I made a bag for Ray last year. This year I have another raccoon case skinned, fleshed, salted and on a wire stretcher until I have time for the next steps. But I too have no clue what to make with it.
You need to study up on how to care for furs if you want to get top dollar. Poorly prepared furs will disappoint both you and the fur buyer.
Like Brent said above, case skin them. Ring the back legs at the ankle, and make a slit down the inside of each back leg, meeting just opposite the tail from the anus. Skin it by mostly using your fingers, but use a knife when needed. Split the tail and skin it carefully so that you don't break it off. Skin it right down over the head, leaving the lips, nose, and eyelids on the hide. Cut the cartilage in the ears from the head, and leave it inside the ears. They're hard to skin for most folks, and that's the way they're usually sold unless tanned.
Then you'll need a fleshing board and fleshing knife to flesh the hide. Washing the skinned/fleshed hide in detergent and water, and then brushing it will help you yield top dollar.
Sew up any holes you cut/shoot in the hide using a glove needle and fishing line, with no more than 1/4" between stitches (use individual stitches rather than sewing the whole thing, so that if a stitch comes loose, it's only one).
Put on a stretcher fur side in for an hour or two, or just until the surface dries a bit, and then turn the skin fur side out. While the skin is still fur side in, if you notice an area that's not drying, rub a little bit of 20 mule team Borax into the area, and let it dry just a bit before turning it fur side out. Put it back on the stretcher, and let it dry for a week or so.
If the skin gets too dry to turn fur side out, spray it with water using a spray bottle, just enough to turn the hide.
To skin a raccoon, start by hanging it by the feet, running a hairbrush through the fur to remove debris, and hosing it down until the water runs clear. Next, cut from the inside of 1 back foot to the next in a straight line, and cuff the ankles by cutting the fur around them. Then, cut an inch in diameter around the anus and run the knife down the length of the tail. You can now pull the skin down toward the shoulders and slowly over the forearms. When you reach the face, cut around the ears and eyes to continue pulling the pelt down. To learn how to flesh and stretch the pelt, keep reading!
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For nearly 7 years, my husband and I have enjoyed tanning hides and furs in our spare time, responsibly putting part of a harvested animal to good use. I often encourage those who are thinking about small predator management, such as the trap and dispatch of a nuisance raccoon who may be lurking near a chicken coop, to learn about tanning and not let the hide go to waste. The question remains of what to do with the finished hide, and it opens the door for many interesting craft projects.
Raccoon furs are often turned into the old fashioned mountain man/pioneer style caps, but what else could be done with them? We tried using a bottled tanning formula last year for a raccoon hide, and decided to make a small carrying bag for the woods from it.
The accompanying video is a look at how we approached making our bag; I wanted the tail to remain on, so I folded the hide almost in half, and draped the tail over as a way to close the bag by tying a piece of lace around the tail to hold it in place. The item requirements included: one raccoon fur, lace/strap material (I used some previously tanned deer hide leather, braided), a pencil, scissors, a small utility knife, artificial sinew, sewing needle, awl, and a hammer. Because of the tools used, younger folks need to ask for an adult’s help in making this project. Please use caution when handling tools.
I started by folding the bag as I wanted it to look, making pencil marks where I needed to trim off the excess hide. It is important when using the utility knife to carefully cut from the underside (“flesh” side that is tanned) and not use scissors or cut from the outside. This helps to preserve the length of the fur, which helps cover your edges. I then turned it inside out, lining up the edges and carefully using the hammer and awl to make matching holes through the fur. Once the sides were sewn together, it was time to turn the bag right side out again.
I made two small holes at the front, using a small piece of tanned deer lace (we used a scrap piece of buckskin and turned it into even lace strips) to feed through from the inside that would tie around the tail and hold the flap of the bag closed. I then took three long strands of the same lace and braided it together to make my strap. I made two larger holes at the top of the back side of the bag, feeding the laces through and tying a knot to hold them in place.
Other ideas for this include making a smaller bag with a belt loop instead of a braided strap or sewing a liner to the inside (flesh side), so that your bag has a nice clean interior instead of directly putting items into the tanned area. Take your bag with you on a nice walk in the woods, carrying inside your emergency fire starting supplies, or carry a book with you for a nice relaxing read in nature. Consider learning about tanning, and put your next raccoon fur to good use by turning it into a little bag just like this!
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Be sure to let us know how the project turns out for you, and how you’ve made the bag all your own!
Fala Burnette is a homesteader with her husband at Wolf Branch Homestead in Alabama. They are currently building their own log cabin and milling their own lumber, along with raising heirloom crops in the Spring and tanning furs during the Winter. Read all of Fala’s MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.
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