looking very raw and fleshy(obviously) and started paling out as soon as they went into the tanning solution, after being rinsed. Now the skin is very white, and still has hair attached to it(yay!). Instructions said to stir at least 2 times a day, I've been stirring whenever I go to the bathroom(it's sitting in the tub, so that if anything happens, the stinky water will go down the drain). It smells. Not as bad as I thought, but definite odour there, not of rotting, but... It's hard to describe. Definitely not a pleasant smell, I'm dreading having to flesh them and smell that smell for a longer period of time.

My mom's now decided that she wants to make them into mittens for herself. I told her that if she wanted to do that, she'll have to come get the pelts and finish them off. She's not shown up yet, so I think the dog is getting his rabbit fur coat still.
 
Bad Habit":1795q8e8 said:
Oh... There WILL be pictures. Especially of the dog, in the coat, chewing on some rabbit meat, with a live baby rabbit beside... Why? Because I'm just a troll like that.

Ok, now I have cleaned up the coffee that came out my nose....

I can't wait for the pictures, and never, never leave the dog alone with the coat....if you know what I mean!
 
HAH I was wondering when someone would comment on that!! I'm not sure if I can get him to chew on rabbit meat, though - he won't eat raw, had no interest in the bits of raw rabbit I tried to feed him, and mostly just wants to clean the bunnies. He did, as a puppy, chew on my brother's seal skin, but I don't know how much damage he'd do to the coat.

No, it will be more a show piece coat than an every day wear coat. I am hoping, though, that the rabbit fur coat can replace the 3 coats I have to stuff him into to get him to go out when it's -15 or lower. It will also be useful should the power go out again.
 
Bad Habit":3uppquih said:
I'm not sure if I can get him to chew on rabbit meat, though - he won't eat raw, had no interest in the bits of raw rabbit I tried to feed him

My JRT Chase wouldn't eat raw at first either. I sauteed the meat slightly so the outer 1/4" or so was cooked. When he got to the raw part he had an "Eww!" look on his face, but he eventually liked it.

Bad Habit":3uppquih said:
I am hoping, though, that the rabbit fur coat can replace the 3 coats I have to stuff him into to get him to go out when it's -15 or lower.

This is the type of coat I bought for Chase and my Great Danes:

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html ... 413991285e

They were on sale the year I bought them for $17.95, but even at $36 bucks it is a great value. It kept him warm and dry, although probably the lowest temps we had were in the teens.

This one is on sale, and covers the entire chest:

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html ... 6a1aacba40
 
The dogs have horse blankets, I got from the horse tack shop. Special ordered years ago when I actually had a real job, and show dogs to cater to.

I took in a boarder a few months back, for a lady who was having surgery, a shih tzu. The lady no longer returns my phone calls, so I'm stuck with her. Elderly dog, shivers every time she's out. So I decided to make her a dog coat. Not sure if I would try t with rabbit pelts, but I bet on SF would cover her entire back.
 
Chuck's got 2 of the horse blanket style coats, a coat I've made him, a little bomber jacket from walmart, a sweater my mom knit him, and a lighter sweater that she bought from him. The problem with most commercial coats is that they don't fit him right, because he's a long bodied little dog. They're too big around the neck/chest or too short and his bum hangs out. I don't like ordering him coats from the internet or even having them custom made by people on the internet because of his weird body shape, I can't justify spending more money on coats that don't fit him right.
 
Oh yeah that I agree. If I had a job, I would probably first have gone back to the shop to have one fitted for the shih tzu.

But it occurred to me, I'm not exactly lacking of skills in the sewing department, I could make something with all the junk I have here. Much more satisfying. I cut out the outline, and I'm looking for an old jacket.

I will give her a fur collar in honor of you ;)

I can't wait to see pictures.
 
omg I should totally trace the bomber coat pattern and mail it to you. It fits Chuck perfectly, and he is shih tzu in his body type. Legs are a bit longer, but come out of his chest like the shih tzu, and he's very... thick. Not fat, but he's got the broad build of the shih tzu. I tried to find a picture to show it, but I don't seem to have one, lol.

The coat is super cute. I only spent about $15 on it at walmart. Actually fits him, too. I wanted to buy more, but when I went back, they were all girly coats :( It's hard to have a boy dog.

Maybe that's what I'll do. I have some nice fabric, I could make a fur lined coat, on that style, just have fur around the openings. Then I could probably do one for my sister's dog(she wants one soooo bad), too. Wouldn't be as dramatic, though... And I really want to be able to tell people that my dog has a rabbit fur coat.

I noticed one of the tails left on the hide. Should I leave it on, or take it out? The bone is probably still in there.
 
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