Small Skunk Pouch

The Tin Stove Tannery's Notebook

| |

Small Skunk Pouch

I made a pair of Winnebago Style moccasins and wanted a bit of skunk fur to decorate the flap. A small skunk pelt from the powwow worked great. But then I had parts left over.

The Skunk's tail went onto a hair ornament. Some of the rest of the hide went on there, too, stitched together in a long strip to make fur drops on each side. Then I was left with tiny belly fur bits and the little fellow's face.

I made a pouch with the skunk's face on the flap. Two small pieces of fur I stitched together and put on the front. The pouch itself is cut from recycled leather that used to be a coat. A small vintage shell button and a little piece of buckskin lace left over from another project keep the flap shut. A length of satin cord runs through two small slits in the back so it can be worn around the neck like a medicine pouch.

The face itself is sort of scrunched to one side. I tried to straighten it out by soaking it in water then stretching it as it dried. It did not work. His nose remains smooshed off center and one eye is half closed. So I stitched two small glass beads in his eyes. It looks like he is winking and either about to laugh or sneeze. Either way, it is a cute little pouch.

Leather can be expensive, especially if you only need a small piece for a project. A good remedy to this is to hunt the thrift shops for old coats, pants and hand bags. I hit Goodwill a lot when I need a little something. You can sometimes find a few furs along the way as well. Take them home, pull them apart and off you go. Those old coats can have some interesting wear patterns that give your project that unique look only a long life can produce. Just watch out for dry rot, which often occurs in the vintage pieces. Particularly furs. This weakens the leather and makes it nearly impossible to work with. Nothing spoils the day like returning with a beautiful coat only to find that it goes to shreds the moment you try to take it apart. Check all the seams well before you buy anything. Dry rot often appears as holes with tattered edges. Once in a great while this is due only to a defect in the tanning process, but unless you want that fur coat for fly tying, you'll have to take a chance and hope it simply is a thin patch.

Any faces can and have been used. Mink, weasel, small skunks and squirrels are just the right size for a medicine pouch to wear around your neck. Raccoons, opossums, rabbits, fishers and other animals of that size make good belt pouches for small items. Many folks have larger satchel type bags in their regalia. Fox, large raccoon, bobcat, otter and coyote faces grace beautiful catch-all handbags often with long buckskin fringe, beads and other decorations. I once saw a wolf on one, too. Sometimes the pouch is made out of a complete hide with the face cut off then stitched back on to make the flap. Sometimes they are made of plain leather with fur trim or even a turtle shell on the front and the animal face over that.

If you want a face to make a bag like this, go to a powwow and look around. More often than not at least one trader will have a bin full of cast aways just waiting to be found. This is the best way to find a good one. You can order from catalogs, but there is no way to tell what it will look like until it comes. Unless you can tan one yourself or know someone who will, it is hard to get a face that is not scrunched up or damaged somehow. Keep in mind, though, even a damaged face can make an interesting article. Find whatever speaks to you. That is the most important part.

All content copy write 2010. Items on these pages are not for sale through this website. Questions and comments should be directed to wraithsong@hotmail.com