fleabitpokey Report post Posted February 11, 2008 This is my first Deer skin shirt. I would appreciate anyone giving me points on putting them together. What to do ,and what not to do. One question I have is what to do about holes in the skins. Should I go and hand pick the skins,or do they all have them. Thanks Stephanie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luke Hatley Report post Posted February 11, 2008 This is my first Deer skin shirt. I would appreciate anyone giving me points on putting them together. What to do ,and what not to do. One question I have is what to do about holes in the skins. Should I go and hand pick the skins,or do they all have them.Thanks Stephanie THAT IS A GREAT LOOKING SHIRT. it would make a Buckskinner shine at a rendevou. when i buy the leather for my clothing i will not get anything less than a #2. there will be small holes that i will leave as they are , or holes larger than 1" i will repair as you see in the photo my style is more White Man, rather than Indian. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fleabitpokey Report post Posted February 11, 2008 THAT IS A GREAT LOOKING SHIRT. it would make a Buckskinner shine at a rendevou.when i buy the leather for my clothing i will not get anything less than a #2. there will be small holes that i will leave as they are , or holes larger than 1" i will repair as you see in the photo my style is more White Man, rather than Indian. Thanks Luke, I appreciate the kind words. A couple questions if you don't mind. To patch a 1 inch hole, should I cut a patch and sew it around, should I use glue? And adornment,should the clothes be basically plain, what would be acceptable? Any leads on finding pictures to guide me. Thanks Stephanie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luke Hatley Report post Posted February 11, 2008 (edited) Stephanie. when i patch a "1"hole," cut the patch larger than the hole, skive the edges 1/4 '' glue only the edge, so it dont show from the front, then just punch the stiching holes and do a simple running stich. check out CRAZY CROW trading post, they have a lot of Bead strips that you can sew on your shirts, hope this helps .. My clothes portray a white man and i dont see the need for the decoration of Bead Work for me. But there is a lot of folks that do like their clothes with the decorations... Edited February 11, 2008 by Luke Hatley Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timbo Report post Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) I've seen alot of buckskins with patches on them for the holes. A lot of them done like Luke says. It seems to me that patched holes in deerskin garments is pretty much accepted. Especially in buckskinner circles. I have also seem them done like the picture I have attached. The red circle is the hole in the buckskin. The black circle is the patch and the blue lines represent the stitches. But this is not to scale by any means. Try to keep the stitches as small (nowhere near as big as I represent, but you get the idea) as possible and don't pull too tight or they will pucker. You can also put the patch on the inside as well and it makes for a smaller looking repair as the hole is always smaller than the patch. Most I've seen were also done with artificial sinew split down really thin. And it will blend in well with buckskin the color you used on this one.Which by the way is OUTSTANDING!!!!Very nice job. How many hides did it take?? Tim ........by the way......how did you put it together?? patch_2.bmp patch_2.bmp Edited February 12, 2008 by Timbo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fleabitpokey Report post Posted February 12, 2008 Luke ,thanks for the patching tip and the lead for Crazy Crow. You mentioned about beads and that they weren't needed. What about cones and horse hair tassles? Or is it the Indian style that mostly decorates. This is my first try and the ideas are going amuck in my head. Is this a case of, less is best? Again thanks Stephanie Tim, Thank you for the compliment on the shirt,I also appreciate your patch help. I like the idea of thinning down the artificial sinew. Didn't think of that. I have a hole just about at the elbow of this shirt and tried to patch it before I asked for help, so I will be redoing it. I didn't pay attention to the holes when I first got the skins,but they sure jump up at you when you start to put something together. I have a set of small holes 1 on the front of the shoulder and another just about the same spot on the back....2 different skins and it appears like bullet holes in and out . I used 4 deer skins for this shirt. They aren't very big are they. I tried to use as much of the skins as I could. Started with a Large pattern ,and when it came to the body I eased it out to use all the hide.Kind of enlarged the arm whole,and larger sleeve. I used 1 hide for the front 1 for the back and 1 for each sleeve and fringe. I sewed it together by hand with artificial sinew and a great little punch for deer skin. I left the uneven edges at the body bottom. I guess I should measure it to see just how big I made it. I am pleased that it came together the way it did. Very limited exposure on my part. Kind of shooting in the dark. What is the best way to hold leather items like this so you don't get fold creases? Or hanger marks. Any and all tips and how to's are very welcome. Thanks Stephanie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites