# stitching advice



## jonnyr7 (Jan 5, 2010)

Just wondering if any of you guys have any advice on stitching bullet holes in your pelts. I really want to try to get into skinning and properly preparing a fur for sale so any advice would be awesome. By the way, I found your "how to skin a coyote" thread very helpful bareback.


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

You have to find the "lay" of the fur and kind of piece it back together right. Especially with larger holes.

Imagine a fox pelt. You have orange sides and back, and a white belly. If the hole is where that white belly and orange side meet, you have to make sure that when you stitch it back up, that natural line between the two colors lines up. Its less important in a coyote, but an experienced grader can spot bad sew jobs a mile away. Especially if care hasnt been taken.

I use a running lock stitch on mine because its fast, and it holds well. You have to be careful working around the stitched area though with this stitch (like when you flesh it, yes, I stitch holes before I flesh). If one stitch pops, the whole thing unravels and you have to redo it. Run the stitches a good 1/8" into the leather so it has something substantial to grab onto, and put a stitch every 1/8" or so.


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## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

I used to turn my hides inside out and sew them with thin fishing line. Don't pull too tight, just enough to close the gap.


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Remember with sewing you are just trying to trick the fur grader. :wink:

With that said...it's their job so they are good at it.

I have had my fur buyer zero in on 2 inch stitches in an instant, and have hid 12 inch holes where he didn't even bat an eye and gave me good prices on the pelt. For me it is luck still. I am still learning the best way to sew holes.


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## kingcanada (Sep 19, 2009)

one of the true secrets to success when stitching up the bullet damage is to trim the "crater" first. those bullet fragments will clip the hair like little scissors on their way out. when the pelt is dried and stretched, the "clipped" fur will show. this i why the buyers "snap" the pelts when they grade them. it makes all of the hairs stand up straight. any clipped spots will show like a bullseye. i know it goes against our instincts to actually make the hole bigger, but it get's the job done. usually a 1/4" margin is enough to remove the clipped fur. use you best judgment in those "ragged" spots.
i also would like to note that i use 1lb. diameter berkely fireline crystal for my stitching. it is strong, nearly invisible in the hide, and slides through the hide better than other threads. i usually keep a little set aside after spooling up my fishing reel. it does require extra loops in your knot though, since it is so slick. as a side bonus, it is unaffected by tanning acids. this is nice if you are having any tanned and is a courtesy to those people who eventually do tan those pelts. i also use the same type of stitch used on a baseball. it pulls the pelt together better than a looping type of stitch. it also seems to hold better if things get a little tight on the stretcher. i stay within 1/8" or less of the edge of the hide too. pics from one of my 243 ackley dogs for a good example:


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## kingcanada (Sep 19, 2009)

hopefully the baseball stitch is self explanatory with the pics. here is how she turned out with both tears.


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## Snowgooser (Mar 28, 2008)

About the only thing I can ad to this is, flesh off the edge of the damage first. Either on the beam or with a knife, just get it cleaned so you have a good solid edge to stitch on. I also wet the fur around the hole to keep it from getting in the way. I like to run my stitches as close to the edge as possible while still in good leather. I also pull the stitches just snug snug so that when i stretch the hide it kinda pulls the ridge out a bit. This took a little practice to get the tension right. I personally think each guy has his own way and most all ways come out nice. Trial and error is a great teacher.


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## lyonch (Feb 26, 2006)

I have always done a standard whip stitch. I skin, flesh, wash, then sew holes. If you have a ragged hole, trim the area to look like a football then start stitching. The smaller amount of leather you can grab the better. You will have less bunching that way. A good fur buyer will sometimes put his hand up the leather side of the pelt and feel if there is any stiches. A good stitch job will be missed if done properly. It takes practice to get this done correctly. I always use a smaller diameter thread. I started with 4lb mono fishing line and have been entertaining the idea of switching to the line KingCanada mentioned.


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## kingcanada (Sep 19, 2009)

Here is a trick to get the better of those fussy types who run their hand up inside the pelt ( after all, they are just trying to get the better of you for their own gain. all furs eventually get cut and stitched into something else anyway). keep some of the thin membrane from the fleshing stage. when it and the the pelt have dried just enough to get tacky, carefully "paste" that membrane over the stitched area. spread it across as naturally as you can. it will glue itself back to the pelt as it dries. "greasy" pelts may be a little more difficult. i used this trick to hide a huge rip that went clear to the base of the pelt ( i had a bullet plow a groove down the length of the coyote on a parting shot). the stitching would have shown with the slightest peek inside, crisis averted.


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## jonnyr7 (Jan 5, 2010)

Kinda wish there was a good critter in season right now that I could use for practice before fall coyote hunting starts. Do you guys think any animal is different or harder to skin than other animals? Is a **** harder to skin than a coyote? Anything like that? Oh and King, you sound like a pretty sneaky little bastard with those fur buyers, sounds like you have em figured out pretty well :wink:


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

Jonnyr7,

**** are easier to skin and flesh then a coyote. It would be a good time to pick a few of them up pretty easy. they're out and about pretty good this time of year. Yeah there are a few critters that are different/harder to skin than a coyote. I'd still say by far that badgers are the biggest pain in the neck to skin and flesh. a close second would be a river otter, it's like a badger where you have to use a lot of blade and it's similar to a beaver when fleshing.

I'd say go pick up a few spring **** and practice on them.

I use a running lock stitch on my fur. Works really nice, and looks good too.

xdeano


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