Are you intrigued by idea of making your own suede, buckskin, or tanned hides for moccasins, crafts, clothing, or to be more connected to the sources of your clothing? Does the idea of participating in the full life cycle of your garments excite you? Do you want to preserve the memories of the hunt without the cost of a tannery? Or maybe you’d like to commemorate the life of an animal you raised?
It could also be that traditional skills are just a part of who you are and you have a burning desire to reconnect with our collective roots. Regardless of your motivation, this workshop is offered up as a guide as you set out on this journey.
This two day workshop will introduce you to the concepts and sills involved in turning an animal hide into buckskin (a hair off, soft fabric like “leather”) and hair on hide (think cow hide rug).
You will learn;
How to build a stretching frame
How to building a smoking shelter
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 both hair on and hair off skins
Scrapping 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 an involved workshop where you will have the opportunity to work on hides at each stage of the tanning process. For the purpose of this class we will be working on domestic or wild hides, however the hair on and hair off processes will apply to other animals as well.
During live classes, youth are allowed with an adult, children may accompany, however, we suggest having two adults together if young children will be joining.
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Workshops in Athabasca.
