A simple leather tunic

im gonna do this right from the very start so anyone can do it right from scratch
1. right after you skin your deer, bear, rabbits, squirrels, cow or whatever...
scrape the flesh side of the hide totally clean, remove all meat and fat
use an axe, hammer or a rock and crack open the animals skull
scoop out the brain, all of it, do NOT mix it with water or anything else
just spread it out on the bare hide, work it in and keep rubbing
dont worry theres just enuff brain to do the whole hide, even if it doesnt look like it
make yourself a pole frame thats larger than the hide and stretch the hide on it
when i say stretch, that means pull it tight, like a drum head, you dont want less hide than you started with
so keep it tight while it dries
if you want the fur off you can do that while its stretched
make a thick paste of wood ash and water
rub it deep into the fur, let it set a day or 2 then scrape the fur off
what doesnt come the first time, repeat the process for, itll come eventually
if you want a dark hide, smoke it over a very low fire
getting an unfinished or green hide hot will shrink it like you wont believe
the indians used to wrap people in green hides then heat them
it will crush bones
once your hide is all dry and cardboard stiff you can take it off the frame and soften it
the squaws used to chew on it a bit at a time, this made it nice and soft
im sure most of you would rather not do it this way
set up a strong pole on some sort of saw horse frame
make sure the pole is nice and smooth, no knots or stubs sticking out
dont want to ruin your leather with rips
drape the hide over the pole, doesnt matter which side is up
youll be flipping it over later anyways
get someone to help with this part
each of you grab a side and start sawing the hide back and forth over the pole
go full length strokes, you want to work the whole hide
turn it occasionally so youre working from a different angle
as it starts to soften up nicely, flip it over and do the other side
repeat this whole process over and over until you have a nice soft flexible hide
2. if you have a large animal hide, lay the hide on the ground or a table, fold it in half using where the spine was as a fold line
this will give you the heaviest part of the hide laying across your shoulders where its needed most
(note: if youre using smaller hides youll need totally dif instructions)
3. measure and mark the center of the hide on the fold then measure and mark out both ways to an inch wider than your shoulders
4. from your shoulder marks cut straight down to the bottom adges of the hide, cut through both layers of the folded hide
try and make it a nice straight even cut, less hassle as you connect it all together
5. mark and cut a head hole using the center mark as your guide, most of the hole will be on the side facing you
very little will need to be on the back part, also slit down the front facing side several inches so your collar expands easily
6. from each shoulder, measure down about 8 inches and mark it, this will be your arm holes
from this mark down, poke holes with an awl, poke through both layers at once
slide an 8 inch strip of leather lacing through both holes and tie it
make your holes about 3/8 inches apart
this will give you a nice sleeveless leather tunic

 

you can for warmth, removing the hair is in there tho if you want it off

 

since i dont have any hides atm, will drawings do?

 

It would probably help some. It is an interesting thread on primitive crafting skills. Using Flemmish Giants might reduce the amount of stitching needed. ; )

 

I meant this....

Not this


From Western Flanders

 

It is said that each animals brain is enough to tan the hide.

The process of brain tanning is explained by an Ojibwa elder.

 

Clearly false when it comes to politicians...

(The hides are larger, and the brains are smaller.)

 

Politicians are a waste of skin.

 

you can use eggs if the brains won't stretch far enough.

 

Naw, get them near enough to policies, and they become deviled eggs.

 

It's the proteins.