My semester of very fancy tailoring 35 years ago had a fur project as one of the requirements (along with the usual set-in seam, bound buttons, working with knits, etc). We marked our patterns on the back of the skin. Then we cut from the back using a razor blade, cutting only through the skin and leaving the fur alone as much as possible. Before sewing half-inch seams, we trimmed fur from the outer quarter inch of the seam allowance (yes, VERY tedious - small, sharp scissors help). After sewing, we used a large needle or a comb from the front to gently pull any fur that got stuck in the seam. We then hammered the seams with a rubber mallet from the back side so seams would lay flat and glued them down with a special fur glue. Part of me wants to say it was Barge, but I think it was something less toxic, maybe even rubber cement on the light rabbit's fur I had. You'd have to use Barge on heavier pelts.
I made a purse, which I gave away because it was too small for the mass of stuff I carried at the time. Since my class I've taken apart old fur coats and learned some of how they were made. The fur coats and collars made professionally have a quilted backing or at least some sort of heavy woven interfacing like horsehair and lining to make them more sturdy. I think it also helps to make the fur seem fuller than it really is. HTH. LynnD On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 11:27 AM, Kate Pinner <[email protected]> wrote: > Another tedious trick is to shear the fur that will be in the seam > allowance, taking it down as close as possible to the skin or the fabric > backing. Yes, very tedious, but helpful with the thickness of the seams. > > > Kate Pinner > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Abel, Cynthia L. > Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 2:21 PM > To: Historical Costume > Subject: Re: [h-cost] A question on sewing fur > > All I know, fake or real, try to cut fur through the skin/fabric backing > only. Cut as little fur as possible. Not a ton of fun, very tedious for me. > I sew for dolls and basting the fur, rather than machine sewing, also makes > it a bit easier to tease up fur beaten down by seaming. > Probably techniques vary depending on the density of fur and whether the > fur > is short, medium, or long. Also, I've had some bad results glueing fur, > real or fake. Unless there is a glue for fur or piled fabrics, I'd saw > don't > do it. > > Cindy Abel > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] > On Behalf Of Pixel, Goddess and Queen > Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 12:47 PM > To: Historical Costume > Subject: [h-cost] A question on sewing fur > > > Hello the list! > > Does anyone have any good resources on how to sew fur? I am trying to work > up a class on fur in historical costuming and although I have found a few > books that cover the topic but they get mixed reviews. > > Many thanks! > > Jen/pixel/Margaret > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > > > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
