fur rug uses

[aru]

Can fur rugs be used for garments, jackets, other projects? 

[toxo]

Yes if you like people looking at you sideways all day.

[chuck123wapati]

it depends on how they were tanned or specificly if they were tanned at all. most have only been pickled and why they are cheaper to buy.

[RockyAussie]

13 hours ago, aru said:

Can fur rugs be used for garments, jackets, other projects? 

If by fur rugs you mean hair on hides we get quite a few in from Italy and use them in quite a few of our handbag designs. They are generally pretty popular with sales. This is a link to my website in the tote bag section where you can see a couple of examples - https://wildharry.com.au/collections/tote-bags/Felicity

[aru]

 

16 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

it depends on how they were tanned or specificly if they were tanned at all. most have only been pickled and why they are cheaper to buy.

my main concern is this. I cant find anything saying how the fur rugs I bought are tanned. I read that if they are "pickled" they can be tanned, does anyone know if that is true?

is there any way to tell if its tanned already? The leather is a bit weird, unlike other shearling. 

I want to make a jacket with them, but its pointless if it starts to shed and fall apart after little use.

the main reason im asking is I have almost 400$ in leather, and would rather ask a question and spend an extra $20 to keep it from being ruined.

18 hours ago, toxo said:

Yes if you like people looking at you sideways all day.

Of course, otherwise they would be looking down, or up to me. horizontal looks mean we are equals, or something.

Edited April 3, 2022 by aru

[chuck123wapati]

3 minutes ago, aru said:

 

my main concern is this. I cant find anything saying how the fur rugs I bought are tanned. I read that if they are "pickled" they can be tanned, does anyone know if that is true?

is there any way to tell if its tanned already? The leather is a bit weird, unlike other shearling. 

I want to make a jacket with them, but its pointless if it starts to shed and fall apart after little use.

Of course, otherwise they would be looking down, or up to me. horizontal looks mean we are equals, or something.

hard to say without more info and or pictures, if tanned they will be soft and flexable and if wetted they will stay flexable after drying.  pickling is one step of the tanning so a guy could possibly finish the process. you will have to experiment with some pieces IMO.

[fredk]

imo I reckon a rug could be used, more so if it has come from a reputable store

If you think upon it, the rug is going to get walked on, and far more abuse than any coat is going to get. No store wants to refund you your money in a weeks time because the rug shed or ripped up so quickly. A few years ago a friend passed on to her son a sheep skin rug which she had bought in the late 1970s, about 42 years previous. The rug was still in good condition although it did need cleaning

Last year I checked out some hair-on rugs in Ikea. They all seemed to be top quality. I didn't need one so I didn't buy but I might have gone for one of the sheep skin ones

[aru]

33 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

hard to say without more info and or pictures, if tanned they will be soft and flexable and if wetted they will stay flexable after drying.  pickling is one step of the tanning so a guy could possibly finish the process. you will have to experiment with some pieces IMO.

Something as simple as using a test piece, I cant believe I didnt think of that. I will test getting it wet, thank you.

5 minutes ago, fredk said:

imo I reckon a rug could be used, more so if it has come from a reputable store

If you think upon it, the rug is going to get walked on, and far more abuse than any coat is going to get. No store wants to refund you your money in a weeks time because the rug shed or ripped up so quickly. A few years ago a friend passed on to her son a sheep skin rug which she had bought in the late 1970s, about 42 years previous. The rug was still in good condition although it did need cleaning

Last year I checked out some hair-on rugs in Ikea. They all seemed to be top quality. I didn't need one so I didn't buy but I might have gone for one of the sheep skin ones

Not all rugs are actually tanned, some are only pickled. Apparently pickled fur will fall out if it gets wet, which means a jacket made out of that, would fall apart in no time.

[chuck123wapati]

2 hours ago, aru said:

Something as simple as using a test piece, I cant believe I didnt think of that. I will test getting it wet, thank you.

Not all rugs are actually tanned, some are only pickled. Apparently pickled fur will fall out if it gets wet, which means a jacket made out of that, would fall apart in no time.

pickling is basicly soaking the hide is an acid solution of about 2.5%, some use nicer/ safer acids than others. Think vineagr compared to battey acid, both can be used in the process. Then the hide is neutralized by flushing with water and baking soda. then the hide is broken by stretching as it dries then smoked or rubbed with oils  If that doesn't happen then the hair and hide will deteriorate due to the high acid content. . If you find your hide is just pickled you can buy a tanning kit but beware its alot of work and why they are cheaper lol. I tan rabbit hides in this fashion. There are several ways to tan hides or furs, this is just one of them but its used mostly on hair on hides or furs because its a cheap method.

[aru]

2 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

pickling is basicly soaking the hide is an acid solution of about 2.5%, some use nicer/ safer acids than others. Think vineagr compared to battey acid, both can be used in the process. Then the hide is neutralized by flushing with water and baking soda. then the hide is broken by stretching as it dries then smoked or rubbed with oils  If that doesn't happen then the hair and hide will deteriorate due to the high acid content. . If you find your hide is just pickled you can buy a tanning kit but beware its alot of work and why they are cheaper lol. I tan rabbit hides in this fashion. There are several ways to tan hides or furs, this is just one of them but its used mostly on hair on hides or furs because its a cheap method.

well, the rugs I have, the black ones have darker skin, and the light ones have lighter skin. The leather soaks up water like veg tan, how can I tell if it is tanned? I got a bit of it wet, it seems more like wet skin than leather, are there any other tests?

 

Judging by the way it soaks up water, if its stiff when it dries, that would imply its veg tanned, right?

EDIT: since it is so skin-like when its wet, im just getting some basspro tanning stuff and tanning one of them to test, there is no way this stuff is leather, its like wet raw hide when you get water on it.

Edited April 3, 2022 by aru