Brain Tanning Hides

This 2 hour workshop will introduce you to the concepts and skills involved in turning an animal hide into buckskin (a hair off, soft fabric like “leather”) and hair on hide (think cowhide rug).

 

You will learn about:

• How to properly remove a hide into order to preserve it

• How to preserve a hide until tanning

• Natural and easy to access materials for tanning tides

• How tanning works

• The physiology of skin

• How to process hair off skins

• Scraping hides

• Pickling hides

• Wringing methods

• Acidifying buckskin for a soft and supple fabric like hide

• Brain tanning solutions

• Stretching methods and tools

• Smoking hides to keep them water resistant

 

This is a hands on workshop where you will have the opportunity to see hides at different stages of the tanning process.

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Workshop Host:

ReSkilled Life - Natalie Pepin

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