so I am a jenny-come-lately and I have been bugged to trash fryer skins over the years, but I have no interest in raising roasters...

http://www.primitiveways.com/rabbit_skin_blanket.html

this blanket idea is facinating and on the primitve ways site it says they sometimes used raw, green hides, that sounds like much less effort and it sounds like a great plan, but would that work with fryer hides? I thought the issue with fryers was shedding fur, or is it just thin skins? They claim there was no smell, anyone care to speculate as to how THAT might have been acheived? would you have to scrape the hide really well and clean it and then just slice it into cordage? I absolutely want to try this!! the best part about this idea is no stretching recognizable hides on my shed wall in suburbia...

One of our members, Kyah, has been doing this. She started last fall before we had RabbitTalk up and running, but you will find her post on the Homesteading Today rabbit forum. Here's the link to that topic:

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showth ... p?t=326682

hmmn, following that link makes me less likely to try this with fryer skins...what CAN you do with those?? I may just have to try tanning them anyway, and make something that is backed with fabric out of them...

Yes, you could try that. The fryer skins are very fragile and thin but lined you could likely use them for trim on garments or perhaps line mittens with them or use them for purely decorative items.

ooo, I didn't even think of mittens and hats, I was thinking stuffed toy...

I'm planning on making a quilt once we are up and running. It will be fur on one side with a liner and I'll most likely use a sheet as a backing for the whole thing. I think the fryers will be strong enough for that. Anyone disagree?

From what I have heard, you may have more luck with using a fusible interfacing, the kind that irons on? That would keep the skin from tearing and make the sewing easier, as it would give the skin more "body". JMHO

I'm planning to make my quilt from squares of fryer hides, with an iron-on backing, and a soft cotton or flanel back. I have less than a dozen hides right now, and I have yet to start my tanning.
How are some of you sewing the hides, by hand or machine? Which needle?

You know what? This is a good idea too, I like making quilt tops and HATE quilting them, I could use a pieced "top" as my backing and kill two birds with one stone!

OH! So your going to make a complete individual square and then sew the squares together, so that once the squares are together the whole thing is done?

Did I understand that right?

Quilt on one side, fur on the other...cozy!

I've made teddy bears out of fur (not rabbit) and my old hand-crank Singer did just fine on light leather. I did use a leather needle. It has sort of a triangular point. I also cut pieces of muslin to match the pattern pieces and sewed through both muslin and leather when joining the pieces. If this method held up for teddy bears (and it did, quite nicely) then it should also work for fur quilt squares. It sounds like more trouble than it actually is.

I don't even have rabbits yet, nor do I know how to tan and I can't wait to have the hides tanned and make me my very own snuggly rabbit quilt. I have a old fur coat my kids fight over. It's still in excellent shape and not real fur. The boys would look like a pimp if they wore it, but it's so snuggly they all just want to take it to sleep with. I can imagine that I may have to put up enough hides for everyone before the first one gets made. LOL

Maybe my grandkids will get the first couple. I have to have a lot of black rabbits. I want an all black one for my bed.

This is a great idea! Maybe someday I'll make one too.

Janine

I remember a Mohawk family years ago that had one of these that had been handed down. They kept it more as a reminder of the old days than to actually use. They had it hanging on a wall. It did tend to shed hair quite a bit though as I recall.