Thread: Source of tanned possum skins for daughter's sewing project?

Does anyone know of a source for tanned possum skins?
Don't need to be too fancy initially.

My 16-year-old daughter is a keen seamstress and interested in making clothes, fashion etc.
So I thought why not give her something to do with pesky possums.

She has a sewing machine but it wouldn't work with fur. Anyone have idea what kind of machine she should use?

Attached pics of a very expensive possum skin vest (modelled by my unimpressed 4-year-old girl) that my mother owns, bought from Envirofur in Stratford years ago,
I see on their website now that no vests or coats are listed.
She can't remember how much it cost, but must have been quite a bit, since they sell a pair of fingerless mittens now for a hefty $120!

So just fishing around to see if anyone has a source that's not too expensive. Even offcuts would be OK for her to practice on or make me a fur hood for my winter anorak.

All going well she can start a little business, make to order, sell at markets etc.
I'll help her get started in return for some free gear!

And now that I think about it, why not deer skins, sheep / lamb skin etc? Any info or sources gladly accepted...

my mates mum used to have business in Taumarunui making gear with possum skins.... from MEMORY the machine was a walking foot design and rather pricey..... there is wee shop just out of rangitata that has possum fur products,they could put you in touch with supplier sorry mind is blank as to the name..... flag on roadside and corry iron walls..... just geraldine side of rangitata

the tin shed

In my teens I used my mums standard sewing machine to make a full possum skin jacket...all 23 skins worth

It worked, but her sewing machine needed a full service as the insides had filled up with spare bits of fur sucked inside by the needle...

The standard 'domestic' sewing machine finds it hard to maintain stitch length operating on fur. And the moment the stitch length gets small the leather/fur becomes very weak and tends to rip along the stitch line. Don't ask me how I know......

A walking foot would be better. But the only cheap ones around have a million miles on them, and forever need re adjusting and re timing.

Edit. re tanned possum skins, tanning them yourself is a bit of a mission: I did 40 in one hit, in the flat's second bathtub. Though the Leidretter system makes good leather, the hand work required to get the leather side nice and smooth is enormous. Not sure if anyone tans them now in NZ, except to order.

Definitely use a walking foot on fur side, could get away without on skin side. Well tanned soft possum/rabbit you might get away with the machine you have. You will need to play around with foot pressure, stich length, tension, and use a stronger thread.

Keep a watch out for older Juki walking foot commercial machines which come up from time to time and don't need compressed air etc... keep a look out for older Phaffs (some phaffs need air)

You will definitely need a commercial machine for thicker leathers like sheep etc...

You could check with sewing time for any ex commercial up there if you need to look at a different machine as she gets into it.

Hes a grumpy old prick to deal with, but he certainly knows his stuff. Just be wary of well worn out machines.

Thanks all. Yes I already found out her standard machine probably won't work. Hand sewing is OK for small stuff, but won't work for a large garment.
BTW, I found out envirofur's price on the vest as pictured. Drum roll......

$1800!!!!

We can buy tanned skins for around $30 it seems, maybe $50 for super nice ones. So there's certainly a nice margin there. Although I doubt they sell many at that price

Thanks Billbob....I had a quick look on Tardme, this is what I found for Juki:
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketpl...ch_string=juki

Seems there are a few out there. You reckon any of them are potentially any good?

2 of them with $500/$600 starting bids aren't walking foot machines. Juki machines have full parts available still. I'll have a look today as we did have a spare at work but have a feeling it's in use again.

Re the skins talk to some tannerys and see if you can get seconds or the skins that get broken from time to time.

$30 per tanned skin isnt that bad when yo ubreak it down and look at whats gone into it... forsure its going to make finished anything expensive but thats just life.....
if there is 10 possums per kilo plucked fur...that pelt has $9 fur on it so trapper would have needed to get say$11 for green pelt
then dry after taking out...then untacked brushed and sent to tannery..they do the immerse in chemical thing then need to tack out and dry etc then dress it again and soften it via working pelt..it all takes time....if that one pelt took an hour of labour with all the minutes added back together..its minimum wage stuff.

agreed, possum hunters are not getting rich....