MagdalenaAddams

For anyone who might find this useful, I bought lengths of PVC pipe from the hardware store to use as forms. I have several lengths of 2’ length pipe which correlate to my wrist, my bicep/partner’s wrist, his bicep, and finally, my dog’s neck, which is a whopping 20” around. For that I had to buy a 2’ length of ABS pipe, 6” in diameter. It made a fantastic mold for me to make a collar. I taped the lining to it, and glued on the outer leather. It’s beautifully smooth inside, not a wrinkle to be found. So try the hardware store or even a plumbing or gardening supply store (I think the big daddy pipe was for a pond or pool), and bring a tape measure with you. If you can’t find the exact diameter you need, you can go down by an inch or two. Leather stretches a little easier than it compresses.

Hi Dwight, huge fan of your wealth of knowledge. Hopefully this will help. I would take the jacket and put it in some kind of airtight container with charcoal and leave it for a couple of weeks. Make sure it’s natural charcoal, usually the cheapest I can find at the grocery store with no lighter fluid on it, and keep an eye out for humidity and mold. The charcoal should have a neutral or clean smell. If it’s humid, I would air it out every few days or more. I used this approach with a freezer that was in storage for a while that smelled like old meat and fish so strong it was nauseating. Charcoal on a sheet pan for a couple of weeks worked really well. I have used it since to clean out fridge odors and it works great too. At worst you’re out $10, and it won’t damage the jacket. Let us know how it turns out and good luck!