Dears,
I am no furrier but a dressmaker/designer form Steamboat Springs Colorado.
I was asked to remodel my first fur about 10 years ago. I spent a month gathering all the information I could find (one of my best resources was an OLD book about furriering that I got through a library lone from a college in Ft Collins) and study the how tos of working with fur.
My greatest screw up was to touch the hide side of a fur with my iron with the steam on. I immediately shrank an iron sized portion. Thank goodness My project was to make a vest from a coat, so I had spare fur to use. A man in St Louis MO at a fur storage place did tell me that he can repair this kind of damage.
A few tips from my decade of self taught fur repair and remodeling
* Check the pelt. If it is hard, papery, stiff or papery your work will be in vain as the stretchy give of a well maintained pelt is needed to hold up to the movement of the fur fabric in response to putting it on and taking it off, the general movement of the body in wearing, reaching, arm movement etc.
* I did find a post on reconditioning the leather of the fur using 2 parts olive oil and 1 part white vinegar sponged on and left for a week or so to soak in. Do nt take the oil too near the edges of the leather as it will naturally spread there (like a drop of water on a paper towel) and you want to avoid oiling the hair. I made a batch of this and was successful in returning “give” to the pelt though I do have some oil residue remaining which I need to figure out how to get rid of as it will stain the lining with oil otherwise.
* You can use iron on interfacing to support the leather ( I first saw this in an inexpensive coat that I repaired and since quite often in furs of many qualities which are new enough for fusibles to be available) ALWAYS use a dry iron, test on an inconspicuous spot and use a low a setting as possible to melt the “glue”
* As most of us do not have a furrier-ing serger I have been using my sewing machine and have done excellently with it.
- Work from the hide side of your fur to do repairs.
- CAREFULLY trim the hair from the edges of the tear you are needing to repair (1/8″ – 1/4″ of clipped hair works well)
- Match the torn edges (trim the edges as needed if they are raggedy) and carefully stitch the edges together with a narrow seam 18″-3/16″ wide.
I do not backstitch at the ends of my stitching, but tie the thread ends.
I use a stitch approximately 9 stitches per inch.
Carefully pick any hairs caught in your stitching out of the seam from the fur side. I usually use a tapestry (blunt point) or a pencil sharpened chop stick as my fur picker.
It is possible to pepair holes (the mouse or dog ate at your fur) but it is more complex than just repairing a tear.
Blessings, Gale